The AfricaNews articles of Mabvuto Phiri

  1. Malaria deaths reduce in Africa, diplomats tell UN


    Malaria deaths have significantlyreduced in Africa but more resources are required to eliminate the disease, African diplomats told the United Nations. African countries this week called on the global community to intensify efforts and commitments to avoid the reversal of the gains made in combating malaria and push for greater progress in sustainable interventions. - “Malaria control remains an emergency globally and even more so for Africa,” said the African Group through Liberia’s UN Mission Counsellor Gail Farngalo. Ms Farngalo said this in the UN General Assembly when she introduced a Draft Resolution entitled: Consolidating Gains and Accelerating Efforts to Control…

  2. Zambia endorses cancellation of summit


    Zambia has endorsed the cancellation of a meeting of representatives of the Non-Aligned Movement of countries after Israel banned four member states with which it has no diplomatic relations to enter. The decision by the Southern African nation to shun the meeting is in solidarity with other member countries, whose delegates were barred to travel from Israel to the West Bank city of Ramallah, the site of the meeting. - The prohibited countries include Malaysia, Indonesia, Bangladesh and Cuba. Zambia’s foreign Affairs Minister, Given Lubinda told journalists in the capital Lusaka of his country’s strong support for the Palestinian cause. The Ramallah meeting had been schedul…

  3. Twelve Zambians arrested for killing Chinese


    Eight Zambian miners have been arrested in connection with the killing of a Chinese manager by pushing a mine trolley at him during a riot at a coal mine in the south of the country. Four others arrested are villagers from the surrounding communities. - The eight miners have since been charged with murder of their Chinese manager while the quartet faces a charge of robbery after they were found in possession of stolen property. Southern Province Deputy Police Commissioner, Fred Mutondo has confirmed the development in a telephone interview. The protesting workers killed their supervisor and injured his colleague in a riot over wages at a mine known for tensions with the Chinese investo…

  4. Zambia’s president snubs opposition leader


    Political tension between Zambia's leader, Michael Sata and leader of the country's largest opposition-MMD-leader, Nevers Mumba intensifies. The leader of the opposition stormed State House to seek audience with the President over his decision to continue poaching members of the opposition party into Government portfolios. - As part of his inclusive approach to government since coming to power, Sata has appointed opposition MPs to positions in public office. Predictably, the appointed politicians have received cold shoulders from their respective political parties, which promptly threatened to expel them for breaking ranks. Heart broken Mumba stormed the official presidentia…

  5. Turkey to support Zambia fight unemployment


    The Turkish Government has pledged to aid Zambia in addressing the skyrocketing rates of unemployment among the young people that has plagued the southern African country. - Turkey’s Minister of Labour and Social Security Faruk Celik made the commitment during a bilateral meeting with Zambia’s Deputy Minister of Finance and National Planning, Miles Sampa in New York. At the May 9-13, 2011 UN Conference for the Least Developed Countries (UN-LDC IV) in Istanbul, Turkey promised to make available US$200 million annually to Least Developed Countries (LDCs) for technical cooperation and scholarships. Turkey’s assistance to LDCs will be in development and technical cooperat…

  6. Zambia committed to fighting terrorism – Envoy


    Zambia has told the United Nations (UN) General Assembly that the southern African nation will continue increasing its capacity to deal with threats of terrorism. The Permanent Representative of Zambia to the UN Ambassador Dr Mwaba Kasese-Bota told the gathering that Zambia had established the Financial Intelligence Centre and was in the process of establishing a Centre Against Terrorism (CAT). - “As for capacity-building, Zambia intends to continue increasing its capacity to deal with threats of terrorism in collaboration with other institutions, such as the Counter-Terrorism Implementation Task Force,” Ambassador Dr Kasese-Bota said in the General Assembly during the third revi…

  7. Ex-Zambia leader gets club de Madrid membership


    Zambia's fourth democratically elected leader, Rupiah Banda has been admitted to the prestigious organization of democratic former Heads of State and government, Club de Madrid. President Banda, who left office last September, joins other eminent leaders around the world, including former US President Bill Clinton, former UN Secretary-General Javier Perez de Cuellar, former Soviet Union President Mikhail Gorbachev, and former Canadian Prime Minister Kim Campbell. - Club de Madrid has become the world’s largest forum of former Presidents and Prime Ministers committed to sharing their experience in government and to overcome the challengers of leading and decision-making in contemp…

