FAKE: London South Bank University did not publish notice on Wavinya Ndeti’s credentials
The university has told PesaCheck that the public notice did not originate from the institution.
A public notice claiming that Machakos gubernatorial aspirant, Wavinya Ndeti, did not graduate from London South Bank University is FAKE.
The public notice adds that Ndeti neither started nor completed her studies at the institution.
“The university, therefore, issues this warning to Wavinya Ndeti Oduwole not to present fake academic papers purporting to have been acquired at this distinguished institution.”
“We wish to remind Wavinya Ndeti Oduwole that forgery is punishable in United Kingdom and attracts a jail term of not less than 15 years,” the notice cautions.
While it is true that London South Bank University received university status in 1992, it is not true that forgery is punishable by a jail term of not less than 15 years. According to the Crown Prosecution Service, forgery in the UK attracts a maximum imprisonment term of 10 years, a fine, or both.
To verify the authenticity of the public notice, we contacted the university’s media manager, Joe Derrett, who termed the public notice as fake.
“The ‘public notice’ did not come from London South Bank University, we don’t issue anything like that kind of communication,” Derrett wrote in an email.
However, he declined to comment on whether Ndeti graduated from the institution.
The Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) stipulates that gubernatorial candidates and their running mates should have at least a degree from a university that is recognised in Kenya.
Ndeti is running for the Machakos gubernatorial seat on a Wiper Party ticket. It will be the third attempt for the former Kathiani legislator. She will be competing against the United Democratic Alliance Party flag bearer Johnson Muthama, Maendeleo Chap Chap Party’s Francis Maliti and Chama Cha Uzalendo Party candidate Nzioka Waita.
Mzalendo, a parliamentary information website that has published the biographies of several Kenyan politicians, records that Ndeti holds an Advanced Diploma and Diploma in Computer Science from South Bank University, among other qualifications.
However, two Machakos voters have filed complaints at the IEBC against Ndeti, claiming that her academic qualifications are questionable. But the former Kathiani MP maintains that her academic certificates are legitimate and that the matter is expected to be determined on 18 June 2022.
The IEBC Disputes Resolutions Committee has since dismissed the petitions challenging the validity of Ndeti’s degree and cleared her to run for Machakos Governor.
PesaCheck has looked into a public notice claiming that Machakos gubernatorial aspirant Wavinya Ndeti did not graduate from London South Bank University and finds it to be FAKE.
This post is part of an ongoing series of PesaCheck fact-checks examining content marked as potential misinformation on Facebook and other social media platforms.
By partnering with Facebook and similar social media platforms, third-party fact-checking organisations like PesaCheck are helping to sort fact from fiction. We do this by giving the public deeper insight and context to posts they see in their social media feeds.
Have you spotted what you think is fake or false information on Facebook? Here’s how you can report. And, here’s more information on PesaCheck’s methodology for fact-checking questionable content.
This fact-check was written by PesaCheck fact-checker Naomi Wanjiku and edited by PesaCheck senior copy editor Cédrick Irakoze and acting chief copy editor Francis Mwaniki.
The article was approved for publication by PesaCheck managing editor Doreen Wainainah.
PesaCheck is East Africa’s first public finance fact-checking initiative. It was co-founded by Catherine Gicheru and Justin Arenstein, and is being incubated by the continent’s largest civic technology and data journalism accelerator: Code for Africa. It seeks to help the public separate fact from fiction in public pronouncements about the numbers that shape our world, with a special emphasis on pronouncements about public finances that shape government’s delivery of Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) public services, such as healthcare, rural development and access to water / sanitation. PesaCheck also tests the accuracy of media reportage. To find out more about the project, visit pesacheck.org.
PesaCheck is an initiative of Code for Africa, through its innovateAFRICA fund, with support from Deutsche Welle Akademie, in partnership with a coalition of local African media and other civic watchdog organisations.
