President Paul Kagame is among the African Heads of State expected at the burial of President Levy Mwanawasa of Zambia today.

According to government sources, Rwanda’s President is one of more than 14 African Heads of State and leaders who will attend the burial ceremony.

Other leaders expected at the burial include Presidents Robert Mugabe of Zimbabwe, Thabo Mbeki of South Africa and his Foreign Affairs Minister, Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma, and many more.

"We have confirmation from 14 Heads of State and government who have indicated their attendance at the burial,” Zambia’s Foreign Affairs Kabinga Pande was quoted as saying.

Mwanawasa died last month at the age of 59 in a Paris hospital after suffering a stroke. He will be buried in the capital Lusaka at Embassy Park, situated outside the presidential secretariat.

He was, until his death, Chairman of the 15-nation Southern African Development Community. The post was taken over by President Mbeki during a summit of the SADC in Johannesburg last month,  Mwanawassa was one of the major critics of President Mugabe’s policies on the African continent.

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