In Kiemo’s more than 30 years in academia he says actual Doctors tend to keep a low profile of their achievements.
“It is very rare for academically accomplished individuals to insist that they be referred to as ‘Dr’ so and so; preferring to be identified by name,” he says.
Hence Kiemo believes that an intensified desire to be referred to as ‘Dr’ points to a desperate, twisted desire to make the title stick where it never existed in the first place.
Pastor Antony Bones of the Good Shepherd church along Ngong Road in Nairobi terms the phenomenon of pastors ascribing to their names title ‘Dr’ as outright conmanship.
“Jesus never had any fancy titles,” he says, “yet he moved from place to place congregating with people who needed to listen to the word.”
Calling oneself ‘Dr’, Pastor Bones says, is selfish; a reaction against an inferiority complex so that one feels valued.
Pastor Bones says he has achieved academic excellence. And he graduated from a theology class.
“I should be called a Reverend (Rev) but I don’t use that title because technically Jesus Christ’s gospel was about serving masses and not about self-aggrandizement.”
Harrison Mumia, the president of Atheist Society of Kenya – even before fake titles are mentioned – is a fierce critic of religion and all it stands for.
When I mention fake Dr titles’ he projects as much scorn, saying: “This is trickery. It is an attempt to gain relevance. It is basically a ploy to make more money from people who are desperate for hope.”
Mumia says that it is unfortunate that many Kenyans continue falling prey to unscrupulous men and women out to earn a living with fake ‘Dr’ titles standing at the pulpit.
