Career

In 2002, Siktana was appointed as the agriculture minister. He and his government faced widescale media condemnation for banning genetically modified maize donations during a widescale famine in 2002. Upon the re-election of President Levy Mwanawasa

Levy Mwanawasa

Levy Patrick Mwanawasa was the third President of Zambia. He ruled the country from January 2002 until his death in August 2008. He is credited for having initiated a campaign to rid the country of corruption...

 in 2006, Sikatana was appointed foreign minister

Foreign minister

A Minister of Foreign Affairs, or foreign minister, is a cabinet minister who helps form the foreign policy of a sovereign state. The foreign minister is often regarded as the most senior ministerial position below that of the head of government . It is often granted to the deputy prime minister in...

 on 9 August 2006. On 22 August 2007, the former ally of Mwanawasa was fired as foreign minister with Mwanawasa citing Sikatana's declining health. However, on 3 September, Siktana refuted that claim, citing instead his reputation as an anti-Mugabe

Robert Mugabe

Robert Gabriel Mugabe is the President of Zimbabwe. As one of the leaders of the liberation movement against white-minority rule, he was elected into power in 1980...

 politician and Mwanawasa's better relationship with Mugabe following his appointment as head of the Southern African Development Community

Southern African Development Community

The Southern African Development Community is an inter-governmental organization headquartered in Gaborone, Botswana. Its goal is to further socio-economic cooperation and integration as well as political and security cooperation among 15 southern African states...

.

He trained as a lawyer and during the one party rule by the first president Dr Kaunda, Sikatana was one of the fearless lawyers who championed the cause for justice and the respect of human rights.

Sources

• http://www.abc.net.au/pm/stories/s726176.htm"Zambia rejects GMO
  Genetically modified organism
  A genetically modified organism or genetically engineered organism is an organism whose genetic material has been altered using genetic engineering techniques. These techniques, generally known as recombinant DNA technology, use DNA molecules from different sources, which are combined into one...
  
   maize"] abc.net.au, 13 November 2002
• "Zambian minister fired over Zimbabwe crisis" The Southern African, 3 September 2007
• "2007 Politician of the Year: Mundia Sikatana" Zambia Online, 18 December 2007