Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture and Technology has disputed a degree linked to Kimilili MP Didmus Barasa. The university says he was never its student. It also says no such degree was awarded in May 2008.
JKUAT rejects the certificate
The position was set out in a letter dated September 14. It was signed by Dr Aggrey Wanyama. He is JKUAT’s Registrar of Academic Affairs.
The letter was sent to the Consumers Federation of Kenya. It followed a request to verify Barasa’s qualifications. Wanyama said Barasa’s name was absent from university records.
The university also said no graduation was held in May 2008. That is the date shown on the disputed certificate.
JKUAT therefore described the Bachelor of Electrical and Electronic Engineering certificate as “NOT GENUINE”.
Earlier records differ
The development has exposed differences in public records. An older National Assembly profile listed Barasa as having studied Electrical and Electronic Engineering at JKUAT from 2001 to 2005.
A newer parliamentary profile gives a different account. It lists a diploma from the Kenya Power and Lighting Training School. It also lists a Bachelor of Arts in Public Administration from Mount Kenya University.
The profile records further postgraduate studies at the same institution.
EACC and EBK had been notified
JKUAT said the issue was not new. The university said the matter had previously been raised with the Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission.
It also said the Engineers Board of Kenya had received the same information. The university said its findings had been communicated to both bodies for consideration.
Any action by those institutions remains a separate matter. JKUAT’s letter itself does not establish what action was taken.
Barasa’s academic record questioned
The latest dispute follows wider scrutiny of Barasa’s academic history. He graduated with a PhD in Public Administration from Murang’a University of Technology in August 2026.
Questions had also been raised over his earlier qualifications. In June, Barasa defended his academic record publicly.
He said he held two undergraduate degrees and two master’s degrees. He also said he had completed his doctoral studies. The current JKUAT statement has added a new layer to that debate.
Barasa’s response to the university’s latest letter has not been included in the reports reviewed for this story. The matter may now face further scrutiny from the institutions named by JKUAT.
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