Zambian mayor sacked for not properly greeting First Lady

A Zambian mayor has been sacked from the country’s ruling Patriotic Party (PF) for disrespecting the First Lady.

The state-owned Daily Mail newspaper reported that Kitwe mayor Christopher Kang’ombe was suspended from the party last week. 

He’s also barred from all party activities for gross indiscipline after he reportedly refused to line up to greet First Lady Esther Lungu during her visit to his district. Kang’ombe had also been stripped of his position as the PF’s vice-chairman in the Copperbelt Province.

Announcing Kang’ombe’s sacking, PF Copperbelt Provincial Chairman, Nathan Chanda, alleged during a media briefing that the embattled mayor refused to be officially recognized during a meeting in which the First Lady was a participant despite being called three times, The Zambian Watchdog reported.

For Chanda, Kang’ombe’s actions were disrespectful, not only to the First Lady but the East African country’s President as well and equaled gross misconduct.

PF Copperbelt executive unanimously decided to uphold the recommendations of the disciplinary committee which asked that the Provincial Disciplinary Committee remove Kang’ombe from his vice chairman position.

‘‘During the visit of the First Lady, Kang’ombe was offered a back seat which he refused…After the church service, he refused to line up and greet the First Lady,’‘ reads part of his suspension letter, according to the Daily Mail.

“When the First Lady’s official envoy started off, he pulled away from the convoy and instead drove away,” it adds.

Kang’ombe, who, however still retains his mayoral post had been given 14 days within which he can appeal the punishment meted against him.

Meanwhile, Namibia’s first lady, Monica Geingos, had promised to give away all her wealth, estimated at $3 million to charity when she dies.

“I strongly believe that inheritance is one of the biggest drivers of inequality,” the first lady told the Thomson Reuters Foundation.

“If I’m telling poor children that they must be well educated, have the right attitude, and they must stay away from self-destructive behaviour and they’ll be fine, then surely that message should apply to my kids too?”

The 43-year-old lawyer and former head of Namibia’s first and largest private equity fund plans to leave her wealth to her charity ‘One Economy Foundation’ which was founded in 2016 with the slogan “One Namibia, One Economy”.

The organization aims to bridge the gap between formal and informal entrepreneurship in the African nation.