DRC invites Lusaka to seek its "enemies"

Zambia on Wednesday confirmed it had received a formal invitation from the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) to investigate allegations that individuals intent on destabilising the Zambian government were operating in the DRC. Earlier this week the DRC ambassador to Zambia, Jean-Marie Kazadi, sidestepped diplomatic protocol and told the local media of his government's growing uneasiness over senior Zambian officials who were accusing the DRC of "harbouring enemies of the Zambian government". Kazadi urged Zambia to undertake a verification mission to the DRC to produce evidence in support of the allegations, and promised his government was ready to take action against the offenders. "There have been claims that Xavier Chungu [the former Zambian intelligence chief] is in the DRC, and that he and a few officials from the previous government are supplying weapons to Zambians, with the intention of bringing down the government," Kazadi told IRIN. "These accusations are without any substantiation. We want to have a transparent relationship with the Zambian government, so we request them to go ahead and investigate so that we can all sort this out," he added. Kazadi refused to be drawn on possible motives behind the intention to topple the government of President Levy Mwanawasa. "Until the verification mission is pursued, we are all in the dark," he said. Zambia's department of foreign affairs welcomed the invitation, saying the request would be "seriously considered". "At this stage it would be fruitless to comment on the veracity of such allegations, since an investigation is yet to be undertaken. But there are diplomatic protocols already in place which can address such matters," said acting foreign affairs permanent secretary, Lucy Mungoma. Mwanawasa has pursued former government officials accused of high-level corruption since he assumed power two years ago. But last month the government's crusade against graft suffered a major setback when corruption charges against Chungu and his co-accused, Attan Shansonga, the former Zambian ambassador to the United States, were dismissed after a court ruled that they were beyond the jurisdiction of Zambian courts as they had jumped bail and fled abroad. Chungu's whereabouts are unknown, but Shansonga is in Britain where he is a citizen by virtue of his marriage to a British woman.