Tatenda Mavetera really wants to be a Dr – so much so that she paid for a bogus one, which she still uses. And then also paid a Mutare-based academic to do a PhD on her behalf.
She is willing to pull out all the stops – bar one – she won’t go to school, nor do it correctly.
The website for the Ministry of ICT in Zimbabwe names Hon. Dr Tatenda Mavetera as the minister responsible for that portfolio.
But, there is a problem – and it is serious.
Tatenda Mavetera may be an honourable member, but she is absolutely not a Dr.
It is, regrettably yet another hoax – a ruse perpetuated by none other than Mavetera herself.
I know where to find you…
Before we go back to the past, we have to bring you to the present – this week. We won’t take much of your time, but you need to know this before you read – and make up your mind about everything else.
On Tuesday, February 18, Dug Up sent questions to Tatenda Mavetera, the Minister of ICT.
On Wednesday, February 19, she sent veiled threats that implied she knew where to find our Lead Producer, Maynard Manyowa.
These threats have since been reported to Derbyshire Police under crime reference number 612-190225. The same threats have been reported to the National Union of Journalists and will be forwarded to MISA Zimbabwe and the Committee to Protect Journalists. A separate police report will be made to the Zimbabwe Republic Police.
Now let’s get to our story…
Becoming a bogus doctor…
On October 29, 2022, Tatenda Mavetera announced she had received a Doctorate of Humane Letters from the International Women’s University (not to be confused with the Women’s University in Africa – a legitimate school in Zimbabwe).
In a post that has now been removed everywhere on the internet, Mavetera signs off as Dr T.A Mavetera, and says she is “forever grateful”.
But, by this time, there are problems with I.I.P. the supposed institution that gave her the award to begin with.
And we need to tell you all about it.
Enrico Maverick, IIP and the IWU?
The International Institution of Philanthropy is a bogus institution that has been banned from awarding any qualifications or awards to anyone in the country.
It is fronted by Enrico Mangono Sibanda, who is thought to be 38. And it is not the only one.
An investigation by Dug Up’s Jacob Changamire found that Enrico Sibanda established and ran several organisations all for ‘giving out bogus awards that people could use to pretend to have honorary doctorates’.
These organisations include:
- International Institute of Philanthropy (IIP)
- Philanthropy Institute of Zimbabwe (PIZ)
- Women’s Institute of Leadership (WILA)
- Women’s Heritage Society World Organisation (WHSWO)
- Maverick Institute of Leadership (MIL)
The PIZ appears to have been the first one to be registered, and Prof Changamire found that Tatenda Primrose Maziazia and Malicious Nyamurima were part of the initial board of trustees.
To cut to the chase, the IIP and its affiliates were banned from giving out their maybe degrees in 2024 as per High Court of Zimbabwe Case No. HCH1469/24 (July 31, 2024).
We will come back to the IIP later. For now, let’s get back to Tatenda Mavetera.
I really, really want that doctorate
In an exchange on X (formerly Twitter), Tatenda Mavetera claimed she had an extensive academic record. She claimed to have several qualifications, including an Honours Bachelor of Science in management and marketing from the Women’s University, the real one by the way – not the Enrico Sibanda one.
She claimed she had a Masters in Strategic Marketing, a Masters in Development Studies and was a PhD candidate at the Midlands State University (MSU).
This was in November of 2024. So we went digging.
And that is when we encountered significant problems.
While Mavetera returns as a bona fide student at MSU, our investigations found significant problems – problems that bring the integrity of the entire institution into question.
Dug Up understands Mavetera engaged the services of a ghostwriter – an academic in Mutare. The entire scenario was unethical.
Whilst students claim they can engage third parties to edit their submissions – albeit a frowned upon exercise, Dug Up understands that the said ghostwrite was in constant communication with Mavetera’s supervisor – a situation that amounts to academic fraud – because, in simple terms, Mavetera engaged someone else to pretend to be her and interface as her with MSU.
Through an emissary, Mavetera said she had long distanced herself from the said individual and was no longer using his services.
However, Dug Up understands that throughout the period the person’s services were engaged – he also struggled, leading to Mavetera missing key deadlines and some of her PhD milestones being delayed.
I am a doctor anyway…
We have to go back to IIP now.
IIP, PIZ and any other organisations by Enrico Sibanda (Enrico Maverick) give bogus doctorates.
Emissaries speaking on Mavetera’s behalf claim, like Shaky Timburwa, that she was duped – that she was not aware the degree was bogus.
But there is a problem.
Between then (July 2024) and now, Mavetera has continued to use the title Dr, fraudulently.
