Guy Scott slams Zambian president over his attack on US envoys

Former Zambian vice president Guy Scott has criticised President Edgar Lungu's recent attack on United States diplomats, who aired their displeasure at the ongoing assault on press freedom in the southern African country following the closure of the The Post newspaper.

Scott shared his disappointment that Lungu was not being advised correctly by those close to him and said that the president should respect the foreign diplomats.

A previous News24 report indicated that Lungu had told the US diplomats to raise the funds owed by The Post newspaper to the Zambian Revenue Authority (ZRA) if they felt that the newspaper was being victimised.

Zambian authorities ordered the closure of the publishing company, Post Newspapers Limited, on June 21, demanding $6.1m in tax arrears. This was despite the newspaper having a court order to prevent its closure.