Wednesday, October 19, 2022 – There was drama during the vetting of President William Ruto’s nominee for Gender and Public Service Aisha Jumwa.
This is after National Assembly Speaker Moses Wetangula shut down a section of Azimio MPs who were trying to pin down Aisha Jumwa over her academic qualifications.
While appearing before the National Assembly Appointment Committee on Tuesday afternoon, Jumwa presented her Degree in Executive Master of Leadership and Governance she earned from Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture and Technology (JKUAT) in 2015.
National Assembly Leader of Minority Opiyo Wandayi and other Azimio honchos, then raised doubts over the certificate with some claiming that it was an honorary certificate awarded to leaders over their achievements.
So charged was Wandayi that he invited a clarification statement from JKUAT, who issued the certificate.
However, Wetangula, who chairs the committee, stepped in to put a stop to the debate explaining that a degree certificate is not part of the requirements for one to serve as a Cabinet Secretary.
“This is not the foundation on which she has been nominated for this position. If it turns out not to be a genuine degree, it is neither here nor there. We leave it to the agencies that handle matters of this nature.
“The very best we can do is ask the quality assurance agency in education to tell us what it is. There is no requirement to have a degree to be nominated to be a Cabinet Minister,” he explained.
He further noted that in case the Degree was not genuine, it was beyond the panel to verify and invited academic quality assurance agencies to step in.
Later, a debate ensued over how she enrolled for a degree after scoring a D-(minus) in her Kenya Certificate of Secondary Education (KCSE).
In her defence, Jumwa recounted her struggles to attend school and escape early marriage. She noted that she dropped out of high school and sat for the final examinations as a private candidate.
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