Zambia's Foreign Minister Stanley Kakubo has resigned, the president's office announced, hours after he was embroiled in a social media frenzy over alleged dealings with a Chinese businessman, Report informs referring to AFP.

Kakubo, who had been foreign minister since September 2021, said in a letter he was quitting because of "malicious claims over a business transaction".

Earlier, a video showing two people counting wads of cash stacked on a table spread quickly on Zambian social media accounts.

An image of a signed handwritten note, dated July 8, 2022, was also put online. The note named a Chinese mining firm and a Zambian mining firm and said they had "exchanged $100,000".

Though the names of Kakubo and a Mr Zang were on the note, it was not immediately possible to verify the details.

Chinese enterprises are heavily involved in the Zambian mining industry, a bedrock of the southern African nation's economy. China is a major importer of Zambian copper.

Kakubo, an MP since 2016, said however he would remain "loyal" to the government.

The president's statement said Hichilema "implores" the former minister "to continue to serve diligently in his capacity as member of parliament".

The Chinese embassy said in 2022 that more than 600 Chinese businesses had invested more than $3 billion in Zambia.
China has also been a major player in international efforts to restructure Zambia's foreign debt. Zambia defaulted on its sovereign debt in 2020 as the Covid-19 crisis grew.