DNA: “Over my dead body”

A Kenyan woman, Hellen Mutimu, has publicly defied a court order sought by Nigerian nightlife figure Pascal Okechukwu, popularly known as Cubana Chief Priest, over an ongoing paternity dispute.

Although she publicly identifies as Hellen Mutimi, the court documents show she is addressed as Linda Otieno alias Hellen.

The order, filed at a magistrate court in Nairobi, seeks to bar her from sharing further social media posts alleging that Mr Okechukwu is the father of her child, a claim he has repeatedly denied.

Court documents made public on 18 June show that Mr Okechukwu applied for an interim injunction, asking the court to restrain Ms Mutimu from publishing what he described as defamatory content on social media or public platforms.

The motion, yet to be assigned a judge or hearing date, was filed earlier this month.

But in a fiery Instagram rant posted Tuesday, Ms Mutimu responded defiantly.

“Pascal Okechukwu, listen. You are playing with a madwoman. I will not keep quiet until you come for DNA,” she said.

She also posted a video in which she denied ever defaming the businessman and vowed to continue speaking out until he submits to a paternity test.

Backstory

PREMIUM TIMES reported that the matter first gained public attention in 2023 when Ms Mutimu, a Kenyan, accused the businessman of fathering her child.

She alleged that upon informing him of the pregnancy, Cubana Chief Priest urged her to terminate it and subsequently cut off all communication.

Mr Okechukwu, however, denied paternity, insisting he never fathered a child with the Kenyan hairdresser. He maintained that, given his financial means, he would never abandon a child if it were truly his.

Since then, Ms Mutimu has consistently shared purported evidence of their relationship and financial exchanges online to support her claims. Ms Mutimu alleged that she met Cubana Chief Priest at a friend’s wedding in Lagos in April 2022, where they had a brief encounter that led to her pregnancy.

Although he initially promised to support her, she claimed he later severed all contact and blocked her on every platform.

Speaking in an interview on 6 January with content creator Lucky Udu, the hairdresser said that after informing the socialite of the pregnancy, he encouraged her to return to Kenya and stopped responding to her messages. She further disclosed that financial hardship eventually forced her to close her salon.

According to her, although Chief Priest allegedly sent her a total of N300,000 in small instalments, he has since refused to acknowledge the child.

Court injunction

On Tuesday, Nigerian lawyer Emeka Ugwuonye, also known for representing May Edochie in her divorce case with actor Yul Edochie, disclosed on Facebook that Cubana Chief Priest had filed the motion at the Chief Magistrate Court in Nairobi.

According to the motion, the plaintiff is requesting: “An interim order of injunction restraining the defendant/respondent… from publishing, uploading, sharing, or disseminating in any form or manner, defamatory content against the plaintiff/applicant on any social media platform or public forum.”

The motion reads in part: “Pending the hearing and determination of this application, this Honourable Court be pleased to issue an interim order of injunction restraining the Defendant/Respondent… from publishing, uploading, sharing, or disseminating in any form or manner, defamatory content against the Plaintiff/Applicant on any social media platform or public forum.

The application has yet to be assigned to a judge or a hearing date.

Defiance

Reacting to the filing, Ms Mutimu restated her position that Mr Okechukwu is the father of her child and accused him of evading accountability.

“You refused to comply with the court order. Don’t think I will stop, never, over my dead body,” she said.

She also alleged that Cubana Chief Priest shared her phone number publicly but made no attempt to contact her privately to resolve the matter.

‘‘Pascal, this isn’t Nigeria, where you think you can use money to buy your way through situations. This is Kenya, my country. I did not defame you. I have repeatedly asked you to come and take a DNA test, but you refused. Because of you, I’ve suffered emotional trauma, I’ve been homeless, and I’ve endured countless insults and online bullying. You even blocked people who wanted to support me in peace. Because of you, I’ve suffered emotional trauma, been homeless, and faced online bullying,’’ she said.

In a video posted on her Instagram page in response to the court order, the hairdresser denied ever defaming Cubana Chief Priest.

She maintained that she would not remain silent about the online dragging unless Cubana Chief Priest killed her.

Ms Mutimu further insisted that she will not allow the socialite to go unpunished unless he agrees to conduct a DNA test on her child to prove his innocence.

“Look at Cubana Chief Priest, he thinks he can sue me. Pascal, you know you should be in jail by now. You have the audacity, after all these years of me calling on you to come and prove me wrong if you believe I’m lying. You had the nerve to share my phone number, yet you couldn’t call me to discuss how we can resolve the issue concerning the child.

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“DNA”

In several videos and social media posts, Ms Mutimu publicly accused Cubana Chief Priest of failing to provide her with financial support.

Cubana Chief Priest consistently denied the allegations, describing them as blackmail attempts.

He proposed a DNA test to clear his name and maintained that he had no financial obligations towards Ms Mutimu.

However, the DNA test has yet to be conducted as of press time, with Ms Mutimu repeatedly stressing the need for it to confirm the child’s paternity.

She further alleged that the socialite had deliberately avoided the test, insisting that her son resembles Cubana Chief Priest.

Ms Mutimu vowed to continue pushing for the DNA test, warning that she was prepared to take drastic action if necessary.