Senator Cleophas Malala USIU degree fiasco and heated interview [Video]

Kakamega Senator Cleophas Malala’s decision to make his academic records public continues to make headlines with a video of the lawmaker attempting to explain the conflicting dates going viral.

Malala was put to task in a recent interview to explain why his certificate read 2019 yet he claims to have graduated sometime between 2010 and 2011.

The Senator struggled to recall the exact year and date of his graduation and roundly dismissed journalists who probed him on the contradicting dates, saying: “... they have not graduated so these things may be difficult to follow.”

The Senator has been fighting allegations of forging his academic certificates in order to meet the minimum threshold set by the law to contest in the upcoming Kakamega gubernatorial election.

In an interview with a local TV station, Malala addressed the rumours of forging his certificates, explaining that he scored a mean grade of B in KCSE and was called to Moi University in Eldoret via the Joints Admissions Board to study law.

“In 2004 I was at Moi University. The Joint Admission Board (JAB) admitted me as a law student. My father did not like my company in the university hence he transferred me to USIU where my siblings were studying," Malala stated.

The dates shared by the Senator as well as those indicated on his degree certificate attracted the attention of critics.

While the degree certificate reads 2019, the senator maintains that he graduated in 2010 or 2011 but could not remember the exact date.

Sen Malala certificate Sen Malala certificate Pulse Live Kenya

Cornered by journalists to explain the dates, Malala told them off stating: "The degree reads 2019 since it's the date I collected it, but my graduation had been around 2010 or 2011. I do not remember the date but I know it was a clan affair and that is where I announced my intention to vie for the MCA seat. The problem with you journalists is that you have not graduated so these things may be difficult to follow."