How Sakaja bought dead student’s degree

• Jun 20, 2022

How Sakaja bought dead student’s degree

By John Kamua, Editor, thingira.org (Email:thingiragema@gmail.com)

It can now be revealed that Sakaja's business degree, whose recognition was revoked by the Commission for University Education (CUE), belonged to a dead student.

The name of the late student is Stella Namazzi Mhunzi who perished in a road accident.

Uganda’s Team University has become the fulcrum of a fake degree saga in Kenya after Nairobi UDA gubernatorial candidate Johnson Sakaja presented a degree from the institution for clearance in the August polls.

It is now emerging that Team University is a degree mill whose founders are linked to money laundering networks in Uganda, Kenya, the Democratic Republic of Congo, and Nigeria. 

The University was founded by Rugaba Sam Kindyomunda, Balikuddembe Joseph Kigongo, and Tushabomwe David as TEAM BUSINESS COLLEGE in 2001 to offer training courses to accounting students.

It was what is generally referred to as a commercial college.

For example, Tushabombwe, one of the institution’s founders, is a Ugandan politician who vied for the Rubabo County MP in Uganda but lost.

An accountant by profession, Tushabombwe has a gluttonous appetite for riches and uses his political connections in Uganda to reach politicians across the Eastern Africa region.

His peers regard him as a ruthless politician whose love for money remains unmatched.

In 2017, a year after Team University received accreditation to offer degree courses (note that Sakaja graduated from the institution in 2016, a year BEFORE accreditation), Tushabombwe caused a storm in Uganda after he hired goons to kill his then 80-year-old mother.

The former MP aspirant wanted to sell his mother’s land to finance University operations that had taken a dip at that time.

After failing in this attempt that was recorded at Rukigiri Police Station, Uganda, as case number SD Ref 31/24/04/2017, the three institution founders settled for other means to fund the university operations.

They told lecturers to ensure that the acquisition of a degree was streamlined, euphemism for selling papers to anyone with money.

The University became a magnet for rich Kenyans who want to acquire degrees without attending any classes.

In his visit to Uganda in 2015, William Ruto campaigned for Yoweri Museveni’s re-election. He among other people met Tushabombwe in Uganda where they discussed business opportunities.

Tushabombwe is said to have explained his business ventures to Ruto. The two talked about the Team Business College.

Tushabombwe wanted Ruto to use his friendship with Museveni to fast-track accreditation of the Institution.

In fact, this meeting almost brought the University to its knees.

Tushabombwe had promised Ruto a stake in the shareholding of the University without consulting the other founders.

While it remains unclear whether Ruto finally got a share of the investment, he linked Sakaja to the university to prepare him as the Nairobi Governor.

Last year, Sakaja contacted the Institution that awarded him transcripts of a student who finished learning but died before graduation.

Team University is currently under investigation for selling degrees to thousands of students.

Team University prefers students from outside Uganda to make it easy for the institution to cover its trail. Moreover, such students pay in foreign currency.

Sakaja paid in Kenya Shillings, in cash, from the Ksh 950 million he made from the KEMSA scandal.