Rwandan President Paul Kagame arrived in Livingston, Zambian early Monday for a state visit to Zambia aimed at advancing bilateral ties and expanding substantial cooperation, an official source confirmed to APA in Kigali.
It is the first visit by President Kagame to this Southern African country since one of Zambia’s veteran opposition leaders Hakainde Hichilema won the presidential election in August last year.
Kagame was upon arrival received by host President Hakainde Hichilema at Harry Mwaanga Nkumbula International Airport.
The two Heads of State are expected to hold a tête-à-tête followed by a bilateral meeting alongside respective delegations.
Following the bilateral talks, representatives from both delegations will sign seven Memorandums of Understanding (MoU).
The visit comes after former Zambia’s President, Edgar Lungu was accused in July 2020 of supporting “rebel attacks to remove Rwandan President Paul Kagame from power.
According to Maj. Callixte Nsabimana a.k.a Sankara, one Rwandan rebel spokesperson who is currently standing trial in Kigali, Lungu had already made a down payment of US$150,000 towards the rebel outfit’s cause, Nsabimana claimed.
The Rwandan rebel spokesperson who was arrested in Comoros and extradited to Rwanda in April 2019 accused Lungu before court of allowing his rebel group space to operate in his country to overthrow the Rwandan government.
Zambia’s government has rejected claims President Edgar Lungu had bankrolled a Rwandan rebel leader accused of orchestrating deadly attacks in his country’s border regions.
CU/abj/APA