Through his lawyers Cecil Miller and Danstan Omari, Masengeli is seeking conservatory orders to safeguard his participation in the ceremony, which is scheduled for September 26, 2026, just over a week away.
“I will be applying for conservatory orders pending the hearing of the matter, to ensure that the petitioner’s rights are protected so that he can participate in the graduation,” Justice Patricia Nyaundi was told.
Miller urged the court to treat the matter with urgency, noting that USIU-Africa had already filed its responses. He asked the court to either issue conservatory orers pending the hearing or set timelines that would protect Masengeli’s rights ahead of the graduation date.
“The matter seeks to stop the graduation process, which is in ten days’ time,” Miller told the court.
USIU-Africa, represented by lawyer Chege Njoroge, opposed the application. Njoroge argued that halting the ceremony would affect all students set to graduate, not just the petitioner, and maintained that Masengeli had not met the academic requirements to be included on the university’s graduation list.
“I must mention to the court that the graduation is scheduled in two weeks’ time, and the petitioner has not attained the academic requirements to be placed on the graduation list,” the court heard.
The university told the court it had filed its responses within two days of being served and urged the court not to interfere with the graduation process.
Oral submissions on the application for interim orders, along with timelines for hearing the substantive matter, were expected to proceed at 11am.
