Zimbabwe: Unisa Says Magaya Is Not a Graduate or Alumnus and Was Never Awarded Any PhD - Threatens to Sue Him for Bringing the University Into Disrepute

29 January 2025

THE University of South Africa (UNISA) has said Prophet Walter Magaya did not graduate from the institution and was never awarded any honorary doctorate as boasted by the cleric over the past eight years.

With this being Magaya's second run-in with the institution, it has since threatened to sue.

Zimbabweans have, since 2017, been made to believe that UNISA awarded Magaya with an honorary doctorate at a glitzy event in South Africa on November 18.

RELATED: Magaya's fraud exposed; UNISA says diploma submitted to High Court is fake

A letter published by UNISA trashed that, a day after the same institution dismissed as fake another one of Magaya's diplomas.

A copy of the diploma was shared online in the run-up to ZIFA elections as Magaya unsuccessfully sought to fight the football body's decision to bar him from contesting on grounds he did not have an ordinary level qualification or anything equivalent.

Magaya, who heads the Prophetic Healing and Deliverance (PHD) Ministries presented the fake diploma at the High Court earlier this month.

"The university came across a video clip in the social media domain, wherein Mr Magaya claims to have received an honorary doctorate from UNISA," reads the academic institution's letter dated January 29, 2025.

"The university has never conferred any honorary doctorate on Mr Magaya and strongly condemns this false claim.

"We believe that conduct of this nature damages and brings our brand into disrepute and we reserve the right to take appropriate corrective action. Relevant authorities within the university have therefore been requested to take the necessary legal action in this regard."

According to state-controlled broadcaster ZBC, hundreds gathered to watch as Magaya was conferred with the PhD at UNISA's Miriam Makeba Hall in Pretoria.

At the time, Magaya said he hoped the "acknowledgement" would be a lesson to Zimbabwe's citizens.

"It gives a small lesson to the citizens that one must receive their flowers while they are still alive," Magaya said.

Magaya has not responded to the scandal.

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