Zimbabwe’s First Lady Auxillia Mnangagwa has been awarded her fifth doctorate in 18 months, this time through conventional study, at a ceremony presided over by her husband.
The 61-year-old former intelligence officer was among thousands of graduates at Midlands State University, where President Emmerson Mnangagwa serves as Chancellor.
The doctorate in Tourism and Hospitality Management comes amid a growing trend of African first ladies accumulating academic titles, often through honorary awards.
“When we got married, she only had her Ordinary Level passes,” President Mnangagwa told the gathering, in comments likely to resonate in a country that places high value on education.
Zimbabwe has one of Africa’s highest literacy rates, yet access to higher education remains a privilege few can afford amid a prolonged economic crisis.
The president’s remarks about his wife’s academic journey from basic education to doctorate level drew particular attention: “I helped her through Advanced Level, before she took her first degree… She never stopped until she attained a PhD, which I do not even have.”
The First Lady had already begun styling herself as “Dr” following an honorary doctorate from India’s GD Goenka University last year. Since then, she has received three more honorary doctorates in quick succession:
March 2023: Russian State University for the Humanities
December 2022: Zimbabwe Open University
September 2023: University of Zimbabwe
MSU vice chancellor Professor Victor Ngonidzashe Muzvidziwa praised her academic performance, describing her as “an exemplary student” who “showed humility from the proposal presentation to the oral defence of her thesis.”
The awarding of doctorates to Zimbabwe’s first ladies has been a contentious issue in the past. Former First Lady Grace Mugabe’s 2014 PhD from the University of Zimbabwe sparked controversy when she received it just two months after enrolling. That degree was awarded by her husband, the late President Robert Mugabe.
The episode became a symbol of alleged academic corruption in Zimbabwe’s higher education sector, where critics say political connections sometimes carry more weight than academic merit.
Mrs Mnangagwa’s latest achievement comes as Zimbabwe grapples with economic challenges that have seen many students struggle to complete their education.
The president, who attended in his capacity as Chancellor of all state universities, praised his wife’s dedication, noting that “at home she is always reading in the library.”
While the First Lady’s academic journey from O-Levels to PhD has drawn praise from government officials, critics point to her rapid accumulation of honorary doctorates as part of a wider pattern of status-seeking among the political elite.
