LUSAKA – “Cheswa, don’t be scared of witchcraft. There is no witchcraft.” President Hakainde Hichilema is heard making the remark in a slightly longer video circulating online showing him in a hotel in the United Arab Emirates, where he is seen walking into an elevator with Cheswa Kaunda, daughter of Zambia’s First President Kenneth Kaunda. […]

LUSAKA – “Cheswa, don’t be scared of witchcraft. There is no witchcraft.”

President Hakainde Hichilema is heard making the remark in a slightly longer video circulating online showing him in a hotel in the United Arab Emirates, where he is seen walking into an elevator with Cheswa Kaunda, daughter of Zambia’s First President Kenneth Kaunda.

The footage captures a brief but unusual exchange between the President and Cheswa before the elevator doors close.

“Yes Boss, we are not scared. We will respond,” Cheswa responds.

President Hichilema then continues, apparently referring to claims circulating about him.

“Haa, can you answer? You are too good. They are saying HH will die, we shall bewitch him.”

The video then shows the President coming out of the elevator and walking with members of his entourage.

The setting and sequence in the longer version provide more context than the shorter 30-second clip that has been circulating. The footage clearly places the encounter inside a hotel in the UAE, although Zambian Eye has not independently established the exact hotel or the date and time when the video was recorded.

A glimpse into an otherwise private moment

Unlike the formal photographs and official videos normally released during a presidential foreign visit, the footage captures President Hichilema in what appears to be a brief informal interaction while moving between locations.

It is this ordinary-looking moment that has drawn attention online.

The President is not addressing a crowd or delivering an official statement. Instead, he is walking alongside Cheswa, engaging her directly and joking about claims that people are saying he will die or that he could be bewitched.

The presence of Cheswa Kaunda also adds a personal dimension to the footage.

She is the daughter of Zambia’s founding President Kenneth Kaunda and has been involved in the country’s diplomatic engagements. Her interaction with Hichilema in the video is informal, with the President appearing to encourage her response before continuing with his entourage.

The UAE backdrop

The video comes as President Hichilema is undertaking a two-day working visit to the United Arab Emirates.

The UAE’s official news agency, WAM, reported that President Hichilema was received by UAE President Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan on September 29, with discussions focusing on bilateral relations, the economy, renewable energy and infrastructure.

The Zambian government has also been pursuing investment opportunities during the visit. Among the agreements announced was a reported US$2 billion project for a Medical City in Lusaka, signed during the UAE-Zambia Business Forum.

The video therefore appears at a time when the President is already attracting considerable public attention because of his international engagements and the decision to undertake the UAE working visit.

But the video itself does not explain when it was recorded within the visit or what particular occasion the President and his entourage were attending at the hotel.

The health questions surrounding the trip

The circulation of the video has also coincided with continuing discussion on social media about President Hichilema’s health.

Some social media users have suggested that the UAE trip was undertaken partly for medical treatment. However, there is no verified evidence in the video supporting that claim.

iVerify Zambia previously examined a claim that President Hichilema had travelled to the UAE for emergency medical treatment and reported that the claim was false, citing official government communication which described the trip as an official working visit.

The official UAE account of the visit likewise describes Hichilema as being in the country on a working visit and records his meeting with President Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan.

Zambian Eye has also not identified an official statement from the President’s office saying that he travelled to the UAE for medical treatment.

That distinction matters because the absence of a particular social media update, a change in the way a President communicates while travelling, or a short informal video cannot on its own establish a medical condition or medical treatment.

Why this particular video is attracting attention

The video is interesting partly because President Hichilema himself refers to rumours about his death.

“Cheswa, don’t be scared of witchcraft,” he says, before later referring to people saying that “HH will die” and that “we shall bewitch him.”

The footage does not identify the people behind those claims, nor does it establish how widespread they are.

It also does not show the President discussing his health.

Instead, what viewers see is an informal exchange in which the President appears to make light of claims about witchcraft and death before continuing with his entourage.

For Zambian Eye, that distinction is important in an information environment where short clips can quickly acquire a meaning beyond what the original footage actually shows.

The longer video provides additional context, but it still leaves some questions unanswered, including when exactly the exchange took place and what prompted the conversation.

For now, what the footage establishes is relatively straightforward: President Hichilema is seen inside a UAE hotel, walking into an elevator with Cheswa Kaunda; the two exchange remarks about witchcraft and claims about the President’s death; and Hichilema is subsequently seen leaving the elevator and walking with members of his entourage.

Everything beyond that requires evidence.