The website for the Ministry still refers to her as Dr Mavetera. A poster, for an event called Innovation Week, which carries logos of the Zimbabwe Youth Council and the official government of Zimbabwe logo, refers to Mavetera as Dr Tatenda Mavetera – 7 months after the high court ruled she, and others, should not use these titles.
The website for the Ministry of Information Communication Technology, Postal & Courier Services refers to her as Dr Mavetera too.
The problem with the MSU and Mavetera using ghostwriters
Using third parties to produce assignments and interact with academic supervisors violates the student charter. In most academic institutions, a student who is found to have, or even suspected of, engaging in this practice, would attract stiff penalties.
Academic institutions worldwide do not permit their students to engage in questionable academic practices – or activities that may soil the academy.
Mavetera’s procurement of a fake honorary degree ought to have provoked some form of reprisal from the University—at the time of writing, the university had not responded to questions about this particular topic.
MSU told Dug Up Mavetera was a student but was coy regarding the amount of time she has taken on the course, nor the allegations she paid a Mutare-based academic to do the work for her.
A spokesperson for Midlands State University said: “Midlands State University (MSU), acknowledges that according to its records, Tatenda Mavetera is a registered student pursuing Doctor of Business Leadership studies.
“She was enrolled after having satisfied the institution’s enrolment criteria. The Midlands State University has in place checks and balances to ensure that only applicants who meet its entry requirements are admitted into programs, and only graduate provided they fulfil all the requirements of a particular program.”
The university told Dug Up its hands were tied by privacy and data protection laws, saying: “Given that Midlands State University, like any other legal persona, must abide by various constitutional, data protection and privacy laws, some of the issues requested might be beyond its purview in the absence of a lawful court order compelling the institution to reveal such personal information.”
The university did not respond to questions about its policy on academic fraud, and whether or not Mavetera would face any sanctions for accepting a bogus PhD. The school also did not respond to the questions about potential collusion between Mavetera and her supervisor.
There is no indication whether the university will investigate the matter or take any sanctions – even though Mavetera is having her PhD done by someone else.
What is up with IIP anyway?
IIP is fronted and run by a convicted criminal.
Two notable figures, Gershem Pasi and Mudiwa Hood, disowned their awards and publicly distanced themselves from the IIP.
In 2014, Zimbabwe Revenue Authority (ZIMRA) Commissioner-General Gershem Pasi publicly rejected the honour and issued a formal statement distancing himself from the organization
Mudiwa, who is currently studying towards his PhD rejected their awards in 2023.
Enrico Maverick legal problems:
- Served time at WhaWha Prison in Midlands Province for offences including cellphone theft and house-breaking.
- Later charged with fraud for allegedly swindling hotels and Mega Fest Holdings of $5,900
- Crowne Plaza Hotel incident ($3,000)
- Holiday Inn Hotel incident ($900)
- Mega Fest Holdings incident ($2,000)
- Charges related to:
- Booking events and failing to pay
- Making partial payments with promises to pay balances
- Adding additional attendees without payment
Real academics have a poor opinion of Sibanda and his phoney awards.
Prof. Sheunesu Mpepereki (University of Zimbabwe) said: “A non-academic institution does not qualify to confer authentic honorary degrees”
Dr. Nhamo Mhiripiri (Midlands State University): Identified this as driven by “the need to attain a certain status in society” (The Herald, 2014)
With regards to the IIP, as of today (February 20), it is a bogus entity.
A July 31, 2024, High Court of Zimbabwe ruling states the IIP is:
- Prohibited the organization from awarding any degrees
- Ordered the revocation of all previous awards
- Required the organization to pay legal costs
- Investigate similar operations in other countries
- Review international partnerships
A full article about IIP recipients who continue to use the title Dr will be released on Saturday.
What about Mavetera’s other degrees?
Zimbabwe’s minister of ICT, Tatenda Mavetera has the drive for high achieving – she is ambitious.
Her story, which has several parts now deleted from the internet, was told repeatedly for several years as an archetypal rags-to-riches story—an inspirational story about the little guy who rose from the bottom up, from nothing to stardom, then power…
There are tales, about her running a successful flea market stall in Avondale, years after she had been the star of the show in Studio 263 – one of Zimbabwe’s most famous productions from the 2000s.
But, that story has problems. It has holes.
Dug Up is conducting a separate investigation into her other degrees.
A minister who continues to use a title based on an award barred by the high court, and who is now suspected of paying someone else to do her PhD for her can’t be trusted.
That investigation is progressing – and we are in conversations with people in her supposed graduating class. We have written to the Women’s University (the real one), and that story will be ready at the end of next week.
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Reporting for this story was done by Maynard Manyowa and Prof Changamire.
Sources have not been named to protect their relationships