By Isaac Zulu
Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation Stanley Kakubo has said that the Zambian government was not officially notified about the recruitment of Lemekani Nathan Nyirenda in the Russian military operations.
Lemekani Nathan Nyirenda (aged 23) is a Zambian national who was studying nuclear engineering in Russia, but committed a criminal offence and was subsequently sentenced to a nine year prison sentence. But while serving his prison sentence he was recruited by the Russian government to go and fight in the war between Russia and Ukraine and died in the battlefield.
Giving a ministerial statement in Parliament on Friday, Kakubo explained that the Zambian government was only notified by the Russian government about Nyirenda’s conviction and sentence, but his condition pardon which took place on August 23,2022 and subsequent recruitment in the Russian military operations was not brought to the attention of the Zambian authorities.
He said that the Zambian government only came to learn about the death of Nyirenda in the battlefield and started making inquiries on how the Russian government recruited a civilian, who was serving a prison sentence, as a combatant.
Kakubo said that the it is against this background that the Zambian government, through the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, wanted to know the circumstances surrounding the death of Nyirenda.
He said that after several engagements with the Russian authorities, both in Zambia and Moscow, it was established that the Russian law, which he said was recently passed, provides that serving prisoners who are conditionally pardoned should be enlisted in the military operations.
“Unfortunately Lemekani Nathan Nyirenda died while fighting in the war between Russia and Ukraine. And I wish to state that the Zambian government was not officially notified about the recruitment of Lemekani Nathan Nyirenda in the Russian military operations through an amnesty arrangement,” Kakubo explained.
He also disclosed that negotiations were ongoing between the Russian authorities and the Zambian government to have Nyirenda come and serve the remainder of his prison sentence back in Zambia at the time of his death.
He further revealed that the Zambian Embassy staff in Russia only paid two consular visits to Nyirenda while in prison, as the legal position of the Russian government is that a serving prisoner is entitled to only two consular visits per year.
“Thereafter, the requests by the Embassy staff for next consular visits went unanswered. And as government we are dealing with this issue seriously,” said Kakubo.
And responding to Kamfinsa member of parliament Christopher Kang’ombe, who wanted to know if the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation has a tracking system to detect Zambian nationals serving prison sentences, not only in Russia, but in other countries as well, Kakubo said that the Zambian government has a tracking system to know the whereabouts of its citizens living abroad, adding that “currently there are no other Zambians serving prison sentences in Russia.”
He also disclosed that the remains of Lemekani Nathan Nyirenda will be repatriated back to Zambia on December 11, 2022 and asked for calm and patience from the Zambian people, while government is doing everything possible to establish circumstances surrounding the death of Nyirenda
