Zimpapers Logo

Zambia’s fifth President since it attained independence from Britain in 1964, Michael Chilufya Sata, has died. President Sata, who was 77, died at a London hospital on Tuesday night and is survived by wife Dr Christine Kaseba and two children.

Secretary to the Zambian Cabinet Roland Msiska announced that Vice President Dr Guy Scott will be the acting president.

A seasoned and no-nonsense politician, he was nicknamed “King Cobra”.

He also had zero-tolerance for corruption, saying in a statement after his inauguration: “During the campaigns we made an undertaking that we shall robustly fight corruption and we shall do just that.”

Zambia and Zimbabwe enjoy strong historical relations, with the northern neighbour having offered rear bases for freedom fighters during the liberation struggle.

President Sata was also a special friend of the people of Zimbabwe, President Mugabe and the ruling Zanu-PF party.

Zambia and Zimbabwe in 2013 co-hosted one of the most successful sessions of the United Nations World Tourism conferences in Victoria Falls.

President Sata once described President Mugabe as the “Chief of Chimurenga” and slammed the Western sponsored MDC party and the illegal sanctions imposed by Britain, the United States and their allies, while supporting Zimbabwe’s land reform programme.

When Zimbabwe was under siege in 2007, he called on Sadc member states to “adopt a position that does not allow the recolonisation of Zimbabwe” and urged them to “strongly protest against such attempts.”

President Sata’s inauguration in 2011 was witnessed by foreign dignitaries, including Vice President Joice Mujuru who led the Zimbabwean delegation comprising Cdes Sydney Sekeremayi and Didymus Mutasa.

A year after the MDC’s formation, the late Zambian leader did not hide his disdain of the MDC and said members of the party were being funded by whites to return colonial rule to the region.

“Anyone who works with someone wanting to deprive you of your birthright is not worth to rule,” he said.

President Sata criticised the MDC and white former commercial farmers for taking court action to reverse the land reform programme and eventually remove President Mugabe from power.

He said there was no way the courts would remove President Mugabe from power because he had suffered for the liberation of the country.

“For the sake of two dollars, someone is going to court to remove (President) Mugabe when he sacrificed more than two dollars for the country. Since when did the court fight for this country?” he said.

At one point, he described the MDC as a “Mad Cow Party” saying, “they are gangsters. If someone can go in front of television cameras collecting money, collecting money from whites publicly, then I wonder what they do behind closed doors.

“The laws are made by us (governments). The courts do not manufacture land. Without land, we are as good as dead.”

During Zambia’s 2006 presidential elections, President Sata hinted that if elected, he would follow similar land reform policies done by President Mugabe.

“What President Robert Mugabe has done is sensible… He hasn’t roasted any white persons,” he said. “He has just taken back what belongs to them (Zimbabweans). Mugabe hasn’t done anything wrong. It is the imperialists, the capitalist roaders who say he is a villain.”

In 2007, President Sata further attacked the MDC saying: “If the MDC had looked at the critical areas to attack Zanu-PF, they would have found some, but now they are ineffective because they are working against the poor people by opposing the land reform exercise, the people would have supported them… Morgan Tsvangirai should not fight President Mugabe on behalf of the imperialists. The people will not respect him.

“We (Zambians) died for this country. We are willing to die for this country again.”

l To Page 2