Ugandan socialite and entrepreneur Zari Hassan has dismissed speculation about the paternity of her two children with Tanzanian music star Diamond Platnumz, following the singer’s recent public comments about fatherhood.
Diamond, 35, stirred discussion last week after telling U.S.-based iHeartRadio that he was aware not all the children he raises are biologically his.
“I know I do have kids,” he said. “But I also know that some are not my kids… But I don’t want to argue with their mothers. I take care of all of them.”
Pressed on the exact number of his children, the WCB CEO star hesitated: “Four, five, or six. You know, as I said, these things can sometimes get crazy. I make sure I do my best to take care of all of them.”
Diamond, whose real name is Naseeb Abdul Juma Issack, has publicly acknowledged children with three different women: two with Hassan — daughter Princess Tiffah and son Prince Nillan — a son with Tanzanian model Hamisa Mobetto, and a younger son with Kenyan singer Tanasha Donna. Earlier this year, he married fellow musician Zuchu in a private Islamic ceremony in Tanzania, confirming long-standing rumors about their relationship.
The singer’s admission that there may be other children, and past comments that his mother believes he has more from earlier relationships, have added to the intrigue surrounding his family life.
In an interview on YouTube, Hassan said her children were not the ones Diamond was referring to.
“He wasn’t speaking about my children,” she said. “He has other kids, but they point at mine because they have all the attention. If they speak about others, they won’t get the needed traffic. But my children belong to Diamond. I would have taken them to their real father if it weren’t the case.”
She added that Diamond had never sought DNA tests for Tiffah or Nillan because “he is sure” they are his.
“If I had doubts, I wouldn’t put them on a plane to go out of fear of the test being taken without me,” Hassan said. “But I freely let them go. I left Ssemwanga when I was completely over him. I never went back when I started having children with Diamond. Same with Diamond. If I leave, I leave for good; there is no going back to that chapter. Ssemwanga is not Tiffah or Nillan’s father.”