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Unisa Refutes Claims of Awarding Degrees to Three Celebrities
Unisa has vehemently denied conferring honorary doctorate degrees upon socialite Phemphero Mphande, Malawian musician Patience Namadingo, and Mansoor Sharif Karim.
The university spokesperson Tommy Huma refuted these claims, stating, “Unisa has become aware through social media posts and media queries, that Mphande, Namadingo, as well as 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 assertion to this effect was simply not true.”
Huma clarified that none of these three individuals were considered or approved for awarding honorary doctorates in 2020, 2021, and 2023. Furthermore, no honorary degrees were awarded in 2022 at the university.
He emphasised that the certificates displayed by Mphande and Namadingo are not the university’s. When awarding honorary doctorates at Unisa, a strictly controlled process, including nominations and approvals, is followed by various university governance structures, culminating in final approval by the university council. The conferment occurs at an open graduation ceremony, presided over by a duly authorised university official, in full view of attendees.
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Acting registrar Prof Moloko Sepota strongly disapproved of these false claims and the misuse of the university’s a name for fraud. It is taking action to investigate the matter and hold the individuals accountable.
In response to Unisa’s denial, Mphande asserted the authenticity of his degree, stating that individuals representing the university had contacted him earlier this year to recognise his work. He saw the university’s denial as part of a scam. He expressed willingness to cooperate with Unisa to investigate the matter.
Namadingo, in a statement, questioned the credibility of university’s denial and raised concerns about a well-attended ceremony at the university where he and other graduates from different countries were recognised.
Source: Unisa denies issuing degrees to three celebrities
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