Johansson became a celebrity overnight in Malawi owing to his uncanny resemblance to the former president and his measures to seek legal means of proving his identity.
Johansson's adoptive[citation needed] mother, Miriam Kaunda, claims that Jumani's father is Muhammad Jogee, an Indian-Malawian living outside of Malawi.
[3] Kamuzu's DNA was secretly taken from the College of Medicine for the purpose of preliminary tests with the help of an unnamed Malawian doctor.
[4] Preliminary DNA tests conducted in a private lab in South Africa show that Jim Jumani Johansson was the biological son of Kamuzu Banda.
[4] Jumani was still seeking official DNA testing with permission of the Banda estate to prove or disprove his paternity, up until his death.
[6] Miriam Kaunda raised Johansson, but Jumani insisted that she was not his mother, notably due to her refusal to take a DNA test for maternity.
[3] In tense court battles, they have attempted to block Johansson from legally changing his name to Kamuzu Banda, and from visiting the family estates.