In a ground-breaking case against fake high education certificates, the Lilongwe Principal Resident Magistrate Court yesterday convicted and fined diploma mill chief Tuweh Gadama for operating a university illegally.
The court fined Gadama K3.4 million.
If he fails to pay, the alternative is a four-year jail term for running a fake university, popularly referred to as a diploma mill in academic circles, without authority of the National Council for Higher Education (NCHE).
He was charged and subsequently convicted of illegally running a university, in line with Section 34(a) of the NCHE Act, and conferring a qualification granted by a higher education institution or in collaboration with a higher education institution without authority of the council, in line with Section 34(b) of the NCHE Act.
According to court documents, Gadama was operating universities called Cyprus Institute and Jerusalem University and offering higher education qualifications without any authority from NCHE.
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“After following up on the same, and witnessing a graduation ceremony at BICC [Bingu International Convention Centre] in 2022 by the institution, NCHE reported the matter to the police, who later arrested Gadama, who pleaded guilty to the two offences,” court documents read.
In his ruling, Principal Resident Magistrate Rodrick Michongwe said Gadama, 55, has fooled many people, adding that his conduct has the potential to lower education standards in the country.
Michongwe charged Gadama K1.7 Million for each count or, in default, ordered him to spend four years in prison.
Speaking to The Daily Times after the ruling, NCHE Chief Executive Officer Ambumulire Phiri welcomed the ruling, saying the court has sent a strong message to people.
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“We have a lot of people that are operating education institutions illegally in Malawi. We believe that this will send a strong message to people.
“Unfortunately, there are a lot of Malawians who are in a situation where they are hoping to get qualifications from the institutions,” Phiri said.
A number of notable politicians in the country received degrees and doctorate degrees from the universities but NCHE says such qualifications are invalid.
