• President Edgar Lungu signs a SADC agreement before the closing ceremony in Pretoria, South Africa yesterday. Picture by EDDIE MWANALEZA/STATE HOUSE

By JAMES KUNDA –
STATE HOUSE has revealed that the failure of a planned meeting between President Edgar Lungu and South Africa’s Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) leader Julius Malema and his Democratic Alliance (DA) leader Mmusi Maimane, was instigated by a prominent opposition leader in Zambia.
Special Assistant to the President for Press and Public Relations Amos Chanda alleged that the opposition directed the duo to shun President Lungu’s invitation for a meeting in Pretoria, South Africa on Saturday by phone from Lusaka.
Mr Chanda said the Head of State was ready to meet the duo during his visit in that country after its supporters, including those of the United Party for National Development (UPND) planned a picket at his hotel in Pretoria.
Mr Chanda told a Facebook page dubbed Smart Eagles that Mr Malema and Mr Maimane ‘U-turned’ after consulting the opposition leader, despite President Lungu availing himself for the ‘aggrieved’ parties to air their grievances.
“South African authorities were also informed of the planned meeting, but later this afternoon (Saturday), we read that the two opposition leaders were no longer coming after a telephone consultation with a named opposition leader in Lusaka,” Mr Chanda said.
Meanwhile, according to an article posted on an online publication dubbed Politics Web, on Saturday, Mr Maimane wrote that he could only meet the Head of State if the ‘dictatorial’ tendencies in Zambia’s governance were addressed.
EFF spokesperson Mbuyiseni Ndlozi told News24 that Mr Malema could not meet President Lungu at ‘short notice’.