Deputy Inspector General of Police Gilbert Masengeli has moved to the High Court seeking orders compelling the United States International University-Africa (USIU-Africa) to process his doctoral dissertation and include him in the institution’s September graduation list.
Masengeli, who is pursuing a PhD in International Relations, says the university has delayed releasing the results of his dissertation examination despite his assertion that he has completed the requirements communicated to him. He wants the court to declare that he has satisfactorily completed the requirements for conferment of the doctorate and should be included among the graduands for the September 26 ceremony.
The case was filed before High Court Judge David Mburu. Masengeli is also asking the court to find that USIU’s handling of his academic process has frustrated his legitimate expectation of a fair, transparent and timely process. The matter is due for mention before Justice Patricia Nyaundi.
According to his court papers, Masengeli joined USIU’s School of Humanities and Social Sciences in September 2021 for a five-year doctoral programme. He says his cohort was expected to complete the programme in September 2026.
He says he completed his coursework and examinations, with his results approved by the university’s Board of Examiners in August 2023, after which he moved to the dissertation stage.
Masengeli says he settled on his dissertation topic during a seminar in January 2024 and was subsequently assigned an internal supervisor. He submitted his final dissertation proposal on May 30, 2025, but claims it was not approved to proceed to defence until December 15, 2025, despite his follow-ups.
After receiving the approval, he says he made the required corrections and met other conditions before his proposal was forwarded to the relevant Institutional Review Board. He subsequently obtained the necessary approval and, according to his petition, completed his fieldwork within about two weeks.
On June 11, 2026, Masengeli says he submitted the first draft of his dissertation to his internal supervisor for review. He received feedback later that month and says he addressed the issues raised before submitting a second draft on July 14. His supervisor acknowledged receipt two days later and indicated that he would revert after reviewing the document.
The dispute then shifted to the examination and release of the dissertation results.
Masengeli says that by August 31 he had established that both the internal and external examiners had submitted their results, but that the results had not been communicated to him or moved to the next stage of the process.
With the graduation date approaching, he sought clarification from the university. In a response dated September 3, USIU told him there were “mandatory requirements” and “pending next steps” in his academic process and that the matter had been referred to the Associate Dean of the School of Graduate Studies for “immediate attention”.
Masengeli argues that the response did not address his concerns because he maintains that he had complied with the requirements communicated to him.
“The respondent’s conduct of failure to release the results and facilitate the petitioner’s public defence of the dissertation is particularly prejudicial,” the petition states.
He says the timing is critical because the university’s final graduation list was expected to be prepared by September 11, ahead of the September 26 ceremony.
Masengeli argues that failure to resolve the issue before the graduation date could leave him out of the September 2026 graduation cycle despite having completed the stages of the programme that he says were required of him.
He has invoked Article 47 of the Constitution, which guarantees every person the right to administrative action that is expeditious, efficient, lawful, reasonable and procedurally fair. He has also cited Article 43(1)(f), which provides for the right to education, arguing that the alleged delay has affected his academic progression.
Masengeli has, however, stressed that he is not asking the court to determine the academic merits of his dissertation or award him a PhD in place of the university. Instead, he wants the court to compel USIU to administer the remaining stages of his academic process in accordance with the law and within a reasonable time.
Among the orders he is seeking are declarations on whether he has completed the requirements for the PhD, his inclusion in the September 26 graduation list and a finding on whether the university violated his constitutional rights. He is also seeking costs of the petition and any other orders the court may consider appropriate.
Masengeli’s profile on the National Police Service Commission’s official website lists him as pursuing a PhD in International Relations at USIU. The profile also lists his previous qualifications as a Master of Science in Security and Forensics Management, a Bachelor of Science in Criminology and Security Management, with a specialisation in Digital Forensic Technology, and a diploma in Criminology.
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