Popular award winning Zimbabwean journalist, Hopewell Chin’ono has denied ever changing his name to evade British Authorities. Writing on his social media platforms, Chin’ono said:
Good evening,
Some of my followers have messaged me privately and some commented publicly, asking if it is true that I changed my name to evade British immigration authorities or to avoid fraud charges in Britain.
IT IS NOT TRUE!
My change of surname was done legally through the Zimbabwean government, and I informed the British government about it through my visa application process.
I have never faced any fraud charges or had any pending court cases in Britain against me!
The British government even issued a statement through its embassy dismissing these lies, which were originally started by the secret service in Zimbabwe when I was with the BBC and later spread by jealous and envious colleagues in journalism.
Below, you will find my original passport from 1993, my last Zimbabwean passport with my new name, the change of name letter, and the letter from the British government dismissing these false allegations.
I understand that not everyone is aware that changing one’s name is both legal and permissible. Mukusha was my great-grandfather, Rugoho was my father, and Chin’ono was my grandfather. Mukusha’s son was Chin’ono, Chin’ono’s son was Rugoho, and Rugoho’s son is Hopewell. My father expressed a wish for his name not to die, and this is what informed my decision to change my name.
A Zimbabwean broadcaster, Comfort Mbofana, was told by my father why this was done more than 20 years ago at my home in Chisipite. I hope this puts an end to the hate campaign by a deranged individual who tweets about this daily and is so consumed with hatred that he holds Twitter Spaces spreading these lies in an attempt to discredit me, and has been doing this for years. He has written to many governments when I travel for conferences, spreading this hate campaign in an attempt to get me deported.
Unfortunately, not all people in our communities are decent, some are malicious, envious, and even evil. It is sad that I had to explain what ordinarily is a family affair and should have remained a family affair. However because I am a public figure who is followed on social media by over ONE Million people, I decided to put this matter to bed once and for all. Thank you.
