COMMONWEALTH SG APPOINTS DIALOGUE ENVOY

Thu, 17 Aug 2017 10:06:45 +0000

By Mukosela Kasalwe

THE Commonwealth has appointed Nigerian scholar and diplomat Professor Ibrahim Gambari as Dialogue Envoy between President Edgar Lungu and UPND leader, Hakainde Hichilema, says Secretary General, Patricia Scotland.

Ms Scotland said she was happy that Prof. Gambari had accepted to be be the Commonwealth Dialogue Envoy for Zambia and that the organisation would ensure that the Nigerian diplomat would travel to Zambia at the earliest possible time to start consultations with all stakeholders on the road-map and other modalities for the process.

 

Ms Scotland said she was happy that Prof Gambari had accepted to be the Commonwealth Dialogue Envoy for Zambia and that the organisation would ensure that the Nigerian diplomat could travel to Zambia at the earliest possible time to start consultations with all stakeholders on the roadmap and other modalities for the process.

She said the Commonwealth, the church, civil society, political parties, and all other stakeholders would work towards ensuring that dialogue outcomes are implemented in good time for the 2021 elections.

In a press statement availed to the Daily Nation yesterday, communications officer Natricia Duncan said the Commonwealth leader expressed happiness that Director of Public Prosecutions Fulata Lillian Siyuni entered a Nolle Prosequi in Mr Hichilema’s treason case.

She said the DPP’s decision to issue a nolle prosequi was reasonable and offered a unique opportunity for the country to move forward in the interest of all Zambians, and to achieve political cohesion and reconciliation through dialogue.

Ms Scotland said the DPP, as a custodian of the public interest and the rule of law, would have weighed what was in the interest of justice and the public interest at a delicate point in Zambia’s history. She said following the commitment to peace and harmony generously given by both President Lungu and Mr Hichilema assured to her during her recent visit to Zambia, their pledge to engage in a constructive, responsible and forward-looking dialogue.

“I am pleased that Professor Ibrahim Gambari has accepted to be my Dialogue Envoy for Zambia,” she said.

Ms Scotland thanked President Lungu and Mr Hichilema for their commitment and resolve to move forward, putting the past behind them and looking ahead to jointly and collectively address the issues that had deeply divided the peace-loving people of Zambia.

Meanwhile, Inspector General of Police Kakoma Kanganja said it was within the jurisdiction of the DPP to discontinue, at any stage before judgment was delivered, criminal proceedings instituted or undertaken by her office.

Mr Kanganja called on peace loving Zambians to observe the law and exercise restraint from all engagements that could lead to breaching of law and order. He warned against unruly conduct likely to cause breach of public peace.

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