Doctors recommend surgery for Lungu

LUSAKA. — Zambian President Edgar Lungu needs urgent treatment abroad as his problem of the narrowing of oesophagus has recurred, his office said yesterday.

Lungu, elected in January, reportedly collapsed while giving a speech to mark the International Women’s Day in the capital Lusaka on Sunday.

Earlier tests showed he had fatigue, traces of malaria and low blood sugar level.

The president’s office said in a statement that Lungu had suffered from the narrowing of oesophagus, which could have led to the low sugar condition.

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“President Lungu has a history of the narrowing of oesophagus, which was corrected 30 years ago,” the statement said, adding that the doctors recommended immediate surgery.

Two former Zambian presidents died of illness when they were in office.

In 2008, late president Levy Mwanawasa died after collapsing during an African Union summit in Egypt while last October then president Michael Sata died in London where he had gone for medical check-ups. — Xinhua.