Barotse leader seeks asylum

A leader of the Barotse tribe in Zambia has fled to the residence of South Africa's High Commissioner in Lusaka after the authorities summoned him to answer charges on his remarks supporting the outbreak of secessionist violence in neighbouring Namibia's Caprivi Strip, diplomatic sources told IRIN on Tuesday.

Imasiku Mutangelwa, leader of the Barotse Patriotic Front fled to the Lusaka residence of South African High Commissioner Themba Thabethe on Friday night. He fled after being summoned to police headquarters following comments attributed to him in support of last week's separatist attack in the Caprivi Strip which left at least 14 people dead and scores injured.

"It is true that Mutangelwa has been holed up in the High Commissioner's residence in Lusaka since Friday," a South African Foreign Affairs official told IRIN. "As far as we are aware, Mutangelwa is seeking political asylum and the High Commissioner is talking to Zambian authorities to resolve the issue," the official said. He expected the issue to be resolved by Wednesday.

The Barotse minority resident in Zambia's Western Province, belong to the same ethnic group as the residents of Caprivi, the Lozi. News reports last week quoted Mutangelwa as saying the Lozis from Zambia's Western province had started crossing into the Caprivi to support the secessionist rebels there.

Mutangelwa was also quoted as saying that a meeting had reportedly taken place between the two Lozi groups, while other reports speculated that the rebels who last week attacked a police station, military base and a government broadcasting building had entered Namibia from southwest Zambia.