NAIROBI, Kenya — Claims by Machakos Governor Wavinya Ndeti about her early academic work in artificial intelligence (AI) have sparked widespread debate on social media, with Kenyans demanding proof of the alleged thesis.
The discussion was triggered by a viral clip in which the governor positioned herself as the most academically qualified among her political rivals, citing research she says dates back to 1992.
“I was just laughing with somebody when I told them I did my thesis in artificial intelligence in 1992,” she said.
Following the remarks, some Kenyans on X sought to verify the claim, with one user taking steps to contact the university where the Machakos county boss reportedly studied in a bid to obtain the document or confirm its existence.
In his efforts to seek clarity, the X user identified as Chienjo Victor wrote to the university, stating that he was conducting research into early contributions to artificial intelligence by Kenyan scholars and would greatly appreciate any assistance in locating the document or confirming its existence.
He later shared an update indicating that his search had not yielded results.
“The controversial 1992 thesis on Artificial Intelligence is not publicly available in any academic repository or library,” he tweeted.
In response to the reports of the missing thesis, more Kenyans are now stepping forward, asking for the email contact to verify Wavinya’s alleged academic achievement.
“Give me that email too. I want to get it too. Wacha pressure ipande,” DJ Krowbar tweeted.
Wavinya’s remarks come amid a political climate where leaders are leveraging academic credentials as campaign capital, using them to woo voters and undermine the credibility of their opponents.
