Social media rumors that the First Lady Mutinta Hichilema flew to Dubai in a ZAF Gulfstream jet to attend the Merck Foundation Africa-Asia Luminary annual conference have been debunked by the government.
The First Lady took a commercial flight to Dubai, according to Dr. Oliver Kalabo, Deputy Secretary to Cabinet for Administration, who was speaking at a news conference at the Ministry of Information and Media in Lusaka today.
“It is not true that the first Lady travelled by ZAF Gulfstream jet. The truth of the matter is that the First Lady travelled by a commercial flight, Emmirates, flight number EK 714 and tickets provided by the organisers of the conference. She departed Lusaka on 13th November, 2022 at 21:30 hours. Coincidentally, the Gulfstream left at 02:00 hours, the same day, for Dubai, where it was due for routine maintenance. The plane has since been in Dubai and is due to return on 10th December, 2022. This is the fourth time that the jet has gone to Dubai for routine maintenance,” said Dr. Kalabo.
The First Lady traveled to Dubai at the Merck Foundation’s invitation to attend the 9th Edition of the Merck Foundation Africa-Asia Luminary, held on November 15 and 16, 2022, as the event’s guest of honor. Dr. Kalabo further explained this.
Kennedy Kalunga, the permanent secretary for information and media, also cautioned the public against accepting anything shared on social media as gospel truth in cases like this where the reports are wholly untrue.
According to a press release from the Ministry’s public and media affairs department.
