'Grace Mugabe did not award herself a PhD,' says Prof Moyo

FIRST Lady Grace Mugabe did not award herself a Doctorate Degree and her critics are not speaking from a "position of information", Professor Jonathan Moyo said last night.

The Minister of Information, Media and Broadcasting Services said President Robert Mugabe's wife, who graduated from the University of Zimbabwe last month, was the victim of newspapers who had covered the issue from a "political view".

Prof Moyo, a respected political scientist and former lecturer at the University of Zimbabwe, told journalists at the Bulawayo Press Club last night that a lot being said about the First Lady's doctorate in the media was based on ignorant assumptions.

"There's no-one who has spoken about this doctorate from a position of information. Since the last time I checked, I haven't checked today, no-one! No-one has commented on this from an academic point of view. Nobody, not anyone," said Prof Moyo.

He said the media has covered the subject from a politically-tinted view despite it being a purely academic matter.

"We're talking about an academic degree and must remember that nobody awards themselves a degree. You can only be judged yourself by what you do, but one thing you can never ever do – you can't give yourself a degree," said the minister, who was making an intervention from the floor after Politburo member and President Mugabe's nephew, Patrick Zhuwawo, had addressed the assembled journalists.

Prof Moyo said the First Lady "can't be the issue" in the discussion since she did not award herself the degree.

Instead, said Prof Moyo, the controversy would be if she had given herself a degree.

He stormed: "She has never done that and no-one has claimed anything to that effect. I think that there's, sometimes, a problem when the media creates an issue and we run with that issue and then miss facts.

"So far there's no controversy. If there's any, it's the controversy created by ignorant people who actually have not seen the degree itself. They've not seen the dissertation and they've not seen the dissertations of others.

"Probably they've been told about the dissertation. They talk about one. Have they seen the other eleven [of people who graduated] and do these eleven meet the internationally acceptable standards? You can't say that unless you've seen it (the degree)."

The minister said allegations that a dissertation by Vice President Joice Mujuru, who was also awarded a Doctorate Degree at the same graduation, has been filed at the University of Zimbabwe library was misleading.

"You go there. The last time I went there, there were none, not even one. So, I think if people have issues of a political nature with a public figure, it'll do all of us good to stick to those issues," said the professor.

"Some of us, I mean, if there're things that we're qualified to comment on, it's dissertations because we supervise those," he said, drawing laughter from the packed room.

Environment, Water and Climate Minister Cde Saviour Kasukuwere, who also attended the meeting, triggered more excited laughter as he added: "He's also a musician."

This was in reference to a recent musical display by Prof Moyo at his daughter Lungile's wedding where he played the guitar and sang a song he composed.

Cde Zhuwawo described the First Lady as a distinguished woman endowed with leadership qualities that are evident in her works.

"From a feminist view, the First Lady is an extremely beautiful and attractive woman. That's a fact. And because of that, the media has sought to portray her as a trophy wife," said Cde Zhuwawo. "But there're a number of issues that you want to look at at the First Lady before you look at these things."

He said Cde Mugabe was running a successful dairy business single-handedly, had an agroprocessing business and had set up an orphanage in Mazowe "whose conceptualisation was world class".

Cde Zhuwawo also said the First Lady was a distinguished family builder who supported her husband and moulded her family.

"That shows some level of capacity," Cde Zhuwawo said.

The First Lady's doctoral thesis was titled, "The changing social structure, the functions of the family: The case of children's homes in Zimbabwe."

The Deputy Minister of Information, Media and Broadcasting Services, Supa Mandiwanzira and business tycoon Cde Phillip Chiyangwa also attended the event.