Doctor Tifa claims Jokowi was never invited by UGM while he was a civil servant, here are the facts

JAKARTA, KOMPAS.com – The defendant in the alleged defamation case related to the alleged fake diploma of the 7th President of the Republic of Indonesia Joko Widodo (Jokowi), Tifauzia Tyassuma or Doctor Tifa, emphasized Jokowi, who allegedly never attended events at Gadjah Mada University (UGM).

Tifa conveyed this after undergoing a response hearing regarding the Attorney General’s Exception (JPU) at the East Jakarta District Court.

“I would like to point out that the person concerned (Jokowi), apart from the case he reported later, he has never been a public official for 10 years, has never recognized a graduate UGM. “I never came to UGM and I was never invited by UGM,” he said. Doctor Tifa at the East Jakarta District Court, Thursday (16/7/2026).

Also read: Prosecutor asks judge to reject Doctor Tifa’s objection regarding Jokowi’s defamation case

Doctor Tifa estimated that when he was mayor, governor and president, Jokowi first mentioned UGM in 2017.

He explained that when Jokowi was mayor, there was never a statement saying that he graduated from UGM. According to Tifa, at that time, there had never been any stories of reunions or similar activities.

Tifa said that during Jokowi’s tenure as governor of DKI Jakarta for two years, there were never any stories of reunions or meetings with his college friends.

Also read: Doctor Tifa is hopeful that his exception will be accepted by the judge: Allah is with us

“This is the first time we heard about the 2017 UGM reunion event, when a person named Bambang Tri (author of the book Jokowi Undercover) who opened the “Key to Pandora’s Box” was sentenced to 5 and a half years. “Well, ever since then this incident has been going on,” Tifa said.

Tifa said UGM is an open campus that takes great pride in its alumni, especially if they succeed in holding public office, from mayor to governor to president.

Furthermore, Tifa claimed that UGM never officially invited Jokowi to various official campus activities. He gave the example of the UGM anniversary event in which former students regularly participate each year.

Also read: Doctor Tifa reveals the weakness of the prosecutor’s indictment in the case of Jokowi’s fake diploma allegations

“Where we took a tour of the first UGM campus, there were always officials there. For example, Mr. Ganjar Pranowo was always present every year. Anies Baswedan was always present every year. Same with me and Mr. Roy, Mr. Mahfud MD, so everyone,” he said.

Quoted from the page www.ugm.ac.idOn December 19, 2017, while still president, Jokowi gave a public lecture to commemorate the 68th anniversary of the UGM at Grha Sabha Pramana.

Additionally, on October 17, 2025, together with the then Minister of Forestry (Menhut), Raja Juli Antoni, Jokowi attended an open senatorial meeting at the Faculty of Forestry Auditorium.

His presence was on the occasion of the 62nd anniversary of the Faculty of Forests of the UGM.

Previously, alleged defamation

In his indictment, the prosecutor said that Dr. Tifa committed acts of defamation by accusing Jokowi’s diploma of being fake.

This case began on March 26, 2025. At that time, Jokowi’s aide Syarif Muhammad informed and showed Jokowi three social media posts containing accusations that his bachelor’s degree (S-1) was fake.

One of the uploads was from Doctor Tifa’s account. In his upload, he conveyed a number of irregularities that he said were found in Jokowi’s undergraduate degree, from the diploma cover, the graduation photo, the Gadjah Mada University (UGM) alumni book, to Jokowi’s statement calling Professor Achmad Soemitro his supervisor.

Also read: Doctor Tifa’s lawyer asks the judge to accept the opposition note and reject the prosecutor’s indictment

The prosecutor ruled that the upload caused immaterial harm to Jokowi, as it defamed his reputation and triggered similar accusations from other parties.

“As a result of the actions of the accused, Witness Jokowi suffered immaterial losses, namely that Witness Jokowi’s reputation was personally tarnished, he felt that he had been insulted to the highest level and degraded to the lowest level, there were even parties who accused Witness Jokowi of using fake diplomas to fulfill the requirements for appointment as former civil servants, namely the Mayor of Solo, the Governor of DKI Jakarta and the 7th President of the Republic of Indonesia,” said the East Jakarta Prosecutor. District Court.

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