Zambian student jailed in Russia dies on front lines in Ukraine – Lusaka demands answers from Moscow

Zambia is seeking answers from Russia over how a government-sponsored nuclear engineering student got killed on the front line in Ukraine.

The 23-year-old Lemekhani Nyirenda, was student at the Moscow Engineering Physics Institute, but in 2020 he was sentenced to nine years in prison for an unspecified offence.

Zambia’s Foreign Affairs Minister Stanley Kakubo said at a press briefing in the capital Lusaka on Monday that Nyirenda, was killed in September but Russia had only notified the southern African country recently.

“In view of this very sad development, the Zambian government has requested the Russian authorities to urgently provide information on the circumstances under which a Zambian citizen, serving a prison sentence in Moscow, could have been recruited to fight in Ukraine and subsequently lose his life,” Mr Kakubo said.

“As minister, I have been personally in touch, and will maintain contact with the family of the deceased in order to provide an update on more details surrounding their loved one’s death, once official communication is received from the Russian authorities,” he said.

The body of the deceased will also be prepared for repatriation to his home country, reports have added.