Deputy Inspector General of Police Gilbert Masengeli has moved to court seeking orders against the United States International University-Africa (USIU-A), accusing the institution of delaying the processing of his PhD dissertation and jeopardising his chances of graduating later this month.
In an urgent petition, Mr Masengeli says the university has failed to communicate the outcome of his dissertation examination or clarify any outstanding requirements needed for him to proceed to the final stage of his doctoral studies ahead of the September 26 graduation ceremony.
The High Court certified the matter as urgent and directed him to serve the University for an inter-partes hearing.
"That the matter is certified urgent and admitted for hearing during the court's recess," the court ordered.
Mr Masengeli challenges what he describes as the university's handling of his PhD dissertation examination and academic progression.
He argues that despite his dissertation having gone through the examination process, the university has not communicated the results or identified any specific requirements he must fulfil before proceeding to a public defence.
"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.
Mr Masengeli says he enrolled at USIU-A in September 2021 to pursue a Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) in International Relations at the School of Humanities and Social Sciences.
Deputy Police Inspector-General Gilbert Masengeli.
Photo credit: File | Nation Media Group
According to the petition, the programme was expected to run for five years, with the September 2021 cohort scheduled to complete their studies and graduate in September 2026.
He says he successfully completed all required coursework and examinations, after which his results were approved by the university's Board of Examiners in August 2023, allowing him to proceed to the dissertation stage.
Mr Masengeli subsequently selected a research topic and was assigned an internal supervisor. He says he submitted his final dissertation proposal on May 30, 2025 and, following approval for defence in December 2025, undertook the corrections and other requirements communicated by the university.
He later submitted the corrected proposal to the relevant institutional review board, obtained approval and completed his fieldwork.
The police boss says he subsequently submitted a revised dissertation draft to his internal supervisor and sought guidance on scheduling his public defence.
He said he continued making follow-ups on the progress of the dissertation and the next steps in the examination process.
"That notwithstanding receipt of the said examination reports, the respondent had not communicated the outcome thereof to me or informed me with specificity of any outstanding requirement for me to proceed to the next stage of my academic process," he states in the petition.
Mr Masengeli says he became increasingly concerned that the delay and lack of clarity surrounding the dissertation examination process would adversely affect his academic progression and prevent him from graduating with his cohort.
He says that after writing to the university on August 25, he was informed that the dissertation was still under examination and that the outcome would determine whether he qualified to proceed to the public defence stage.
"That I have not received any further communication, including the release of the results of the dissertation," he says.
Mr Masengeli argues that if the September 26 graduation ceremony proceeds before the dispute is resolved, he stands to suffer prejudice as he may be excluded from the graduating class despite having completed all the requirements within his control.
He is seeking a declaration that he has satisfactorily completed the requirements for the award of a PhD in International Relations and should be included in the university's final graduation list.