  8. Gunmen kill tourist in Zambia


    Zambia's tourism attraction centre hit by shooting incident has thrown United Nations World Tourism Organization General Assembly (UNWTO) preparations in disarray. This follows Tuesday's incident in which three gunmen stormed a lodge in Livingstone, Zambia's co-hosting city to the 2013 UNWTO's premier convention and shot dead an expatriate Spanish pilot, a security guard before turning the barrel on a French women, whom they wounded. - The development barely come four-months after a 22-year-old Australian tourist plunged into the Zambezi River after the bungee jumping cord snapped. Zambia has been seeking to draw significant mileage from the event through portraying a…

  9. Ex-Zambian leader defends African democracy


    Former Zambian President Rupiah Banda has made a strong defence for democracy as the African Presidential Center's new President-in-Residence. He was speaking to a packed house at Boston University in his maiden lecture. - In his opening salvo Banda said, “For democracy to flourish there must be a continuing stream of individuals of integrity and ideas with promise. There must be room for a new generation of leaders to rise to solve the next generation of problems. If democracy is going to be secure in countries like Zambia, if development is going to take root; old leaders can’t cling to power or attempt to consolidate it at all costs.” President Banda said Pr…

  10. Ex-Zambian leader quits, party deregistered


    After a long wait, Zambia's immediate past president Rupiah Banda has officially stepped down, as leader of the opposition Movement for Multi-Party Democracy (MMD) in Africa's biggest copper producer. - The announcement came barely hours after the largest opposition party that governed the southern African nation for twenty-years was deregistered on Wednesday by a government wing for failing to pay an outstanding statutory debt of almost 80, 000 dollars it owes the agency. Party Spokesperson, Dora Siliya told a news conference in Lusaka Wednesday that the 75-year-old opposition leader has communicated to the party of his decision to step down. Party Chairperson, Michael Mab…

  11. The night Zambian fans refused to sleep


    Zambia's victory over Equatorial Guinea at the on the on-going Africa Cup of nations (AFCON) on Sunday, January, 29th 2012 brought scenes of ecstasy characterized by honking and cheering among Lusaka dwellers. With the final whistle, the night was exemplified with happiness by fans across the city. - It is the night that Zambians refused to go to bed and said no to sleep following the Chipolopolo (Copper bullets) boys victory over the co-hosts that saw them(Equatorial Guinea) surrender top spot in Group A after losing 1-0 to Zambia in their own backyard in Malabo on the respective night. Zambia inflicted the first defeat to the co-hosts to win Group A and book a place in the quarter…

  12. Zambian leader undertakes first foreign trip


    Zambia's President Michael Sata, who has shunned international trips for the two and half months, as a cost serving measure of the country's meagre resources, travels to Kampala, Uganda, to attend the fourth International Conference on the Great Lakes Region Summit (ICGLR). - Recently while on a private visit to Southern Zambia, where he held private talks with his Zimbabwean counterpart, Robert Mugabe, Mr. Sata refused to board the Presidential motorcade in preference for a family bus as a cost serving measure. The Zambian leader’s dislike for extravagance has been communicated to state security agents who he has accused of over protection. The Uganda Summit that takes…

  13. Zimbabwe's prime minister divorces wife


    Zimbabwean Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai has announced he had divorced his wife of less than two weeks, claiming that a "greater and thicker plot" had undermined his confidence in the relationship. - "This relationship has been irretrievably damaged to a point where marriage is now inconceivable," said Tsvangirai, 59, in a statement released late week, referring to the traditional marriage he had with 39-year-old Lorcadia Karimatsenga since November 18. "I was well-meaning and had good intentions to rebuild my family and start a new lease of life following the tragic passing on of my wife on 6 March 2009," Tsvangirai's statement said. But since the…

  14. Zambia explains why Bush was not arrested


    Zambia received no sufficient information from Amnesty International to arrest former US President George W. Bush, the country's president Michael Sata said. The former US president was visiting Zambia this weekend to raise awareness about cervical and breast cancer. - Bush had a stop over in Zambia after visiting Tanzania and before he left for Ethiopia. The Amnesty International had made fresh calls on these three countries to arrest Mr. Bush during his trip to Africa. On Saturday, Zambia has dismissed the international rights group’s call for the arrest on torture charges of former President George W. Bush, who has been touring Africa to raise awareness about cervical and b…

