False claims: Unisa ‘did not award honorary degrees to Malawian figures’

The University of South Africa (Unisa) has denied conferring honorary doctorates on Malawian socialite Pemphero Mphande and Malawian musician Patience Namadingo in 2020 and 2023, respectively.

This comes after a social media post by Mphande on 4 November where the socialite was pictured in graduation attire, holding a certificate in front of what appeared to be the Unisa crest.

In the X (formerly Twitter) post, Mphande said the higher education institution had awarded him an “honoris causa”, a doctorate degree in community development.

“In recognition of the humanitarian work that [we do] for the sick and others in need,” he posted. “This honorary PhD belongs to all of us that do charity work together.”

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https://twitter.com/PempheroMphande/status/1720805395365511593

‘Unisa did not confer any such degrees’

However, Unisa denied it had conferred any such degrees on the trio and that any assertion to this effect was not true. In addition to Mphande and Namadingo, the university also said it had not awarded a degree to a Malawian businessman named Mansoor Sharif Karim.

“These three individuals are also not among the candidates considered and approved for the awarding of honorary doctorates in 2020, 2022, and 2023. Neither have they been nominated, considered, or approved for such honours at any period whatsoever,” the university said.

Unisa added that no honorary degrees were awarded in 2022.

In November 2020, Namadingo posted on Facebook that Unisa was honouring him with a doctorate degree for his humanitarian efforts in Malawi. Ironically, this was at the height of the Covid-19 pandemic, when mass gatherings were prohibited.

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“Unisa has highlighted Patience Namadingo’s positive social impact and philanthropic work that has inspired others across Africa and hopefully beyond,” he captioned in a picture wearing graduation attire and holding a certificate.

“Patience Namadingo has this morning been conferred with an honorary doctorate degree during Unisa’s graduation ceremony at its main campus in Pretoria in the ZK Mathews Great Hall. Nine doctors graduated today from four different African countries, the youngest of them all being the Malawian, Patience Namadingo.”

The university said the certificates displayed by Mphande and Namadingo, respectively, are definitely not Unisa degree certificates.

“As a university, we distance ourselves from these false claims and also condemn, in the strongest terms, the misuse of the Unisa name for fraudulent conduct. Relevant officials within the university have been directed to look into this matter and ensure that these individuals are held to account and also made to retract any false claims,” Unisa acting registrar Professor Moloka Sepota said.

Strictly controlled process for honorary degrees

The university said the awarding of honorary degrees occurs through a strictly controlled process, with nominations and approvals handled through various governance structures until final approval from the university council.

“Once such approval has been secured, the conferment itself is done at an open graduation ceremony of the university, in full view of those attending and presided over by a dully authorised official of the university, usually the Chancellor or Principal and Vice Chancellor,” Unisa said.

“Any claim of the awarding of an honorary degree that did not follow this process cannot be an official Unisa process.”

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Mphande and Namadingo respond

In response to the university’s statement, Mphande issued a statement with a picture of his alleged graduation on Facebook, stating that he was contacted by individuals who have been awarding honorary doctorates on behalf of Unisa and that they felt they could recognise his work.

“If Unisa is denying this today, either they are a part of the 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 and would love to meet with officials from Unisa to understand how this has happened under their nose for years,” he posted.

Mphande also urged Unisa to reach out to him.

Meanwhile, Namadingo’s official Facebook page posted a video of the alleged graduation ceremony questioning how he could have organised an event with professors.

“And filled the Unisa Great Hall with South Africans just to fool Malawians? And it took years before the university discovered he was in their hall three years ago with other 35 [graduates] from different countries,” said the post.

“Who scams somebody who has not paid anything to the scammer?”