By Miraj Guo
September 17
Deputy Inspector General of Police Gilbert Masengeli has moved to the High Court in a dispute with the United States International University-Africa (USIU-Africa) over the processing of his PhD dissertation and his exclusion from the university’s September graduation list.
Masengeli, who is pursuing a Doctor of Philosophy in International Relations, says he completed his coursework and examinations before progressing to the dissertation stage.
According to court documents, Masengeli enrolled at USIU-Africa in September 2021 under a five-year doctoral programme. His coursework and examination results were approved by the university’s Board of Examiners in August 2023, after which he proceeded with his dissertation.
He says he submitted his first dissertation draft in June 2026 and a second draft on July 14, 2026, after incorporating feedback from his supervisors.
Masengeli claims that the university later received examination reports from his examiners but failed to communicate the results or clearly inform him of any outstanding requirements needed to proceed with the next stage of the doctoral process.
In his petition, Masengeli argued that the delay could prevent him from being considered for the September 26 graduation ceremony.
“The respondent has failed to communicate to the petitioner the outcome of his dissertation examination and/or clearly identify any outstanding requirement necessary for him to proceed to the next stage of his academic process,” court documents state.
Masengeli asked the court to intervene and compel the university to process his dissertation and include his name in the final graduation list.
His lawyers argued that continued delays could result in him being excluded from the graduation despite having completed the stages of the programme that had been communicated to him.
“Unless the respondent is compelled to release the petitioner’s dissertation results and progress the petitioner’s academic process, the petitioner faces real and imminent risk of being excluded from consideration for the forthcoming graduation through no failure or omission on his part,” his lawyer argued.
USIU-Africa, however, opposed the application, arguing that Masengeli had not fulfilled all the academic requirements necessary for the award of a PhD and could therefore not be included in the September graduation list.
The dispute was heard by the High Court ahead of the university’s scheduled graduation ceremony.
On September 16, 2026, the court declined Masengeli’s request to stop the graduation ceremony or direct the university to include him on the graduation list.
Justice Patricia Nyaundi said Masengeli had not demonstrated that the university had made a specific promise that he would graduate with the September 2026 cohort.
“There is no establishment of a specific promise to the petitioner that he was to graduate in the forthcoming graduation,” the judge said.
The court also noted that stopping the graduation would affect other students who were not parties to the case.
The ruling means USIU-Africa’s September 26 graduation can proceed, while the broader dispute over Masengeli’s doctoral studies remains a matter between him and the university.
