After the news that Pallo Jordan has neither a degree nor a doctorate, the shamed politician has tried to explain why he ran with his phony education qualifications.

In a recent interview, Jordan spoke of the tragic circumstances which led to him being dubbed as a “doctor”.

That was in 1982, in a report about the letter bomb that killed the academic and journalist Ruth First in Maputo. It appeared in the authoritative newsletter Africa Confidential and noted that “social scientist Dr Pallo Jordan” was also injured in the blast.

“I didn’t dispute it,” Jordan said this week. And the belief that he had a doctorate “developed a momentum of its own”.

On accepting the doctor title, Jordan said that he knew the implications that it came with, but feels that his aim was noble.

“It opens various doors, not in terms of making money, but in terms of your opinions being weighed and considered worthwhile.

“I have fought for the objective of freedom and worked for reconstruction.”

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