20100412
AFRICA NEWS

The Zambian government has expressed outrage over the recent killing of their compatriot student in Russia. Lance Mate went missing on November 6, 2009 after a quarrel with some Russians and his body was this week retrieved from Kazanka River in Kazan City of that country.

A Zambian legislator, Mwenya Musenge, last week called on the government to independently investigate Mate’s killing since it was not the first time a Zambian was killed in Russia.

"Russian government provided scholarships to Zambians, it should not be the reason why we cannot condemn what happens to our people that study in Russia”, Musenge said as he spoke with anger.

“I know of a family that had no option but to withdraw their child from there (Russia),” said Musenge again.

University of Zambia Students’ Union (Unzasu) leader Timothy Lumba said: “As students’ movement, we condemn the killing of the Zambian in Russia.”

The Zambian Government has remained tight-lipped over the killing.

Russian Ambassador to Zambia Boris Malakhov regretted the death of Mate.

Malakhov said, “The first examination of the body showed that there are no signs of physical violence, but a criminal case has been opened with suspicion that it was killing”.

The Russian Government is providing 103 scholarships to Zambians to study in Russia this year. At least 1,500 had applied for the scholarships.

Racially motivated
He, however, underplayed racism against African students in Russia and said all foreign students were safe in Russia and such cases were very rare.

Annually, between 25 and 30 self-sponsored students from Zambia study in Russia.

According to sources at Zambian embassy in Moscow, at least four students from the southern African state had died in racial killing in Russia before Mate.