Politicians with questionable academic papers can now heave a sigh of relief after the government stopped the Kenya National Qualifications Authority (KNQA) from verifying certification of local and foreign academic credentials.

The move follows the court cases that have rocked the authority on whether the mandate rests on them.

KNQA Director-General, Dr. Juma Mukhwana also said they will not undertake any vetting of academic certificates for political aspirants for the upcoming General Election.

KNQA together with Commission for University Education (CUE) had began the verification exercise ahead of the nominations for political parties.

The two were scheduled to submit their report to the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) which then would bar aspirants found with fake papers.

Now with KNQA out of the way, it leaves the exercise in the hands of CUE, which experts say does not have the resources, personnel and expertise to undertake such a huge workout within a short timeframe.

By Fred Odanga Azelwa