  15. Arrest Bush during Africa trip: AI


    Amnesty International called on Ethiopia, Tanzania and Zambia on Thursday to arrest former U.S. President George W. Bush for human rights violations when he visits Africa this month. As president from 2001 to 2009, Bush authorized the use of water boarding and other interrogation techniques that Amnesty and other human rights groups consider torture. - "International law requires that there be no safe haven for those responsible for torture; Ethiopia, Tanzania and Zambia must seize this opportunity to fulfill their obligations and end the impunity George W. Bush has so far enjoyed," Matt Pollard, senior legal adviser, said in a statement. In February, rights groups said Bush can…

  16. Ivory Coast’s former president arrives in The Hague


    Ivory Coast's Former President, Laurent Gbagbo has arrived at The Hague, Netherlands to appear before the International Criminal Court on crimes against humanity. He faces four charges of crimes against humanity - murder, rape and other forms of sexual violence, persecution and "other inhuman acts". - The former president of Ivory Coast, who took his country almost to the brink of civil war after losing an election last year, was unexpectedly handed over into international custody on Tuesday and was flown overnight to the Netherlands, where the prosecutor at the International Criminal Court in The Hague has accused him of crimes against humanity, Ivorian government officials s…

  17. Climate talks underway in South Africa


    A 12-day round of UN talks on climate change got under way in Durban, South Africa on Monday, to try and thrash out a plan to counter global warming and the catastrophic effects of climate change. The UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) gathers 194 countries. - South African President Jacob Zuma and Chad President Idriss Deby Itno attended the opening ceremony of the talks, which will end with a high-level meeting of ministers. In his speech, Zuma stresses the need for all involved parties to strive to find a solution, here in Durban. “For most people in the developing world and Africa, climate change is a matter of life and death. We are always reminded by the lea…

  18. Gambia's Jammeh wins disputed polls


    Gambia's election commission has declared incumbent President Yahya Jammeh winner of Thursday's elections. Jammeh, who has been in power for 17 years, scored a landslide 72 per cent victory, according to results read out on Friday by Alhagie Mustapha Carayol, the chairman of the Independent Electoral Commission. - The vote was regionally criticised as it was marred by intimidation of voters and the opposition. Early results had shown the main opposition leader, Ousainou Darboe, trailing with just 14.5 per cent of the vote while independent candidate Amath Bah had polled 8.3 per cent. Nearly 800,000 voters were registered in a system under which they were given one marble each…

  19. Nigeria's anti-corruption chief sacked


    The chairperson Nigeria's anti-corruption agency, the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Farida Waziri, has been relieved of her duties. She was quite aware of this dilemma, which she captured aptly when she once observed: "If you fight corruption, corruption will fight back with everything it has got." - On Wednesday, her battle against corruption came to an end as President Goodluck Jonathan relieved her of her job as the Chairman of Commission She was said to have been informed of her sack by her aide who heard the news when it was broadcast. President Jonathan has since appointed Mr. Ibrahim Lamorde, who until now had been Commission’s Director o…

  20. SA passes secrets bill, media furious


    South Africa's parliament passed a bill on protecting state secrets on Tuesday despite criticism at home and abroad that it harks back to apartheid legislation and further harms the country's weakened credibility on tackling corruption. - The Protection of Information Bill allows any government agency to apply for classification of information that is "valuable" to the state and criminalises the possession and distribution of state secrets. Critics say the bill makes it easy to hide graft from public view and intimidates those who try to expose it. The ANC said the bill, passed with a vote of 229 in favour and 107 against, is essential for protecting state information …

  21. Ex-Zambian leader in DRC for polls


    Immediate past Zambian President, Rupiah Banda has been appointed to lead an election observer mission to the Democratic Republic of Congo. The former president Rupiah Banda has accepted to co-lead the mission with former USA president Jimmy Carter. - The appointment is by the Carter Centre. But President Michael Sata says the government will not foot the bill of former President Rupiah Banda’s aides and others like security personal. Presidential spokesperson George Chellah Sata said: “Since the invitation is to Mr Banda as an individual, government has difficulties in spending taxpayers’ money on other people he would want to accompany him on this purely exclusiv…

