Body of Zambian killed in the Ukraine war is returned home

By NOEL SICHALWE
Associated Press

LUSAKA, Zambia (AP) — The body of a 23-year-old Zambian student who died while fighting for the Russian army in the war in Ukraine has been returned home. The body of Lemekani Nyirenda who was studying nuclear engineering in Russia before joining the military arrived at Kenneth Kaunda International Airport in Lusaka on Sunday. Although he had been a student on scholarship, Lemekani was convicted of drug trafficking in April, 2020 and sentenced to 9 years in prison. He was later pardoned through a special amnesty on condition that he participate in the war and he was killed while fighting in Ukraine. Zambia’s Foreign Affairs Stanley Kakubo said his government has requested that Russian authorities give details of Lemekani’s demise.