Cape Town — Zambian Vice President Guy Scott hit out at opposition parties and observers who have accused him and President Michael Sata of repressive policies and perpetuating violence.

Scott was interviewed by The Guardian's David Smith after Margaret Thatcher's funeral in London, which he attended - and he sarcastically predicted that opponents would complain "to the Commonwealth, then the UN and, if still unsuccessful, the Klingon empire".

The vice president made several comments about governments in Southern Africa, including his own, which has had to deal with the contentious issue of gay rights.

The Zambian government was widely criticised for the arrest of a gay activist who, during a live television show, called for homosexuality to be decriminalized in the new constitution currently being drafted.

"The problem with this guy going on television was that we had to do something because if we had done absolutely nothing we would have got a bollocking from all these evangelical churches plus damn idiots. On the other hand, we didn't want to give him a particularly hard ride", he reportedly said.

Scott admitted to that pressures around gay rights but argued that it's not a priority, like unemployment for example.

Scott, of English-Scottish descent, became the Southern African country's vice president in 2011.