The University of South Africa (UNISA) has denied granting an honorary doctorate degree to Malawian socialite and author Phemphero Mphande for his humanitarian work
The Doctorate Degree
Phemphero Mphande recently took to his X account to reveal that he had been awarded a doctorate degree in community development. Captioning the picture of himself clad in graduation regalia, Mphande wrote;
“Today at Unisa in RSA l was awarded honoris causa a Doctorate in community development in recognition of the Humanitarian work that has seen us raise 200million… This Honorary PhD belongs to all of us who do charity work together”
UNISA distances itself from Mphande
In a statement, UNISA distanced itself from Mphande as well as two other public figures. UNISA stated that it has not conferred any such degrees on the trio and that any assertion to this effect is simply not true.
“The University of South Africa (Unisa) has become aware, through social media posts and media queries, that Malawian socialite Phemphero Mphande, Malawian musician Patience Namadingo as well as a certain Mansoor Sharif Karim claim to have received honorary doctorates from the university in 2020, 2022 and 2023 respectively. Unisa wishes to state categorically that it has NOT conferred any such degrees on the trio. And that any assertation to this effect is simply NOT TRUE,” reads part of the statement.
Mphande responds to UNISA’s statement
Mphande responded to UNISA’s statement by suggesting that he may have been the victim of a scam. He wrote on X account,
“If UNISA is denying this today, either they are part of a scam or they too are being scammed. I personally would be happy to work with UNISA to get to the bottom of this. Our team will investigate. We would love to meet with officials from UNISA to understand how this has happened under their nose for years.”
Also Read: Caught on Camera: TikTok’s Dr Matthew Lani Desperately Tries to Charm His Way Out of Arrest
This incident comes barely a month after Matthew Lani was exposed as a fraud for masquerading as a doctor. Since then, many bogus professionals have been outed online.