A former student of the Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture and Technology (JKUAT) has lost a long-running battle to force the institution to award him a degree, after the High Court found that he had been deregistered years ago and still had academic gaps to clear.

The Daily Nation reported on Monday that the court dismissed the petition filed by Abraham Kyulu Mutua, who had asked it to compel JKUAT to release his academic records, include him on its graduation list and issue his degree certificate.

What the court found

According to the Nation, the university told the court that Mutua was formally deregistered in May 2018 after he failed to register for the 2017/2018 academic year. The court also found that he had unresolved academic deficiencies, including failed units and pending examinations dating back to his first, second and third years of study.

The petition, Petition E014 of 2025, was filed in June 2025 and heard at the High Court in Siaya before Justice David Kemei, court records show.

A reversal of fortunes

The outcome is a sharp turn in the case. In March this year, Education News reported that the same court had ordered JKUAT to update Mutua's academic records, put him on the next graduation list, issue his degree certificate immediately and pay him Sh100,000 in general damages plus costs.

At that stage the university had not responded to the petition or to a demand letter from his lawyer, and did not appear in court. Mutua had told the court that he completed his Bachelor of Science in Economics coursework in December 2019 and relied on a December 2019 departmental letter indicating he was due to graduate in June 2020, blaming the delay on missing marks.

Court records on Kenya Law list a ruling dated 4 June 2026 in which the judge allowed an application filed by the university in April. The full details of that ruling were not available, but in the final decision reported on Monday, the court accepted the university's account of the student's record.

Lessons for students

Missing marks and stalled graduations are a common grievance on Kenyan campuses, and many students turn to the courts after months of back-and-forth with departments. The case is a reminder that registration status each academic year, and clearing failed or pending units, can decide whether a student is eligible to graduate at all.

  • Student: Abraham Kyulu Mutua, former economics student
  • Court: High Court at Siaya, Justice David Kemei
  • Finding: deregistered in May 2018; failed units and pending exams from years one to three

Photos: Stephen Wanjau/Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 3.0), JKUAT lecture theatre; Onsomu/Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 4.0), JKUAT main gate. Thumbnail design: HAMASTA MEDIA.