United States International University- Africa (USIU-A) says Deputy Inspector-General of Police Gilbert Masengeli has not met the academic requirements for the award of a PhD and therefore cannot be included in its September 26 graduation list.

📋 Breaking It Down

The university told the High Court that Mr Masengeli has yet to defend his dissertation before a panel of internal and external examiners, a mandatory requirement before a doctoral degree can be awarded.

Through lawyer Chege Njoroge, the institution opposed Mr Masengeli’s application seeking to stop the graduation ceremony, arguing that academic procedures set out under the university’s charter, regulations and guidelines issued by the Commission for University Education cannot be waived for any student.

“What Masengeli is inviting the court to do is disregard the procedures of running the programmes,” Mr Njoroge submitted.

📌 What You Need to Know

USIU-A said the earliest date available for Mr Masengeli’s dissertation defence is October 6, 2026. Even if he successfully defends the thesis, the university said, he would still be required to satisfy other graduation requirements before being cleared for graduation.

The institution said that after a successful defence, he would need to demonstrate that he had published two journal articles arising from his research and obtain the necessary confirmations before the university Senate could approve his graduation.

According to the university, Mr Masengeli was informed of the outstanding requirements on September 4 by his supervisor, Dr Francis Kayudi.

USIU-A maintained that there was no evidence of deliberate delay on its part and noted that Mr Masengeli had not lodged a formal academic complaint through the university's internal grievance mechanisms before moving to court.

The university said Mr Masengeli submitted his first dissertation draft on June 11, 2026, followed by revised versions on July 14 and August 31. The dissertation, it said, was still undergoing examination by internal and external examiners before it could proceed to the defence stage.

The institution further argued that the case was premature because Mr Masengeli had failed to exhaust the university's internal dispute resolution procedures.

📰 Source: Nation Africa