It is not true that…
I IMPREGNATED CHIPO – HH
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Surely, to say that Chipo, my daughter, can carry the President’s child, myself, is that a matter that we should really be discussing in public?
By Mast Reporters
PRESIDENT Hakainde Hichilema has once again dismissed old social media allegations that he impregnated his policy advisor Chipokota Mwanawasa, popularly known as Chipo.
Claims of a sexual affair between the President and his staffer first emerged last year. On October 16, 2024, News Diggers newspaper published an investigative story that dismissed as false social media reports that the President had impregnated Chipo and sent her to London in the United Kingdom to hide.
On the same day, Inspector General of Police Graphel Musamba entered the discussion when he addressed the nation. He condemned “the continuous attacks on Ms Chipo Mwanawasa, which border on criminality” and accused an opposition party of spreading the attacks.
“As a law enforcement agency, we wish to assure the public that we are treating this matter with the seriousness it deserves. We currently have one suspect in custody related to these attacks, and investigations are ongoing to apprehend additional suspects involved. The public is urged to remain calm and allow the police to carry out investigations diligently. We appeal to all citizens to refrain from commenting and sharing unverified information regarding this matter, as doing so may interfere with ongoing investigations and spread unnecessary alarm,” Musamba said.
“Furthermore, we are aware of a certain opposition party that has initiated media propaganda in relation to this case. We wish to remind all individuals and groups, regardless of affiliation, that we are closely monitoring such activities. Should any of these actions cross the line into criminal conduct, we will not hesitate to arrest and prosecute those responsible in accordance with the law,” the police chief said in a video press statement dated October 16, 2024.
Three weeks later, the head of State picked up the subject of the alleged pregnancy when commissioning the Powerful Diligent Veracious (PDV) metal steel plant in Lusaka’s South Multi-facility Economic Zone (MFEZ) on November 7, 2024.
President Hichilema asked Chipo, who was in the audience, to stand up so that people could see that she was not pregnant and urged citizens to focus on discussing serious issues of national interest as opposed to spreading false social media rumours.
“Chipo, can you stand up? Can you face the crowd this side? Does she look pregnant that young lady? Honestly speaking, we better grow up as a nation. We really need to grow up. And I have asked the minister of Home Affairs to lock up people who are breaking laws. And I have no shame in saying that. Including ZICTA [Zambia Information and Communication Technology Authority]. You can’t hide behind a phone and abuse a young person like that. You can abuse me. It is okay. I am used to that. I can take it. But you could destroy a young person who is mourning. And you are happily doing that. And when you are pursued, you say no my democratic rights have been taken out. What about her rights? So, I am saying this deliberately, to say that let us focus our time and energy on productive things,”Hichilema told delegates in November 2024.
The police have since arrested some bloggers in connection with the rumours.
Just when most people were beginning to forget about the issue, Hichilema resurrected it last weekend at the Twin Palm Baptist Church in Lusaka. Speaking on Saturday at the joint memorial service in honour of former president Levy Mwanawasa and his wife, Maureen, the President recounted how the alleged affair and pregnancy affected Chipo, how First Lady Mutinta Hichilema responded to it and how he dealt with it at the time it happened.
“Chipo one day came to me weeping in State House. Because she gets whipped because she is a Mwanawasa on things she does not even know. I said ‘Chipo, sit here. This is part of your inheritance. You have to accept that’. Indeed. And I said ‘go back to your office and continue working’. Surely, to say that Chipo, my daughter, can carry the President’s child, myself, is that a matter that we should really be discussing in public? But it comes with the territory. And I said go back to our office and continue working. This is what these public offices are,” Hichilema said.
The President also revealed previously unknown details about how First Lady Mutinta Hichilema responded to the alleged affair and pregnancy rumour.
“And my wife, as a mother to her, said: ‘what is this?’ I said ‘relax, just relax, relax. That is your daughter there’. So, I can attest that these offices are not offices we go there looking for joy and parties. No. Hard work, as President Mwanawasa exemplified even in his ill health, he was still working hard,” Hichilema said.
His recent remarks have raised a storm on social media with users expressing their views.
