Mithika Linturi sues University of Nairobi for deregistering him

Meru Senator Mithika Linturi has filed a suit at the High Court in Nairobi challenging the decision by the University of Nairobi to deregister him as a law student.

He was deregistered following allegations that he used fake academic papers to get admitted for the degree course.

WITCH-HUNT

Mr Linturi has accused the university of participating in political witch-hunt spearheaded by his opponents, whom he named as former Meru Governor Peter Munya and a Mr Milton Mugambi Imanyara.

The legislator has listed the Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission as an interested party.

“It was illegal, unreasonable and an utter show of bad faith for the university to deregister Mr Linturi without conducting its own independent investigations or informing him at the very least so as to afford him the right to be heard,” said his lawyer Tom Ojienda.

DEGREE

Mr Linturi was set to graduate on December 22 with a Bachelor’s degree in Law, having been admitted at the institution on January 3, 2014, and then join the Masters degree class. He had already paid fees for the same.

He alleged that he obtained news about his deregistration from the one o’clock news on NTV on November 30.

The legislator claimed that Mr Munya and Mr Imanyara had initially vowed to block him from the August 8 election.

EXAM RESULTS

He also alleged that a law firm – MM Gitonga Advocates –wrote a letter on May 17 to the university demanding to be furnished with his admission records.

The law firm accused him of having falsified his KCSE exam results and therefore not being qualified to join the institution for a law degree.

Mr Linturi further alleged that EACC summoned him to appear before it but even before he did so, it communicated to him that it had already conclusively investigated allegations levelled against him regarding falsified self-declaration forms submitted to the electoral agency for the 2013 polls.

He claimed that EACC gave him another date on June 15 but he obtained a court order which suspended the summons to appear before it.

‘POLITICAL’

Mr Linturi also claimed that a Ms Barbara Nkirote Murithi filed a suit before the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission’s tribunal seeking to expunge his name from the ballot, but the matter was dismissed.

He has accused the EACC of falsely using his political enemies with fresh allegations against him that he owns a fake degree from the University of Marathwada.

As a result, he claimed, the University of Nairobi has now deregistered him and removed him from the graduation list.

“I took the pains of explaining the political nature surrounding my alleged investigation and implored UoN not to fall victim of the illegal conspiracy that had been set by the EACC,” he said.

Mr Linturi wants the court to order the university to readmit him and suspend the decision to deregister him. He also wants the university barred from taking any administrative action against him.