by Mukunyandela wa Nyandi Mukuyoyisa

Dugue and Kirtley, an international law firm representing the Barotse National Freedom Alliance (BNFA) has challenged Zambia’s President Mr. Michael Chilufya Sata to consent to a Permanent Court of Arbitration (PCA) process through a letter dated March 28, 2014. The letter challenges Mr. Sata in his capacity as President of the Republic of Zambia to append his signature on the signed submission Agreement, thereby agreeing to take the matter of Zambia’s continued illegal occupation and administration of Barotseland to the Permanent Court of Arbitration based in The Hague, The Netherlands. This allows the PCA, an independent and impartial international arbitral tribunal, to determine the validity of Zambia’s actions as well as the current legal status of Barotseland statehood under public international law following the unilateral abrogation of the Barotseland Agreement 1964 by Zambia in 1969, Zambia’s violation of the Agreement since 1965 and Barotseland’s final acceptance of the abrogation on March 27, 2012. Read more