Chisuzi said the army was proud of Katongo’s impressive performance at the ongoing African showpiece where Zambia was eliminated in the first round.
“We were impressed with Katongo’s performance at the African Cup of Nations tournament and this is the only way we can appreciate his hard work. It is a way of motivating him to work even harder,” Chisuzi said.
The former Jomo Cosmos hitman has thanked the army and Chisuzi for the gesture saying he was happy that his hard work was being appreciated and pledged to continue working hard.
Katongo’s promotion yesterday was the second in four months, with the first one coming after Zambia’s 3-1 victory over South Africa in the last African Cup qualifier when he was promoted from corporal to sergeant.
Katongo scored all the three goals to help Zambia qualify to the African Cup finals as leaders from Group 11 that also had Congo Brazzaville and Chad.
Meanwhile, French Ligue 1 side, Rennes have disclosed that their new Zambian acquisition, Katongo’s brother, Felix, has been on their shopping list for a long time and were impressed with his progress.
Rennes general manager, Pierre Dreossi described Felix as a versatile midfielder who was capable of playing in a central position and on the wings.
“We have been following this player for a long period, he has huge potential and is a versatile midfielder capable of playing at a central position and on the flanks,” the Frenchman said.
Rennes also indicated that they were also interested in brother, Christopher, who is currently at Danish side, Brondby IF.
Katongo said he was expecting to get his French visa by Tuesday and fly out on Thursday to begin his career in France.
At Rennes, Felix will play alongside Ghanaian defender John Mensah, Cameroon attacker Stephane Mbia, Nigerian Uwa Echiejile, Djimi Traore of Mali and veteran French striker Sylvain Wiltord, among others.