By Patson Chilemba
Former Lusaka Province minister Bowman Lusambo says he will call “his brother” Defence permanent secretary Norman Chipakupaku to ask him about the gentleman Jason Makhela, who is claiming to be his son.
Speaking with Daily Revelation over assertions by Makhela, who bears striking resemblance to Chipakupaku, and claims to be his son, saying he has suffered badly in his life, including suffering from depression and homelessness over what he says as being rejected by “my own father”, Lusambo said he has known Chipakupaku for a long time having served together in the former ruling MMD.
“I can’t believe he can deny. I have a relationship with him I will call him. I will ask my elder brother because we have a situation where people want to be defrauding others,” Lusambo said in reaction to Makhela, who has insisted that efforts over the years to reconnect with his father have failed, and that he was ready to take a DNA any time it was requested.
He claimed that “there were issues where people want to defraud you when they bring in the issues of parentage.”
“People wanted to defraud me by saying I have four kids with a certain lady, which I can’t do. All my kids are identified kids. They are in my custody,” Lusambo said.
Makhela 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.
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.
