Deputy Inspector General of Police Gilbert Masengeli has moved to the High Court seeking intervention in a dispute with United States International University-Africa (USIU-Africa) over the processing of his doctoral degree.
Masengeli wants the court to compel the university to release the results of his dissertation and complete the remaining academic processes so that his name can be included in the final list of candidates for the upcoming graduation ceremony later this month.
“Unless the respondent is compelled to release the petitioners dissertation results and progress the petitioners academic process the petitioner faces real and imminent risk of being excluded from considering for the forthcoming graduation through no failure or ommision on his part,” argues Masengeli in court papers.
The senior police officer is pursuing a PhD in International Relations at USIU-Africa, where he enrolled in September 2021.
In his petition, Masengeli says he has completed various stages of the doctoral programme but has been left uncertain about the status of his dissertation examination and whether there are any outstanding requirements before he can complete his studies.
He says he presented his dissertation proposal for defence in December last year and subsequently made amendments required by the university. He then obtained approval from the Institutional Review Board and proceeded with his research.
“The respondents conduct has consequently subjected the petitioner to continuity uncertainty regarding the status of his academic progression at a stage when the dissertation has already proceeded through examination and the remaining process ought at the very least to be capable of being clearly identified and community,” reads the court papers.
Through his lawyer, Cecil Miller, Masengeli says he submitted his first dissertation draft to the university on June 11, 2026. He later made further amendments following comments from his supervisors.
By August 31, Masengeli says reports from both the internal and external examiners had been submitted to the university.
However, the Deputy Inspector General claims that despite the examination reports being received, he was not informed of the outcome or given a clear explanation of the remaining steps required to conclude his doctoral programme.
His concerns prompted him to write to USIU-Africa on August 25 seeking clarification on the status of his academic progress.
The university responded on September 3, informing him that there were mandatory requirements and pending steps that still needed to be addressed. It also indicated that his matter had been forwarded to the Associate Dean of the School of Graduate Studies.
Masengeli, however, maintains that the response did not specify the outstanding requirements or disclose the outcome of his dissertation examination.
He argues that the lack of clarity has placed his academic progression in limbo, particularly with the university’s graduation ceremony approaching.
The Deputy Inspector General has therefore asked the court to safeguard his position in the September graduation cycle as the dispute is considered.
Masengeli has clarified that he is not asking the court to evaluate the quality of his research or award him a doctoral degree.
Instead, his case centres on what he describes as the manner in which USIU-Africa has handled the administrative and examination stages of his doctoral programme.
The application was placed before Justice David Mburu on September 9, when the court certified the matter as urgent and allowed it to be heard during the court recess.
Justice Mburu directed that the application, petition and accompanying documents be served on USIU-Africa by close of business on the same day, with proof of service subsequently filed.
The university was given three days from the date of service to respond to the application.
