…adds Mr Namadingo and Karim in the mix
…Nigerian woman attributed with scamming Malawian ‘celebrities’ for 10 million Kwacha per PhD
The University of South Africa (UNISA) has formally denied ever awarding any Malawian a honorary doctorate degree. This comes in the wake of social media celebrity Pemphero Mphande announcing that he had followed in the footsteps of musician Patience Namadingo and businessman Mansoor Sharrif Karim by being awarded a honorary degree by the institution.
On Saturday, November 4, the social media sensation posted on his social media pages that he had been awarded a doctorate degree by UNISA. In a statement on his Facebook page, Mphande wrote that
“Today, 4th November 2023, I was awarded an Honorary Doctorate in Community Development at the University of South Africa in Pretoria. This is in recognition of the work we have been doing of supporting the less privileged that have seen us raise over 200 million Kwacha over the years.”
Mr Mphande, who is a graduate of the College of Medicine now under the Kamuzu University of Health Sciences went on to dedicate the doctoral award to his horde of followers writing that:
“This Honorary Doctor of Philosophy (PHD) belongs to all of you – the praise team. This is motivation for us to do more and be better. May God be with us.”
His post attracted a horde of congratulatory remarks garnering over 6 thousand comments in a space of two days while over 22 thousand people reacted to it. However, just before the dust has settled, some Malawians started expressing cynicism with others – including our journalists – contacting the University of South Africa to ask for clarification.
We do not know Mr Mphande at all – UNISA
In a response to our questions that we put to UNISA inquiring on the originality of Mr Mphande’s claim, it has turned out that the University has not honoured him.
According to a statement from the University in our possession, the University has reported that it has not awarded the said degree to Mr Mphande. According to the statement, the University has not ever considered Mr Mphande for the award of an honorary doctorate degree which it gives to people who have done remarkable work in society.
The University has gone on to say that the certificate that was carried by Mr Mphande is not in any way similar to the ones that they issue to the recipients of their honorary degrees. The University has placed it on record that awarding an honorary degree to a person is through a rigorous process which involves the University council. In their statement, the university writes:
“For the record, the awarding of honorary doctorates at UNISA occurs through a strictky controlled process, with nominations and approvals handled through various governance structures of the university,” UNISA told Malawi24 in a statement. Further, the university has reported that the conferment of the degree is through a public graduation ceremony.
Mr Namadingo and Karim in the same boat with Mr Mphande
In an ironical twist, the University has added that it is not only Mr Mphande who has been scammed by people pretending to operate on behalf of the University. Patience Namadingo who has been calling himself a doctor after being awarded by the same pretenders who have awarded Mr Mphande has also been indicated as another for whom the University never considered to award with an honorary degree. Namadingo received his award in 2020.
According to a statement from the University, they did not issue out that award. It could have been the work of scammers. In a video of the ceremony that scammed Namadingo with a PhD award, it was said that he was being awarded for his Namartist brand as well as charity work. According to the person managing the deliberations, Namadingo was worthy the award because despite of his age, he had done remarkable work.
After Namadingo got his award, in 2021, his friend Mansoor Sharrif Karim of K Motors was also awarded an honorary doctorate by the same group of scammers who appeared to be under the brand of UNISA. This award has equally been dismissed as bogus by the UNISA.
According to the University, as it is with Mr Mphande, the other two have never been considered for an honorary doctorate by the institution..
Nigerian woman at the centre of the scam
Our investigations have revealed that a Nigerian woman is at the centre of the scam. According to a source who opted for anonymity, the awardees pay an amount of around 10 million Kwacha for the fake award.
“A Nigerian woman here (in South Africa) runs the scheme in cahoots with some low ranking members of UNISA. They book a room, invite a few people and they make it appear as if it is UNISA making the award. Some of the people are innocent, but others willingly pay to buy the fake honour,” the source said.
In Malawi, according to the source, Namadingo was the first of the scam victims. He fell for it, however, for personal glory.
“Thereafter, he has been putting his friends through this scam. He advises them to do some charity work so they can raise their profile. For example, K Motors started with fixing ambulances for free and then splashing that in newspapers. For Pemphero, it was that time he started doing all the fundraising. They were all doing it so they can get this fake honour. The scam is so elaborate that they would refuse to honour you if you do not have some profile,” the source said.
