Social media influencer and philanthropist Pemphero Mphande has not been awarded an Honorary Doctorate (PhD) in Community Development by University of South Africa in Pretoria as earlier on reported.
The University of South Africa in Pretoria awarded Mphande on Sunday 4th November, 2023 which is said to be in recognition for the charity works the social media influencer has been carrying out across Malawi.
In an interview with Malawi24, ‘Mr P’ as commonly known among social media users, who was over the moon, said the recognition gives him energy to do more charity works saying doubters will start to believe in what he has been doing.
“I feel very good to be recognized by an institution like the University of South Africa especially because the work that we do is publicly accessible and that everyone can see it. Not because we want to show off, but because we are trying to mobilize people to build a culture of giving and then it becomes a good thing when institutions like UNISA award you, for they give you validity, but also they make others to believe in that charity work, that way they can can support a lot more and this means we can also support more people than what we are supporting currently.
“So it’s encouraging because you get motivated. Everyone needs to be encouraged and thanked, even if you are very sure of what you are doing; and just somebody comes in and say thank you, we see you, we appreciate you, it gives you more energy,” said Dr Mphande.
Update: It has now emerged that Mphande lied about being awarded the honorary degree by UNISA. The University has declared the degrees to be counterfeit and fake.
Full story at: https://malawi24.com/2023/11/07/it-wasnt-us-unisa-denies-awarding-honorary-doctorates-to-mr-pemphero-mphande/
