The United States of America has dismissed claims by President Emmerson Mnangagwa that it has established a military base in neighbouring Zambia.
In a meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin at Konstantinosky Palace in the Petrodvorets district of St. Petersburg, Strelna village recently, Mnangagwa said Zambia posed a security threat to Zimbabwe alleging that the United States heavily funded its security sector.
Mnangagwa claimed that the Americans were increasing their military presence in Zambia to isolate Zimbabwe.
However, addressing journalists in a virtual Press briefing on Thursday, June 27, the Commander of the US Africa Command and Marine Corps, General Michael Langley dismissed Mnangagwa’s claims as “false”.
Langley denied claims that the United States had a military base in Zambia, saying their security cooperation office was housed at the American embassy in Zambia. He said (via NewsDay):
That [Mnangagwa’s allegations are] absolutely false. We have no base in Zambia and we have no plans to put one there. Our approach is Africa-led and US-enabled. We work closely; we have a deep partnership with Zambia.
There is no base. We have increased security cooperation with them but there is no footprint and there is no base within our security cooperation office resident within the embassy.
Langley also spoke on the top regional security challenges throughout Africa and his participation at the 2024 African Chiefs of Defence Conference from June 24 to 26 in Botswana.
The African Chiefs of Defence conference was hosted by Botswana.
In his meeting with Putin in Russia on June 6, 2024, Mnangagwa accused the “Americans of consolidating their power” in Zambia, “both in terms of security and in terms of financial support to make sure that we feel lonely.”
His remarks have strained relations between Zimbabwe and Zambia.
Last week, Zambia’s Foreign Minister, Mulambo Haimbe, called on the Southern African Development Community (SADC) and the African Union (AU) to address the issue.
In the Zambian Parliament, Haimbe said Mnangagwa’s comments were an “unwarranted attack on Zambia’s sovereignty.” He said:
The statements made by President Mnangagwa are not only baseless but also damaging to the spirit of unity and mutual respect that underpins our regional cooperation.
We call upon SADC and the AU to address this matter decisively and conclusively to preserve the integrity of our regional partnerships.
In April last 2023, the US Africa Command (Africom) announced it was setting up an office in Zambia. Africom has bases across Africa.
Zambia and many other African countries are close to the US and other Western democracies. At the same time, some states like Zimbabwe and South Africa are allies of China and Russia which are under authoritarian governments.
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