  22. Gender based violence surges in Zambia


    As Zambia joins the rest of the world in commemorating 16 days of gender activism to raise awareness, a twenty five year old woman of Lusaka's Chaisa compound has been stabbed to death. The United Nations defines violence against women as any act of gender-based violence that results in, or is likely to result in, physical, sexual or mental harm or suffering to women. - Esnart Mwape seems to befit the above definition after her husband allegedly inflicted pain on her and subsequently stabbed her to death. The deceased was on Saturday 19th November 2011, beaten by her husband only identified as Ian after he returned from a drinking spree. This was after the deceased allegedly misus…

  23. Zambia’s 2011 HIV infection rate drops


    Zambia is among 22 other Sub-Saharan African countries that have seen their HIV infection rates dropping by 25 per cent, a 2011 UN World AIDS Day report said. According to report which was released in Germany, Zambia, Ethiopia, Nigeria, South Africa and Zimbabwe are some of the 22 African countries who have seen a reduction in the incidences of HIV and AIDS recently. - United Nations under Secretary General Michel Sidibe said the reductions of HIV incidences in countries such as Zambia are an encouraging sign that more is being done to fight the disease. Mr Sidibe said the declines in HIV infections are due to changes in sexual behaviour, mostly among youths and the increase in the use of…

  24. Mutharika refuses to speak to Zambian issues


    President Bingu wa Mutharika failed to give a comprehensive answer on the diplomatic stand-off between Malawi and Zambia arising from a 2007 deportation of Zambia's President Michael Sata when he was opposition leader then. - “I had expected that President Sata would come to attend the Commonwealth Heads of State and Government Summit in Australia where I was ready to meet and greet him. Unfortunately he did not come but sent his vice, Guy Scott. We learnt that being a newly-elected President, His Excellency Sata had more pressing issues to attend to back home,” Mutharika told reporters in the Capital City, Lilongwe. Mutharika could not comment on the deportation of Sata…

  25. Zambia’s leader shuns another foreign trip


    Zambia's new leader, Michael Sata is yet to travel outside Zambia from the time he was elected president. Sata has so far skipped three international engagements. The Zambian leader, who was expected in the neighbouring, Zimbabwe for the Zanu-PF-National People's Conference set for Bulawayo next month has instead opted to send a high powered delegation. - The delegation will be led by the party secretary and two other senior members and not Machael Sata, reported Bulawayo 24. “The party would be represented at the highest level by the secretary general Wynter Kawimba, who would be accompanied by two senior members of the central committee,” Sata’ spokesperson G…

  26. Malawi aviation in worse crisis


    Air transport in Malawi will be harder because the country now has no aircraft. The country's two Boeing; Kwacha and Sapitwa have been grounded in Johannesburg over one year now and the only plane which Air Malawi was chartering from South Africa has stopped operating because the company was making losses. - Air Malawi has no money to pay for the rehabilitation of the two planes. Nyasa Times sources at Air Malawi confirmed that the company has terminated the contract with a South African aircraft company which was flying between Johannesburg and Blantyre and Lilongwe including other Malawian routes. “The South African aircraft finishes its flights on Wednesday November 16 20…

  27. Ghana faces shortage of funds


    Donor support and lending by Bretton Wood institutions to Ghana will reduce sharply in the coming years. This is because the nation gain lower middle income status after the November 2010 rebase of the Ghanaian economy which put it in the middle income bracket. - Dr. Todd Moss, Vice President and Senior Fellow at the Center for Global Development, said the most immediate and direct impact for Ghana will be the change in its eligibility for concessional financing from the World Bank, which has been the country’s most important creditor for the past 30 years, according to the daily guide, Presenting a paper on Ghana’s New Income Status and Implications of graduation from the Int…

  28. Sex workers sue Malawi’s government


    Some 14 Malawian sex workers arrested by police and forced to undergo HIV tests two years ago have sued the government for "unfair action and violating their privacy," a high court official said on Sunday. The prostitutes, who all tested positive, filed for a judicial review of their case in 2009, but the court only gave consent to the sex workers to proceed with their action this year, the official from the administrative capital Lilongwe said. - The sex workers were charged for trading in sex while having a sexually transmitted disease. They were fined $7 (K1, 200) and set free. In the affidavits, the women say they have sued the government because after their arrest for prost…

