Deputy Inspector General of Police Gilbert Masengeli has moved to court seeking conservatory orders over the upcoming United States International University-Africa (USIU-Africa) graduation asking court to stop it until his case is heard.
Through his lawyers Cecil Miller and Danstan Omari, Masengeli told the court that the graduation is only about 10 days away and that USIU-Africa holds one graduation ceremony each year. “I will be applying for conservatory orders pending the hearing of the matter to ensure that the petitioner’s rights are protected so that he can participate in the graduation,” the court was told.
Appearing before Judge Patricia Nyaundi, lawyer Cecil Miller urged the court to treat the case as urgent, noting that the respondents had already filed their responses.
Miller asked the court to grant interim conservatory orders pending the hearing and determination of the petition or, alternatively, set expedited timelines that would allow the dispute to be determined before the graduation ceremony. “The matter seeks to stop the graduation process, which is in ten days’ time,” Miller told the court.
USIU-Africa, however, opposed the application through lawyer Chege Njoroge. Njoroge argued that orders stopping the graduation ceremony would affect all students scheduled to graduate and not only Masengeli.
The university further maintained that Masengeli had not satisfied the academic requirements necessary for his name to be included on the graduation list. “I must mention to the court that, with the graduation scheduled in two weeks’ time, the petitioner has not attained the academic requirements for being placed on the graduation list,” the court heard.
USIU-Africa told the court that it had filed its responses within two days and urged the judge not to interfere with the scheduled graduation process.
The court is expected to hear oral submissions at 11 a.m., when the parties will argue the application for interim orders and proposed timelines for the hearing of the case.
