Deputy Inspector General of Police Gilbert Masengeli has suffered a setback in his legal battle with the United States International University-Africa (USIU-Africa) after the High Court declined to stop the institution’s upcoming graduation ceremony.
Justice Patricia Mande on Wednesday, September 16, 2026, dismissed Masengeli’s application seeking conservatory orders that would have halted the university’s September 26 graduation ceremony.
The judge also declined his alternative request to have the university include his name among the graduands.
The court, however, directed that the main petition be fast-tracked, meaning the wider dispute surrounding Masengeli’s PhD studies will continue to be considered.
Why Masengeli went to court
The dispute stems from Masengeli’s pursuit of a Doctor of Philosophy in International Relations at USIU-Africa.
According to court documents, Masengeli joined the university’s doctoral programme in September 2021 and completed his coursework and examinations, with his results approved by the university’s Board of Examiners in August 2023.
He subsequently progressed to the dissertation stage.
Masengeli says he selected his dissertation topic in January 2024 and later submitted his dissertation proposal.
He states that the proposal was eventually approved for defence in December 2025 after a series of corrections and approvals.
He subsequently undertook fieldwork before submitting his first dissertation draft to his internal supervisor in June 2026.
According to his court papers, he received feedback, made the required changes and submitted another version of the dissertation in July.
He later followed up on the progress of the examination process.
Masengeli claimed that by August 31, he had established that both his internal and external examiners had submitted their reports, but the results had not been communicated to him.
He became concerned that the delay would prevent him from graduating alongside his cohort at the September ceremony.
Masengeli’s argument
Through his lawyers Cecil Miller and Danstan Omari, Masengeli argued that the case was not asking the court to determine the academic quality of his dissertation.
Instead, his lawyers maintained that the dispute centred on the university’s administrative handling of his doctoral programme and the alleged delay in processing his examination results.
Masengeli argued that he had fulfilled the requirements communicated to him and that the university’s actions had created an expectation that he would graduate with his September 2026 cohort.
He also argued that the alleged delay amounted to a violation of his constitutional right to fair administrative action under Article 47 and his right to education under Article 43(1)(f).
USIU-Africa’s response
USIU-Africa strongly opposed Masengeli’s application, maintaining that he had not demonstrated that he had fulfilled all mandatory requirements for graduation.
The university also argued that stopping the graduation would affect hundreds of other students who were not parties to the dispute.
According to the university’s position presented in court, Masengeli still had outstanding academic processes before he could be cleared for graduation.
USIU-Africa maintained that it remained willing to facilitate the completion of his studies once he fulfilled the outstanding requirements, but that he could not simply be added to the September graduation list without satisfying the applicable procedures.
Earlier reporting indicated that the university considered a dissertation defence to be among the outstanding steps in the process.
It also said that even after a successful defence, additional graduation requirements would have to be satisfied before Senate approval.
What the judge said
In dismissing the application, Justice Mande focused partly on the impact that stopping the graduation would have on other students.
The judge said the requested order would adversely affect students who were not involved in the case and therefore declined to suspend the September 26 ceremony.
The court also rejected Masengeli’s alternative request for an order compelling USIU-Africa to include him in the graduation list.
Justice Mande further found that Masengeli had not established that the university or his supervisor had made a specific promise that he would graduate on September 26.
The judge noted that the emails presented in support of the application did not establish a specific promise that Masengeli would be part of the forthcoming graduation ceremony.
The court therefore dismissed the application dated September 8, with costs to abide by the outcome of the main petition.
Case will continue
Although the application to stop the graduation has been dismissed, the broader legal battle is not over.
The parties agreed to fast-track the main petition, with the court issuing timelines for the filing of additional affidavits and written submissions.
USIU-Africa was granted seven days to file and serve a supplementary replying affidavit, while Masengeli was given five days to file a further affidavit and written submissions.
The university was also given seven days to file its written submissions, with Masengeli allowed to file supplementary submissions thereafter.
The matter will return to court on October 21, 2026, for compliance and further directions.
USIU-Africa graduation to proceed
The ruling means USIU-Africa’s September 26 graduation remains on schedule.
The university has listed September 26 as the date for its 48th Commencement Ceremony, with preparations already under way for the graduating class.
For Masengeli, however, the question of when he will ultimately complete the doctoral process remains unresolved.
The latest court decision did not determine whether he has academically qualified for the PhD.
Instead, it dealt with his request for interim orders to stop the university’s graduation and compel his inclusion in the September ceremony.
The substantive petition will now determine the wider issues raised by both sides, including Masengeli’s claims concerning the administration of his doctoral programme and USIU-Africa’s position that outstanding academic requirements must first be completed.
For now, the September 26 graduation will proceed, while the dispute over Masengeli’s doctoral journey moves to the next stage of the court process.
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