A school outreach programme was one of the highlights of the Baton's stay in Namibia ©Gold Coast 2018

Zambia, Namibia and Botswana have been the latest nations visited by the Gold Coast 2018 Queen's Baton as the relay continued in Africa.

Proceedings in Zambia began with an opening run through the streets of capital city Lusaka, which included some of the country’s most promising athletes and Para-athletes.

Sprinter Sydney Siame was among those included, with the 19-year-old seen as one of the country’s rising starts having become the second fastest man in Africa during April.

He ran a personal best time of 9.88sec in the 100 metres and looks set to be one of their medal hopes heading towards the Commonwealth Games.

An outreach programme, which supports underprivileged schools in the city, was also visited by the baton as seven schools came together to celebrate the baton’s visit.

A morning of singing and a Maori haka also took place at the American International School during the visit, while a dawn service marked ANZAC Day on April 25.

The day commemorates those who have served in and died during conflicts or peace keeping operations from Australia and New Zealand, as well as several Pacific Island nations.

Zambia also hosted OlympAfrica, which saw more than 200 children aged between 10 and 15 to participate in free sports facilities daily.

The Baton then passed on to Namibia, where one of the highlights of the festivities was a visit to the Kalahari desert.

The San Bushmen, one of the world’s oldest people, spent time with the Baton during its time in the desert.

The Baton visited the Kalahari desert during its time in Namibia ©Gold Coast 2018
The Baton visited the Kalahari desert during its time in Namibia ©Gold Coast 2018

It is claimed the visit highlighted the vast diversity of people from across the Commonwealth.

The Botswana’s Commonwealth Games Association were next to welcome the Baton, with the village of Letlhakane among the places toured.

Letlhakane is famed for its diamond mines, with the visit claimed to underline that talent can been found in remote locations.

Five schools were also visited, while the Baton was also transported by donkey drawn cart.

The Baton is now set to visit Mozambique, Swaziland, Lesotho and South Africa.

The relay was launched on Commonwealth Day on March 13 at Buckingham Palace in London.

Each member nation of the Commonwealth will see the Baton pass through their country before the 2018 Games, which are due to run from April 4 to 15.