Hulengende Faces Paternity Storm, Denies Everything

Story By Staff Reporter

Zimbabwean entertainer Hulengende sits at the center of a social media storm. A 23-year-old South African woman says he fathered her baby. The claims first trended in March and returned this week after a Harare podcast interview.

What is alleged

The woman says she met Hulengende on 30 November last year at one of his shows in South Africa. According to her, he spotted her in the crowd and sent people to bring her to the VIP section. After his performance, he asked her to spend time with him.

Hulengende told her he wanted a relationship, she claims, but never mentioned a partner or family. He then invited her to Zimbabwe. Together they crossed the border, and she photographed the trip.

In Harare, she says, he did not take her home. His associates booked a lodge and paid for her food. Later she moved in with a host, where she stayed for about two weeks. Hulengende allegedly visited around four times and gave her between R800 and R1,000 each time.

Then she learned he had a partner, she says, and she returned to South Africa. Hulengende blocked her there. About nine weeks later, she discovered she was pregnant.

How it went public

Her private chats and pregnancy test screenshots leaked online, and the story began trending. She denies leaking them. Instead, she suspects someone took them from her host’s phone.

Hulengende went on a social media live and said he did not know her. She joined the live to tell her side. Photos of the two at the border then surfaced, which she says made his denial hard to believe.

What Hulengende has said

• He has publicly said he does not know her.
• In a separate live, he disputed her account and said there was no intimacy.
• She says he publicly called for a DNA test. When she messaged him privately, though, he did not respond as she expected. She believes he is treating the matter as a public stunt.
• The podcast says it will invite him to respond. At the time of writing, he has not published a reply.

The partner’s role

The woman also criticised Hulengende’s partner. She said the backlash from other women upset her, and she asked why Hulengende does not face the same criticism. The two women clearly have a strained relationship.

The DNA question

Nobody knows yet whether a DNA test will happen. She says she wants one and believes he should support the child. She is sure he is the father because the timing of the pregnancy matches their time together. Hulengende continues to dispute her version of events.

A call for calm

During the interview, the host urged both sides to move the dispute off social media and involve family elders. He warned that posting the baby online could expose the child to victimisation later in life. He also urged men to take responsibility when situations go wrong.