High Court Scraps Degree Requirement for Governors

The High Court on Friday, September 30 declared the requirement for Gubernatorial candidates to have a degree as unconstitutional. The ruling will take effect in the next general elections, in 2027.

Section 22(ii) of the Elections Act, now unconstitutional, requires that a person seeking to vie for the position of president, deputy president, county governor or deputy governor must have a degree recognised in Kenya.

Judge Anthony Mrima stated that qualifications to run for Governor should be similar to those required to run for Member of the County Assembly (MCAs).

“A declaration is hereby issued that pursuant to article 180 sub article 2 as read with section 183 of the constitution, the qualification for the election of a County Governor is similar to the eligibility for election as an MCA,” he ruled.

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Mrima was issuing the ruling in a petition filed by one Victor Buoga. Buoga had challenged the constitutionality of the law, arguing that it goes against article 180(2) of the constitution.

Numerous Gubernatorial candidates have found themselves in legal trouble in recent years over the lack of degrees or the questionable nature of their papers. Nairobi Governor Johnson Sakaja, for instance, was on the verge of being disqualified from running for the seat in the 2022 polls after the Commission for University Education (CUE) questioned the authenticity of her degree.

Turkana Governor  Jeremiah Ekamais Lomorukai also found himself facing arrest this week after the EACC claimed that both his degree and diploma certificates were fake.

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