  29. Nigeria ranked 4th globally in hostage taking


    The American Federal Bureau of Investigations (FBI) has given Nigeria the fourth position in its global ranking in Hostage taking and kidnapping. The FBI did not disclose the three countries ahead of Nigeria in the ranking, but it explained that the cases of hostage taking across the world have been under-reported. - Speaking in Lagos at a lecture organized by the Hubert H Humbert Fellowship Program Alumni Annual lecture at the Nigerian Institute of International Affairs (NIIA), an FBI agent, Ms Jennifer Dent, disclosed the ranking of Nigeria as number four in the world in hostage taking in Lagos, and also identified Nigeria as the greatest threat to cyber security in Africa. Hostage taki…

  30. Zambia among top corrupt countries: Survey


    Zambia has remained among the world's most corrupt countries in the latest Transparency International (TI) Global Corruption Barometer. The Southern African country has been ranked as 101 slipping two places downwards compared to last year's 99. - The Global Corruption Barometer, which started publishing its results in 2003, explores the general public’s views about corruption levels in their country and their government’s efforts. The Barometer, which complements Transparency International’s Corruption Perception Index (CPI), gathers the general public’s perceptions about how key institutions are affected by corruption. The country’s Police serv…

  31. DRC: Presidential aspirant pulls out of race


    With just about 17 days to go to the Democratic Republic of Congo-DRC-third democratic general elections, one of the presidential candidates has announced he is boycotting the polls. National People's Patriotic Party on the Congo President, Tshimankinda Ngandu Kalala has accused the independent electoral commission of Congo of failing to provide a level playing field for the contestants. - He says he has challenged the commission to show its independence, but has failed to do so. Mr. Kalala has regretted that his country is sliding in to a state of a breakdown of law and order ahead of the November 28th general elections. He was speaking in Lusaka. The first round of the presid…

  32. Legalize prostitution - Botswana's Mogae


    For 15 years Thato Serite has made her living as a prostitute along Botswana's busiest highway, hired by truckers plying the main route to South Africa. The 35-year-old is an expert at dodging police patrols, but Botswana's former president Festus Mogae wants to put an end to their cat-and-mouse game by legalising prostitution in hopes of bringing down one of the world's highest HIV rates. - "They are always after us and we are always running or hiding away from them. Some days we get unfortunate and get caught and have to part with our cash in paying fines. Some unscrupulous officers even demand free sex in exchange of our freedom," Serite said. One in four adult…

  33. Malawi courts China for survival


    Malawi President Bingu wa Mutharika is piling pressure on China to save the country's economy teetering on the brink of collapse after traditional donors rebuffed his zero budget financial plan, a report by African Development Bank (AfDB) has said. - But analysts say opening up to China, especially in the private sector, can strangle indigenous business ventures as most Chinese investors are eyeing traditional small scale trade in rural Malawi. The report, issued in August, puts Chinas loans and grants to Malawi at US$270 million(about K45 billion) and a significant private sector investment that has dwarfed donations Malawi gets, often with conditions, from usual donors. Britain,…

  34. Zambian motorists to pay more in carbon tax


    Zambian motorists will have to dip more in their pockets, as the government in the Southern African nation contemplates reviewing the carbon emissions tax on all imported and domestic motor vehicles on the roads, as a tax measure. - The copper rich nation is one of the countries in southern Africa that heavily imports cheap second-hand vehicles with high carbon emission from the Far East. Carbon emission results from the combustion of petroleum, coal and other natural gas. It is said to be one of the effects to climate change. The increase in carbon emissions tax, which was introduced in January, 2010, is for purposes of enhancing implementation of climate change mitigation measures f…

  35. African Union calls for media partnership


    The African Union has urged its member states to strengthen partnership with the media to effectively promote policies advocating for gender equality on the continent. The media on the continent is largely seen, as a threat to sitting governments but the change of the language by the supreme pan African organization may facilitate a critical, independent and investigative press, which is the lifeblood of any democracy. - Speaking during the just ended meeting for AU Gender Ministers in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, AU Director for Gender and Women’s Affairs Litha Ogana said that many African countries had challenges in promoting gender equality because they have not fully involved the media i…

  36. Africans rage against UK’s David Cameron


    Several African nations are responding with anger after UK Prime Minister David Cameron threatened to slash one type of bilateral aid known as general budget support to countries that refuse to reform laws which criminalize homosexuality. - In Malawi, Government and religious leaders say it was unfortunate for UK Prime Minister David Cameron to say that the country and other Commonwealth nations receiving British aid should respect gay rights. Cameron said after Commonwealth summit that his administration would use the budget support to ensure that human rights abuses against homosexuals come to an end. Malawi government spokesperson Patricia Kaliati said it was “unfortunate…

