Wed, 10 May 2017 11:39:22 +0000
By CHIKUMBI KATEBE
A major diplomatic foray, in which UPND Vice President Geoffrey Mwamba sought political asylum in Swaziland has failed.
Contrary to reports that Mr. Mwamba had travelled to India for treatment for a recurring knee problem Mr. Mwamba had actually travelled to South Africa and Swaziland in particular to seek political asylum.
Sources in Swaziland have revealed that opposition UPND leaders have been trooping to Southern Africa, including
Swaziland in their continued
attempts to lobby the international community including the SADC community to ostracize Zambia following the arrest of its President Hakainde Hichilema.
SADC chairman, Swaziland King Mswati III has become the latest to rubbish suggestions that Zambia was in a crisis and his Government has rejected an application by UPND vice president Godfrey Bwalya Mwamba seeking asylum in that country.
Attempts by the Daily Nation to get confirmation from the Swazi High Commission failed but Zambians in South Africa confirmed that delegations from the UPND were spotted in Durban during the last World Economic Forum.
Mr. Mwamba, it was reported has since returned to Zambia,
although attempts to reach him on his phone failed as they went un-answered.
Yesterday Mr Mwamba was quoted in the media as having challenged those questioning his whereabouts to mind their own business, as the party was working at their strategy looking at the circumstances.
He was reported to have rubbished rumours that he was hiding, that he was not a coward and he had not abandoned his
president.
His lawyer, Martha Mushipe has earlier told the Magistrates Court that her client had failed to attend the court session because he was attending to a knee
problem.
It was claimed that Mr Mwamba was last week turned away from the southern African Kingdom of Swaziland where he had allegedly gone in search of asylum on claims that the Zambian Government was persecuting opposition political party leaders.
It was reported that top UPND officials have been going around the globe in an effort to soil Zambia’s impeccable reputation of being a haven of peace which seems to have backfired on Mr Mwamba.
There has been widespread speculation that, Mr Mwamba fled the country following the arrest of president Hichilema on charges of treason in relation to the Limulunga incident of 8th April, 2017.
Mr Mwamba has conspicuously been missing from the public and it was unlike him to be in hiding, but reports have indicated that he was “underground” in search of a safe haven to avoid arrest.
The UPND been making frantic attempts of denting Zambia’s image to the international community with claims of political instability and tension leading to unrest.
