Zimbabwean President Emmerson Mnangagwa and First Lady Auxillia Mnangagwa. Picture: ANA
Last week, Zimbabwean President Emmerson Mnangagwa conferred First Lady Auxillia Mnangagwa with an honorary doctorate from the Zimbabwe Open University (ZOU).
The first lady will now, like her predecessor Grace Mugabe, be referred to as Dr Mnangagwa.
Online publication New Zimbabwe reported the first lady was rewarded for her hard work in improving lives of the country’s disadvantaged communities through programmes such Gota/Nhanga/Ixhiba.
Mnangagwa’s degree was received by Women’s Affairs Minister Sithembiso Nyoni in her absence.
Grace Mugabe stunned Zimbabweans by graduating with a PhD from the University of Zimbabwe (UZ) allegedly just two months after enrolling, causing a stir on social media.
In 2018, Mnangagwa suspended University of Zimbabwe vice-chancellor Professor Levi Nyagura for allegedly awarding the former first lady a Doctor of Philosophy degree “corruptly” in 2014.
Nyagura was arrested by the Zimbabwe Anti-Corruption Commission after an investigation.
The vice-chancellor was accused of awarding the PhD without the approval of the University of Zimbabwe senate and council, as stipulated by regulations.
Critics had argued that the former first lady had not actually studied or undertaken research to earn the doctorate.
She was personally capped by then-president Mugabe, who was also the chancellor of the university.