Deputy Inspector General of Police Gilbert Masengeli has failed in his bid to stop the upcoming United States International University-Africa graduation ceremony or secure a place on the list of graduands pending determination of his case against the institution.
Lady Justice Patricia Nyaundi dismissed Masengeli’s application, finding that he had not demonstrated that the university had promised or represented that he would graduate with the September 26, 2026 cohort.
The judge said the communication between Masengeli and his supervisor did not establish a clear commitment by USIU-Africa that he would be included in the graduation.
Justice Nyaundi further observed that suspending the entire graduation ceremony could affect other students who had met all the requirements. The court also declined Masengeli’s alternative request to have his name added to the graduation list at the interim stage.
USIU-Africa had opposed the application, arguing that Masengeli had not completed all the requirements for the award of a PhD, including defending his dissertation before the university Senate could consider his graduation.
The dismissal of the application, however, does not bring the dispute to an end.
Masengeli’s main petition challenging the handling of his PhD studies remains pending before the High Court.
The university has until September 24 to file additional documents it intends to rely on. His lawyer, Cecil Miller, has five days after service to file submissions, while USIU-Africa will have seven days to respond.
Masengeli has also been allowed to file a supplementary submission within three days of service.
The matter will return to court on October 21 to confirm compliance with the directions and for further directions on the hearing of the main petition
Speaking after the ruling, Masengeli’s lawyers Danstan Omari and Stanley Kinyanjui maintained that the case raises wider questions about accountability in the administration of higher education.
Kinyanjui said Masengeli had revised and resubmitted his dissertation on July 23 after receiving comments from the external supervisor, but the university allegedly did not communicate whether the corrections were satisfactory or whether further amendments were required.
The legal team said this prompted Masengeli to seek the court’s intervention after the university communicated about the extension of the graduation application deadline.
