After disappearing from public view for more than six weeks and reviving rumours of ill health, Zambian President Michael Sata made a brief appearance before a select audience at State House to swear in Permanent Secretary Kaiser Zulu.
The event was short lived, however, as the president caused a tense and awkward scene as he blasted a functionary over his duties before retiring abruptly and refusing any comments to the media.
The target of President Sata’s ire was Foreign Affairs Minister Effron Lungu, whom the president said had made the mistake of copying other high ranking officials on an official letter to him.
Sata said correspondence between him and any other government officials were “secret” and should not be copied to other cabinet members.
“If you write a letter to me and you copy it to other people I will not act on it but will shred it,” Sata thundered before his startled audience while tearing up the document.
President Sata has crafted a reputation publicly undressing junior officials and increasingly eccentric behaviour during swearing in ceremonies.
On April 2 of this year, similarly appearing after months of having not been seen in public, President Sata emerged for a swearing-in ceremony, however he detached himself from the proceedings and became furious over the groundskeeping crew of State House, complaining that they had forgotten to water the lawns. The Zambian head of state has also been known to publicly mock anyone with a “bald head” for unknown reasons, while other diplomatic appearances, such as the presentation with former U.S. President George W. Bush and an appearance before the African Union, have resulted in boos from the audience.
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