A student, Lemekhani Nathan Nyirenda sent by Zambia to study in Russia on Scholarship but imprisoned in April 2020 and sent to Ukraine this year has been found dear in the Russia-Ukraine battle line.
According to confirmed reports, “His father Edwin Nyirenda said the Student, Nyirenda, was working as a part time courier attendant when an unknown person handed him a package containing drugs.
The reports says the 23 year old, at the Moscow Engineering Physics institute, studying nuclear engineering died in September but Russia has only just informed Zambia’s Government.
In the interim, however, Lusaka has asked Moscow to urgently provide information on the immediate circumstances surrounding Lemekhani Nyirenda’s death.
Hence, it is still not clear on which charges Nyirenda was convicted.
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Zambia’s Foreign Affairs Ministry said it received word of Nyirenda’s death on November 9, and After communicating with the Zambian embassy in Moscow, it confirmed that the Student had been killed on September 22.
Right now, Russia has offered freedom of some prisoners in exchange for fighting in its war with Ukraine.
However, the situation surrounding his erstwhile release from prison are unknown.
Also, Zambia Foreign Affairs Minister, Stanley Kakubo said Zambia embassy in Russia established that Mr. Nyirenda’s body had since been transported to the Russian Southern border town of Rostov-on-Don for repatriation to Zambia.
In this regard, Stanley Kakubo called on Russian authorities to provide more information regarding Nyirenda’s recruitment and how He ended up fighting in Ukraine.
He further said, ” As minister, I have been personally in touch and will maintain contact with the family of the deceased to provide update on more details surrounding Nyirenda’s death.
