Shire Times has learnt that the fraudulent honorary doctorate scam on Mphande and Namadingo was orchestrated by a Nigerian citizen, specifically a woman, as has been customary in such cases. As per our informant, individuals like Patience Namadingo, Pemphero Mphande, and a another were deceived into paying approximately 10 million Kwacha each for the counterfeit 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.
