News / National
Mugabe to attend Sata's funeral
06 Nov 2014 at 22:44hrs | Views
EIGHT African leaders, including President Robert Mugabe, have confirmed that they will attend the burial of late Zambian President Michael Sata, a senior government official said on Wednesday.
Sata, 77, died last Tuesday at London's King Edward VII Hospital where he had gone for medical check-ups and will be buried next Tuesday after a 14-day national mourning period.
Eight heads of state have confirmed their attendance, Minister of Foreign Affairs Harry Kalaba said during a press briefing.
They include Mugabe, President of the Democratic Republic of Congo Joseph Kabila, as well as leaders from Malawi, Rwanda, Kenya, Mozambique, Namibia and Uganda, he added.
South Africa will send its first lady, while Tanzania will be represented by its vice president, Kalaba said, adding that other countries will be represented by ambassadors and other senior ranking officials.
Their attendance was a sign that the late leader was loved by African countries, he said.
Sata, Zambia's fifth president from 2011 until his death on Oct. 28, 2014, is the second leader of the southern African nation to die in office after late President Levy Mwanawasa who died in 2008.
Sata, 77, died last Tuesday at London's King Edward VII Hospital where he had gone for medical check-ups and will be buried next Tuesday after a 14-day national mourning period.
Eight heads of state have confirmed their attendance, Minister of Foreign Affairs Harry Kalaba said during a press briefing.
South Africa will send its first lady, while Tanzania will be represented by its vice president, Kalaba said, adding that other countries will be represented by ambassadors and other senior ranking officials.
Their attendance was a sign that the late leader was loved by African countries, he said.
Sata, Zambia's fifth president from 2011 until his death on Oct. 28, 2014, is the second leader of the southern African nation to die in office after late President Levy Mwanawasa who died in 2008.
Source - Agencies