By SIMON MUNTEMBA
UPND cadre, Larry Mweetwa was denied entry into Zambia and not deported as he is claiming, the Daily Nation has learnt.
And Home Affairs minister Stephen Kampyongo says it is not true that Larry Mweetwa was deported from Zambia because he never signed his deportation order.
Mr Mweetwa, who is a British national of Zambian origin, lives in Botswana and was attempting to enter Zambia when officers flagged his passport. He however, managed to enter because the passport had already been stamped.
According to Livingstone sources, Mr Mweetwa spent a night at a lodge before being advised by the British High Commission to go back and retrieve his passport from the Kazungula border.
However, when he got back to the border, Immigration officers advised him to go back to Botswana as his entry into Zambia had been cancelled.
And Immigration sources said the purported deportation order Mr Mweetwa had posted on his Facebook was fake.
And Mr Kampyongo has said claims by Mr Mweetwa that he was deported were part of the UPND propaganda to win sympathy.
The Minister said he did not even know Mr Mweetwa who had been ranting on social media against Government and challenged those circulating the false deportation to produce evidence
“I don’t even know that chap. I have seen his ranting on social media but I don’t pay much attention to him. I am not aware of his deportation. If there is a deportation, I am the one to sign it but I have never signed a warrant for him.
“So, those spreading false information, ask from them for a copy of deportation order that I signed because, if anyone is deported, I am the one who is supposed to sign,” Mr Kampyongo said.
Social media has been awash with reports that Larry Mweetwa, a Zambian national living in the UK was on Friday ordered to leave within 48 Hours by the Immigration Department in unexplained circumstances.
Mr Kampyongo is reported to have declared Mr Mweetwa’s presence in Zambia as inimical to the country’s interest.
The reports indicated that Mr Mweetwa, an outspoken member of the UPND was in Zambia for his Christmas holiday and to help mobilise people to register as voters in Mbabala Constituency where he intends to contest as Member of Parliament before he was deported.
Mr Mweetwa announced his deportation on his Facebook page and described the experience as sad.
“It’s with a sad heart I share my ordeal. I went to Zambia to spend Christmas and also assist in mobilising voters in Mbabala constituency. When I reached the border I paid visa fees $50 and toll gate fees $50 and the immigration cleared me and stamped my passport and gave me 30 days to stay in the country because I was using a dual nationality passport,” he explained.
