Sifuna, Sudi trade barbs over 'school dropout' remarks

A remark by Nairobi Senator Edwin Sifuna about Kapseret MP Oscar Sudi’s education credentials sparked a heated exchange on Thursday.

Speaking on Citizen TV’s morning show, Sifuna questioned why President William Ruto, a PhD holder, maintained a close friendship with Sudi, whom he described as a “school dropout”. 

"He told us that he has a PhD and nobody should lecture him on anything. I have never seen a PhD holder who hangs out with a class two dropout. They say birds of a feather flock together, how are you a PhD holder hanging out with Sudi?" Sifuna posed.

A seemingly rattled Sudi fired back at Sifuna in a now viral video, asserting that intelligence is not solely determined by formal education.

"How can you compare yourself to me, Sifuna? My IQ and your IQ, is not even a quarter,” claimed Sudi. 

He further dismissed Sifuna’s reasoning, arguing that knowledge extends beyond academic qualifications.

"You don’t have even a fraction of my knowledge (sic). Ask your friends, tell them to tell you the truth; you don’t even reason like a high school dropout, let alone a second-grade one. It’s not about school; it’s about skills. It’s not about a PhD; it’s about calculations. As long as you can speak, think, see, and smell, I doubt you have both of those faculties," he said.

Their remarks come a week after President Ruto dismissed his critics, arguing that many of them lacked the academic credentials to challenge him.

"You don’t lecture me on what I should do when you have little education. I have a PhD, and I know what I’m doing," said Ruto.