FACT CHECK: Abala Wanga Forged Academic Credentials – Truth or Witch-hunt?

The article claims that Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission (EACC) detectives are “on the trail” of Kisumu City Acting Manager Mr. Michael Abala Wanga, over allegations of forging his primary and secondary school certificates. Implicitly the article purports that the city manager is on the run which is not true.

Kisumu City County Acting Manager, Michael Abala Wanga. Photo | Donated

The investigations, the article goes on to claim, follow a petition by the Public Property Protector (Triple P) an obscure agency not mandated by Kenyan law to carry out investigations, but which goes ahead to urge the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) to prosecute Wanga and recover all public funds unlawfully earned during his tenure.

Allegation number one: the architects of this obvious smear campaign are careful not to touch on Mr. Abala Wanga’s known academic records and instead focus on the shadowy and rather mundane factor of his Primary School certificate.

So did Michael Abala Wanga attend Primary School and get admission to a secondary school and qualify for admission for a degree program? Did Michael Abala Wanga attend recognised University and earn legitimate degree(s)?

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A reverse search reveals that one Michael Abala Wanga attended Ndori Primary School from where he would attain marks sufficient to enable him get admission at Kambare Secondary School.

He left Kambare with sufficient marks to earn him entry at the Kenya Medical Training Centre to pursue the field of Medical Laboratory Technology. Through the training he gained from KMTC, Michael Abala Wanga made career progression to become the pioneer CEO of Kenya Medical Laboratory Technician and Technologist Board (KMLTTB).

His desire for career advancement would see him enroll in the mature student LLB program at Kampala International University where he graduated with honours in 2008.

Beyond the rigorous academic curriculum, KIU provided an environment that nurtured his potential in leadership and governance. His tenure as the Guild President from 2005 to 2006 was a defining period that honed leadership, governance, and strategic decision-making skills. Through student representation and advocacy, he gained firsthand experience in policy formulation, negotiation, and stakeholder engagement, skills that would later shape his professional trajectory.

At Kampala International University, Abala Wanga was a classmate of the distinguished counsel Ndegwa Njiru, Dr. Clive Ogallo, Hon. Edwin Mongeri and Dr. Joan Owade among others.

In 2015 he graduated with a Masters Degree in Business Administration at the prestigious Strathmore University and his course director speaks in the embedded video above.

The city manager is a hands-on operative with a tight hold on the affairs of Kisumu City County, something that enrages his detractors. Photo | Directorate of Public Communication, Kisumu County

Michael Abala Wanga has been Kisumu City Manager now from 2020 but incidentally nobody was concerned about his academic background until he indicated interest in the Gem Constituency parliamentary seat in the coming election. Could this interest have a bearing to his current predicament?

Very much so. As Manager of Kisumu City County Michael Abala Wanga wields considerable power to influence the award of tenders. He also has oversight on multi-billion-shilling donor-funded projects and revenue collection across 14 wards in Kisumu County. This alone has brought him at loggerheads with known tenderpreneurs including one Adrian Ouma who incidentally, we established, has links with the incumbent Gem Constituency Member of Parliament, Elisha Odhiambo Akuba.

The war to, ostensibly, unmask Michael Abala Wanga’s lack of academic credentials is therefore not only informed by political smear-campaign but also a vendetta mounted by tenderpreneurs.

Under Manager Michael Abala Wanga, Kisumu City has morphed into an organized modern metropolis. Photo | Travel Africa

We encourage the Ethics and Anti-corruption Commission (EACC) to expand the base of their investigations to uncover the interest of the gentlemen mentioned herein with a view to possible prosecution.