He was set to graduate with a Bachelor of Laws degree and join the prestigious club of “learned friends” as lawyers commonly refer to themselves.
The legislator planned to further his training in legal issues upon graduation and had even paid tuition fees to join the Master of Laws class.
It remains all but a dream for the senator after the University of Nairobi Senate deregistered him from its roll of students for allegedly presenting a forged degree certificate from the University of Marathwada in India which enabled him to secure his admission to the law school on January 3, 2014.
Friday, December 22, would have been a big day for Meru Senator Franklin Mithika Linturi. He was set to graduate with a Bachelor of Laws degree and join the prestigious club of “learned friends” as lawyers commonly refer to themselves.
The legislator planned to further his training in legal issues upon graduation and had even paid tuition fees to join the Master of Laws class.
This will not happen, at least for now. It remains all but a dream for the senator after the University of Nairobi Senate deregistered him from its roll of students for allegedly presenting a forged degree certificate from the University of Marathwada in India which enabled him to secure his admission to the law school on January 3, 2014.
The shocking news went viral, but Linturi has promised to fight to stay in the classroom.
“I do not have time to pre-empt on how it will end. I am already in court challenging their falsehoods. But this is not a matter of life and death for me. I am having fun listening to their determined lies and eventually the devil that is either me, or them, will be bared,” he told the Business Daily. Linturi’s woes, however, don’t seem to end there.
The Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission (EACC) has followed up the matter, insisting that he does not even hold a Bachelor of Commerce degree since he never registered as a student for the course. The EACC disputes the senator’s claim that he scored a B- from Igembe Boys Secondary School in 1989 and maintains he obtained a C- which could not have allowed him admission to the university.
Away from his woes, Linturi is known for his deep sense of humour and animated debates. To some he is a political clown while to others he is a witty and jovial politician.
“I think Linturi is a man on a level of his own. Linturi can make you laugh, can make you cry and can laugh and cry with you at the same time. I think he is a mystery and a genius in disguising his real intentions,” Gatundu South MP Moses Kuria says of the politician.
The senator’s strengths in public debates have won him a special place among Jubilee Party’s opinion shapers. He remains a common figure on national TV shows, often defending the ruling coalition’s position.
In one of his recent assignments on NTV, Linturi found himself pitted against straight talking lawyer Miguna Miguna who dismissed him as cowardly and “a small man with nothing to teach me,” Miguna was alluding to a circus in 2014 where Linturi attempted to table a motion to impeach the then Devolution and Planning secretaryAnne Waiguru over claims of unaccounted for billions at the National Youth Service (NYS).
Linturi was to later abandon the plan and even failed to show up to table the motion in Parliament. He later claimed he had been intimidated.
A Catholic faithful, Linturi however braved Miguna’s onslaught during the show.
“Miguna, I am not a small man. I have been in politics for the past 18 years and I have been winning elections. I might not have much to teach you, but you should be humble enough to submit to me that I can teach you on how to win an election. You would be Nairobi governor today if you had sought counsel from me,” Linturi responded.
The senator does not regret his decision to drop the impeachment motion in 2014, which thrust him into the limelight and drew sharp reactions from the public. Senior Counsel Ahamednasir Abdullahi, for example, dismissed Linturi’s behaviour as akin to hostage taking.
“The impeachment saga was full of drama. It remains one of the longest hostage crises in our history. Linturi took the minister (Waiguru), Parliament and the country hostage for three weeks.
‘‘He came out as a skilful hostage taker, but was ultimately betrayed by the absence of a cause or ideology” the lawyer wrote in a newspaper column on June 14, 2014.
He added: “Wherever he is today, Linturi must be embarrassed and ashamed. He knows he brought national humiliation on himself. Some form of punishment will make him atone for his misdemeanour.”
Today, however, Linturi defends his move to drop the impeachment motion despite criticism. “I have never been booed by those who vote for me. That tells me I speak and behave sensibly. That is the only real measure of my mind,” he maintains.
Linturi’s political career started in 1997. He won a parliamentary seat in 2007 and recaptured it in 2013 and is now a senator.
The legislator hates discussing his marital life. When he filed papers seeking clearance to vie in this year’s elections, he indicated to the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) that he was “maritally separated”.
The senator has had his fair share of controversy on issues touching on family units. On February 2, 2017, he was quoted as saying he saw no problem with men siring children out of wedlock as long as they can take care of them.
He said that the decision to bear a child rests solely on the mother; hence the responsibility of raising children lies with her.
In August 2012, a woman sued the lawmaker for abandoning her and their three-year-old son. She claimed that she was married to him in May, 2008 under Meru customary law and she gave birth to a son on March 7, 2010. She said Linturi was a good “sponsor” until August 2011 when he turned “cruel, abusive, irresponsible and negligent.”
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