FORMER PRESIDENT FREDRICK CHILUBA DIES

By: Qeko

Reports from Lusaka states that Zambias former President, Fredrick Chiluba has died at the age of 68. Chiluba was the founding father of the Movement for Multiparty Democracy, the party which played a criticla role inthe fight for multiparty democracy in Zambia. he was also the champion of Democracy and a human rights campaigner for Zambia who ruled the christian nation from 1991 to 2001. After assuming power in 1991, Chiluba mananged to transform Zambia through the introduction of political and economic liberalisation which saw the improvement in the lives of Zambian.

In addition to the great economic change that Chiluba brought to the Zambian nation through his well accredited policies, there were times when lost direction as a President and a pro-democracy campaigner. Firstly is that Chiluba he had little respect for the founding father of the Zambia nation, Baba KK. Even though KK lost the election and handed over power to him, Chiluba continued to allegedly harrase Kaunda with jails and many forms of intimidation. In his mission to completely silence Kaunda, in 1996, Chiluba undemocratically barred the founding father of the Zambia nation from contesting the presidential elections alleging that he was of a Malawian descent.

The continued arrest of Kaunda by the Chiluba regime came to the climax in 1998 when Chiluba kept the Father of the Zambian nation in prison in Kabwe. It took Julius Nyerere, Robert Mugabe and other key african heads of states to plead with Chiluba to release Kaunda. This kind of behaviour not to respect the founding father of the nation was the very begining of the political downfall of Chiluba as he later became more autocratic and even tried to bid for a third term which failed and ended up annoning Mwanawasa at the MMD torch bearer for the 2001 Presidential elections. After Mwanawasa took over, Chiluba's expectations were never realised because the very same man he annointed turned back and commenced prosecution against his corruption behaviour and the money he allegedly store from the Zambian people.

Now that Chiluba his passed on, the question is what kind of legacy has he left for the Zambian people and Africa as a whole? Also what type of lessons can we learn from the way he ruled the Zambian people? Also what kind of lesson can all the upcoming politicians in Zambia and Africa learn from this great Zambian statesman?