  37. Mugabe’s illness triggers panic


    Zimbabwe's ZANU PF, which has dominated the country's political landscape for over three decades without a break, is now at a crossroads as President Robert Mugabe's health problems, worsened by old age, mount ahead of the next crucial elections which could mark the beginning of the end for that country. - Mugabe this week left for Singapore again — suggesting his prostate cancer condition is increasingly critical — for further medical checks after his recent visit there which he claimed was on family business, official sources said. Informed reports say Mugabe is suffering from prostate cancer which metastasised, spreading to other organs of the body, while cre…

  38. Zambia’s leader threatens to dissolve parliament


    Zambian President Michael Sata has threatened to revoke the constitution and dissolve parliament if the opposition members of parliament (MPs) continue shooting down bills government is presenting in the house. This come barely two-weeks after he opened parliament. - The President said his government will then call for a fresh election and tell the Zambian people that the opposition was not interested in fighting corruption. He explained that the opposition MPs had given his government a first vote of no confidence by shooting down the motion for the constitution of the Parliamentary Accounts Committee (PAC) stating that his government would not hesitate to dissolve parliament if the MPs …

  39. Malawi's VP returns home after fears of arrest


    Malawi's vice president Joyce Banda will on Thursday return from Zambia where she attended independence celebrations at the invitation of President Michael Sata, effectively putting to rest rumours that she was seeking asylum in the country. - Rumours were rife that Banda failed to return Wednesday because there was a plot by government to arrest her on return and press treason charges. But her People’s Party officials and aides said the vice president returns Thursday “arrest or no arrest.” Her aide, Stephen Mwenye told local media that the vice president was not seeking asylum and could not do so. Mwenye said Banda was a fearless leader who could not go outs…

  40. Ex Zambian leader dines with successor


    Former Zambian President, Rupiah Banda made a historical return to State house to attend independence celebrations 34 days after his crushing defeat in the September 20th polls. Banda was one of the many invited guests who graced Zambia's 47 years of independence investiture ceremony, Monday. - This is despite the recent accusations by his successor that he had a hand in gold worth seven-million US dollars and purchase of two luxurious vehicles worth seven thousand dollars amid pressing challenges. The former head of state who appeared in a jovial and relaxed mood sat next to former first lady, Maureen Mwanawasa on his right while on his left was Namibian President, Ifikapunye Bohamb…

  41. Zambians begin voting in crucial election


    Africa's biggest copper producer, Zambia began voting Tuesday in an election seen in many quarters as a barometer for the country's strengthening of its democratic credentials since the re-introduction of multi-party politics about twenty-years ago. - Zambia, one of Africa's most stable countries has witnessed pockets of isolated incidents of violence in some parts of the southern African country, particularly in the capital, Lusaka and mining Copperbelt, a fate that could plunge the country into post-election violence. Over five-million eligible voters are expected to cast their ballots for a president, a new parliament and new local authorities in an election, which comme…

  42. ZAMBIA: Ex-president Frederick Chiluba dead


    Zambia's first democratically elected president, Frederick Chiluba has died. The late Chiluba's spokesperson, Emmanuel Mwamba, confirmed the death of the former president who died at his resident in Lusaka's Kabulonga area shortly after midnight on Saturday morning. - He was 68. The former Zambian leader is the most high profile figure to be investigated in an anti-corruption probe and was stripped of his immunity by parliament after being accused by his predecessor, Levy Mwanawasa of misusing millions of dollars of government money. Dr. Chiluba took office in 1991 after 27 years of one-party rule by Kenneth Kaunda. After two terms in office, he was barred by the con…

  43. Buried and forgotten Zambian heroes


    Zambia has officially failed to commemorate the 18th anniversary of the Gabon disaster, in which the entire national soccer team and officials perished off the coast of Gabon. However, Football Association of Zambia - FAZ - President Kalusha Bwalya laid a wreath in his personal capacity last Thursday at Heroes Acre at the Independence Stadium burial site. - The Association had earlier indicted that it will not take a lead role in the organization of the anniversary celebrations. In a statement on its website FAZ disclosed that it will soon engage the families and stakeholders in the preparation of the 20th anniversary celebratory remembrance. The families of the fallen heroes that per…