ZAMBIA says it is engaging Zimbabwean authorities following remarks by President Emmerson Mnangagwa that the neighbouring country's security sector is heavily funded by the United States.
Mnangagwa was captured in a video telling Russian leader Vladmir Putin in St Petersburg on the sidelines of an investment summit that he was seeking strong support from the Russians as the US, Britain and other countries from the West had dumped Zimbabwe.
In an interview with NewsDay yesterday, Zambian Information and Media minister Cornelius Mweetwa said that country’s Foreign Affairs ministry was engaging authorities in Harare.
“Zambia and Zimbabwe enjoy cordial relations, we are one people. On that video, we do not want to make a quick response but our Foreign Affairs ministry is engaging the government of Zimbabwe over the issue,” he said.
“l also want to highlight that these matters are not for media consumption, that is my comment at the moment.”
Mnangagwa was quoted in the video telling Putin that Zimbabwe was ditched by the West in favour of Zambia.
Keep Reading
- Takwara snapped up by Saudi Arabia club
- Savanhu’s widow in court for assault
- Zanu PF councillor uses political muscle to evade paying debt
- Rainsford hopes to unearth more cricket gems from Kadoma
“And in that process, the West will run away. You see, the West has just begun consolidating its power in Zambia, our neighbour.
“You know, there was a time when Zambia and Zimbabwe were one; it was called Northern and Southern Rhodesia. It was made one by the British, but they are now separate.
“And the Americans are consolidating their power in that country, both in terms of security and in terms of financial support to Zambia to make sure that we feel lonely.”
Mnangagwa said following the US’s move to back Zambia and Malawi, Zimbabwe would strive to strengthen relations with Russia.
Zimbabwe and Zambia have had constrained relations since President Hakainde Hichilema was elected Zambian leader.
The diplomatic standoff escalated when the head of the Sadc Electoral Observer Mission to Zimbabwe, Nevers Mumba said Zimbabwe’s disputed August 23, 2023 elections were not free and fair.
Some Zanu PF activists and leaders reacted angrily to the Mumba’s report after the elections last year.
Hichilema, in his capacity as Sadc’s current chair on politics and defence, appointed former Zambia vice-president Mumba, who released a damning preliminary report shortly after Zimbabwe’s elections last year.
Hichilema is close to opposition leader Nelson Chamisa, whom the Zambian leader invited to his inauguration in 2021.
Zimbabwe and Zambia enjoyed cordial relations since the war of liberation of the 1970s but this changed when Hichilema defeated Edgar Lungu in the 2021 presidential election.
The Zimbabwe African People’s Union and its military wing, Zimbabwe People's Revolutionary Army were based in Zambia during the war of liberation when the country was being led by the late Kenneth Kaunda.