Lundazi MP fumes after HH parades Chipo to dismiss pregnancy rumours
By BARNABAS ZULU
LUNDAZI Member of Parliament for Lundazi, Ms Brenda Nyirenda, has expressed her anger at President Hakainde Hichilema’s public handling of his policy advisor, Ms Chipo Mwanawasa, following a controversial incident in Lusaka.
During a public event on Thursday, President Hichilema addressed a crowd and called out Ms Mwanawasa, saying she had been unfairly targeted by some individuals who had spread rumors about her being pregnant.
He then asked Ms Mwanawasa to stand before the crowd to confirm or deny the claim.
However, Ms Nyirenda has strongly criticized the President’s actions, calling them an embarrassment and an affront to women’s dignity.
“How can the President, for heaven’s sake, do this? This has really injured me. How can you say, ‘Mellesiana, stand up, are you pregnant?’ Honestly, where are we going as a country?” Ms Nyirenda questioned, visibly upset.
Ms Nyirenda also expressed disappointment over the lack of reaction from women’s rights groups, such as the Non-Governmental Organisations Coordinating Council (NGOCC), over the incident.
She said she felt very sad humiliated about the public shaming of a young woman in this way.
“Imwe ba NGOCC, where are you? A girl is being paraded, and I feel very emotional about this one,” she said. “It’s heartbreaking. Just because the President was accused of impregnating someone, he goes to call a woman to stand up in front of people and ask, ‘are you pregnant?’” Ms Nyirenda added.
She further criticized the President for what she described as an inappropriate display of power.
“Where is the dignity of us women? You can’t be embarrassing us like that. You can’t parade a woman in front of cameras and ask her if she’s pregnant. That’s wrong, and I am very annoyed,” she said.
Ms Nyirenda also stated the importance of respecting women and their dignity, particularly when it comes to public figures like Ms Mwanawasa, who should not be subjected to such public scrutiny.
“If I had the chance to meet the president, I would tell him straight to his face that what you’ve done is wrong,” Ms Nyirenda said. “Don’t use the powers you have to undermine women. We have dignity. You can’t be embarrassing us like that.”
She went on to assert that the president’s actions lacked both social and economic intelligence.
“If there is no economic intelligence, there should be social intelligence. We can’t live like this. You can’t be parading a woman and asking, ‘Are you pregnant?’ How can we tell if she is one month pregnant, or if it’s even true? How can we tell?” Nyirenda asked.
Ms Nyirenda concluded her remarks by stressing that the public humiliation of a woman for personal or political reaso
