The Trump administration has withdrawn the U.S. ambassador to Zambia after the country’s government became incensed over the diplomat’s criticism of the country’s highest court for jailing two men over homosexual relations.
Reuters and Bloomberg reported Monday that Daniel Foote had been recalled after being summarily rejected by Zambian President Edgar Lungu in a Dec. 15 letter to the White House expressing anger over the ambassador’s remarks.
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In a statement to Bloomberg, the State Department confirmed the withdrawal of Foote and said the U.S. government was “dismayed” by Zambia’s position.
The State Department did not respond to a request for comment by The Hill.
“Since Lungu says he does not want to work with Foote, there was no point of him remaining,” an unnamed official at the U.S. embassy in Zambia told Reuters. “The U.S. cannot be paying a salary to someone who cannot work because the hosts don’t want him.”
Gay rights are heavily restricted in many African countries, a source of tension for many of the Western-based rights groups and relief organizations working on the continent.