A team of detectives from the DCI Headquarters’ Serious Crime Unit (SCU), working with officers from the Commission for University Education (CUE), shut down a graduation ceremony organized by an unaccredited institution in Changamwe, Mombasa County.
The DCI detectives moved in on Victory International Church after receiving information that an illegal graduation was underway. By the time the team arrived, the graduation ceremony had already begun, complete with academic gowns, mortarboards and graduands, before it was brought to a sudden halt.
According to the investigators, the organizers of the event, Menorah Training Institute and Dominion Mission Theological University Global (based in Ghana), failed to produce the mandatory accreditation documents from CUE, leaving their academic claims hanging by a thread.
Preliminary investigations established that Menorah Training Institute is duly registered with Technical and Vocational Education and Training Authority (TVET) and is only licensed to offer courses only up to diploma level. However, the graduation programme told a very different story.
The detectives established that five individuals were listed as graduating with master’s degrees, while seventeen others were set to receive degree certificates, qualifications the institution is neither licensed nor authorized to award.
The findings suggested a deliberate attempt to mislead students and the public at large, by giving out academic credentials without legal backing.
Following the disruption of the ceremony, several officials were apprehended, including Daniel Dela, who was identified as the president, board members John Kibet, Philomena Milano, Ann Ogola Owiti, Jason Oduor and Michael Ochieng. They are currently in police custody, undergoing processing pending arraignment.
As investigations continue, authorities have emphasized their warning to Kenyans to be cautious when enrolling in college and universities, urging prospective students to verify accreditation status of institutions before enrolling, noting that when it comes to education, shortcuts often lead to dead ends.
