The decision to nullify Wajir Governor Mohamed Abdi’s election was upheld after he failed to appear in the court of appeal to defend his degree, a move that was unexpected.
According to judges Philip Waki, Asike Makhandia, and Patrick Kiage had a chance to defend his seat, but he squandered the opportunity forcing them to uphold the earlier ruling.
The bench of judges told the attendants that the governor only needed to appear in court and shed more light on how he acquired the degree but he went missing in action.
“Only he could say what his student number was, who his tutors and lecturers were, what grades he attained and when he graduated. Only he could explain the strange absence of his name from the graduation list for the day the degree certificate he produced related to,” reads the judgment.
In the 56-page judgment, the court ruled that it is evident that the governor lacks the academic qualifications he needs to hold the office. The ruling further stated that the judges had no choice but to uphold the earlier ruling after the county boss action.
“The cavalier attitude evidenced by the appellant (governor) in the face of serious questions about his eligibility to vie for the seat of governor was compounded and rendered tragic by his choice to stay away from the proceedings and therefore not only fail to present his side of the story, but also keep himself from being cross-examined on his replying affidavit, thereby robbing it any probative value,” said Justice Waki who read the judgment.
It remains unclear whether Abdi attended school or not.