By Patson Chilemba
A gentleman who bears striking resemblance to Defence permanent secretary Norman Chipakupaku, and claims to be his son, says he has suffered badly in his life, including suffering from depression and homelessness over what he terms as being rejected by “my own father.”
But Chipakupaku wondered where the journalist had gotten the time to talk about “strange things” instead of asking him about what the government was doing to evacuate Zambian nationals from Ukraine, later saying he had no comment on the matter.
Speaking with Daily Revelation, Jason Makhela, said he uses the name Makhela and not Chipakupaku as he adopted the mother’s name whom he stayed with for a long time, and that he was abandoned by his father and “is still denying him.”
He said efforts to connect with his father over the years have proved futile, including the recent call he made, where the person on the other end allegedly sounded like his father, but disguised to be another person speaking instead that they would call him later.
“I know his voice, I know what my dad looks like. I know his voice even though he hasn’t been in my life, I still know how he sounds like just based on the first and second call that I made. Just trying to find my dad and reconnect with him, that’s all,” he said
He narrated that he was now living in the United States, having left South Africa in 2008 when his mother died. He said by that time, Chipakupaku had allegedly eft them seven years earlier in 2001.
“I contacted him when my mum passed…I tried to let him know. He didn’t seem to care about anything. I tried to reach out to his son David in the UK, he doesn’t really say much about my dad. He just doesn’t want to talk about him. I tried to reach out out to the rest of his kids they don’t say anything, they don’t reply,” Makhela said.
About his alleged father’s relationship with the mother, Makhela said: “I don’t know how long they stayed together. I know they weren’t married that’s why I don’t have his last name. As far as I know I am told that is my dad and looks don’t lie, you can see that that’s my dad. If a DNA test is to be requested if we want to correspond we can prove that that’s my dad.”
He said the one time he managed to get in touch with Chipakupaku was through a Skype call when the Defence permanent secretary addressed him as ‘son how are you doing?’
Makhela, 26, says now he lives in the state of Tennessee in the US, and that he remembers staying with the person he says is his father together with their mum, but does not remember how long that was, because he was young at the time, and that the mother insisted to him over the years that Chipakupaku was his father but that he left them.
He said he also does not remember what Chipakupaku must have been doing in South Africa at the time.
Makhela said he was not looking for money or anything, claiming that Chipakupaku had never been there in his life before and the only money he ever remembered the mother telling him as having come “from my father” was 100 British Pounds.
“I just want to reconnect with him. I don’t want any money or anything. I am not trying to get attention I am just trying to connect with my dad, because there is nothing my dad has done for me,” said Makhela, and when asked about his status in the United States and if he was schooling or working, he said “I am a citizen…I am in Tennessee. I am currently not working. I have gone to high school and I have graduated high school. I am currently not working, not because there is no work it’s just resting.”
He stated that “I’ve suffered a lot of depression and I’ve been homeless for over a year before I got a place to stay.”
“I suffered really badly in my life without parents,” Makhela said, adding that at one point his half-sister from the mother’s side adopted to stay with him but he moved out because her husband was abusive and that she now stays alone with her kids.
“We are still close my sister and I,” said Makhela, saying his late mother had been married before she met “my dad.”
He said the sister was part of the Ramabulana family in South Africa with his other half-siblings from the mother being Herbert, Limani and the late Nkhumeleni.
“Their dad was married to my mother before she met Norman. Bu she got divorced to their dad,” stated Makhela.
But when contacted over Makhela’s assertions, Chipakupaku said he thought the journalist was going to ask him about what the government was doing to get nationals out of Ukraine.
“No comment sir. I am sorry I have no comment over issues which are strange. Where are you having the time to talk about things which are strange? I thought you were going to ask me about what we are doing to try to get our people from Ukraine,” Chipakupaku said.
“I thought if someone is alleging to be your son and they are putting it in that manner (is that too not important),” the journalist retorted.
“I have no comment sir. No comment about that,” Chipakupaku replied.
“But do you know him? Have you been in touch with this same person who claims to be your son?” the journalist asked further.
“That’s what I am saying, I have no comment sir. I have no comment sir,” said Chipakupaku.
