Lungu, wife Esther reportedly ‘ejected’ from plane; Govt says no clearance given for S’Korean trip

Ex-President, Edgar Lungu, was reportedly ejected from a plane on Saturday and stopped from travelling to South Korea to attend a World Peace Conference.

While State House said they were not aware of the development, the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting stated that Lungu was stopped because he did not get clearance from Cabinet.

Lungu was scheduled to fly out to South Korea via Addis Ababa, Ethiopia but received a rude shock when a protocol officer approached him and his wife, Esther Lungu, to inform them that the trip had been cancelled.

Patriotic Front (PF) National Chairperson for Information and Publicity, Emmanuel Mwamba, confirmed in an interview on Saturday with journalists that Lungu was literally ejected from the plane after being cleared and issued with a boarding pass.

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“They were cleared properly, and bags were checked in. Boarding passes were issued, but afterwards there was an uncomfortable delay. Shortly, a protocol officer approached President Lungu and told him the trip had been cancelled.

“Now, how do you cancel a trip that is not yours, that you have not sponsored. How do you cancel a trip sponsored by other people, paid for by other people,” Mwamba wondered.

When reached for a comment, State House State House Communication Specialist, Clayson Hamasaka, said he was not aware of the cancellation of Lungu’s trip.

According to Hamasaka, the State House team had just arrived from China and was not aware about Lungu being stopped.

But Chushi Kasanda, Information and Media Minister said: “The office of the Sixth Republican President is recognised under the Act of Parliament and is a very important office.

“It is mandatory for his office to inform Cabinet of his plans to travel, but in this case, he did not receive clearance. This is procedure due to security and other protocol reasons.”

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