HARRY KALABA SAYS GOVT’S REMOVAL OF SOUTH AFRICA’S INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS MINISTER FROM PETITION AGAINST EDGAR LUNGU’S FAMILY TOO LATE TO REPAIR RELATIONS

Former Foreign Affairs minister Harry Kalaba says the Zambian government has acted too late in seeking to remove South Africa’s Minister of International Relations and Cooperation, Ozzy Lamola, from its petition against former president Edgar Lungu’s family over the repatriation of his remains from that country.

Mr. Kalaba, who is also Citizens First president tells Phoenix News that the inclusion of the South African government in the lawsuit is an affront to bilateral relations.

He says South African officials had made it clear that the country’s foreign ministry held no jurisdiction over private burial
arrangements for former heads of state residing in their territory.

Mr. Kalaba argues that the government’s late attempts to amend the petition will do little to repair the reputational damage already done and have become a source of embarrassment, undermining Zambia’s historic role in championing Pan-African cooperation.