Hot FM's Oscar Chavula sues Chellah Tukuta over Facebook post comparing him to Rwandan genocide broadcasters

Hot FM chairman Oscar Chavula and the radio station itself have filed a defamation lawsuit against photographer and social media personality Cornelius Mulenga Chellah Tukuta, over a Facebook post that compared Chavula to Rwandan radio stations accused of inciting genocide.

According to a Statement of Claim filed in the Lusaka High Court, the dispute centres on a post Tukuta allegedly published on 28 August through his public page, Chellah Tukuta Studios. The post, which carried a photograph of Chavula, said radio stations in Rwanda had promoted genocide "just like Chavula promoted terrorists in Zambia." Chavula and Hot FM say the claim is false and defamatory, and argue it was widely understood, given Chavula's public association with the station, as accusing Hot FM itself of giving terrorists a platform.

WHAT THE CLAIM SAYS HAPPENED NEXT

The Statement of Claim says the post gained significant traction, drawing at least 465 reactions and four shares, along with comments and replies. Chavula and Hot FM say they sent Tukuta a demand letter over WhatsApp on 31 August, asking him to take the post down, issue a retraction and public apology, and commit not to repeat the allegations. According to the claim, Tukuta did not provide any of that. MUVI TV has not independently verified Tukuta's side of events and has not seen a formal response from him to these allegations.

The plaintiffs are seeking general damages, an injunction to stop further publication of similar claims, removal of the post, interest and costs, capped at K20 million in total, excluding interest and costs.

WHY THIS LAWSUIT ISN'T HAPPENING IN ISOLATION

The case lands in the middle of a much larger, ongoing political fight involving Chavula and Hot FM. Weeks before the August election, Ministry of Information and Media Permanent Secretary Thabo Kawana publicly accused Hot FM of operating as a propaganda platform for the National Reconciliation Party for Unity and Prosperity, claiming the station is owned by NRPUP chairperson Japhen Mwakalombe. Chavula responded on Facebook without directly addressing the ownership claim. Around the same period, he also clashed publicly with UPND Media Director Mark Simuuwe, after Simuuwe said Chavula should expect to be "treated as a political opponent" if he continued making political statements, and rejected Chavula's prediction that President Hakainde Hichilema would lose the election.

Chavula has separately described himself as the target of what he calls "shadow prosecutions" by successive governments, saying in an August 2025 statement that he was made to plead not guilty to a case he says had no basis, and alleging he had previously received pressure, including an instruction he says was relayed by a government official to shut Hot FM down entirely. MUVI TV has not independently verified those specific claims.

A REPEAT DEFENDANT

This is not the first time Tukuta has faced a defamation claim over content posted on Chellah Tukuta Studios. In June 2026, he was served with a demand letter seeking K10 million in damages after businessman Kapalasa Phiri's lawyers said Tukuta falsely claimed Phiri had received government contracts through a family relationship with former minister Gary Nkombo, allegations the lawyers called "wholly fabricated and untrue." It is not clear from available records whether that earlier dispute proceeded to a filed lawsuit.

WHAT HAPPENS NEXT

The case remains at the stage of a filed Statement of Claim. No court date, judgment or response from Tukuta has been reported. Under Zambian civil procedure, Tukuta is expected to file a defence, after which the matter would proceed through the ordinary High Court process.