A Facebook post attributed remarks to Ministry of Information and Media Permanent Secretary Thabo Kawana claiming that President Hakainde Hichilema had no power to dismiss him and describing the President as “a small boy in the political game.” Kawana has denied making the remarks, describing the circulating posts as fake and malicious.
Claim
On 29 October 2026, ECL TV Zambia published a Facebook post attributing remarks to Permanent Secretary for Information and Media Thabo Kawana. The post claimed that Kawana had said President Hakainde Hichilema had no power to fire him and referred to the President as “a small boy in the political game.”
The post presented the alleged remarks as statements made by Kawana.
Source: ECL TV Zambia’s Facebook post
Verdict: FALSE
Rating Justification
The claim is rated FALSE because Thabo Kawana has denied making the remarks attributed to him and described the circulating posts as fake, malicious and entirely false. In a clarification published on his official Facebook page, Kawana disputed the attribution and alleged that the ECL TV Zambia page was being operated by individuals seeking to mislead the public and cause confusion. He urged members of the public to disregard the posts, refrain from sharing them and rely on verified and credible sources for information attributed to him.
The material reviewed confirms that the allegation was circulated on ECL TV Zambia’s Facebook page and that Kawana subsequently denied making the remarks. However, no original recording, transcript or independent corroboration of the alleged statements was provided for this fact-check. The remarks therefore cannot be treated as verified statements by Kawana.
Source: Kawana’s clarification on Facebook
Conclusion
Kawana has denied making the remarks attributed to him in the ECL TV Zambia Facebook post dated 29 October 2026. He described the circulating content as fake and malicious and urged the public not to share it.
In the absence of independently verifiable evidence that Kawana made the alleged remarks, the post does not provide a sufficient basis for treating the statements as authentic.
Help Stop the Spread of Misinformation
Before sharing claims about public affairs, verify statements against original recordings, official communications and credible sources.
If you encounter suspicious claims, images or videos, submit them to iVerify Zambia for verification.
- Email: factcheck@panos.org.zm
- WhatsApp: +260 762 974 750
Together, we can reduce the spread of misinformation and disinformation, promote access to accurate information, and protect the integrity of public discourse.