Dead president in mortuary, successor seeks re-election: Why US, China are keeping an eye on Zambia’s presidential election
China has heavily invested in Zambia’s copper sector, while the US has shown new interest in the country as part of President Donald Trump’s focus on critical minerals to ease China’s dominance in that area.
Zambians vote is presidential election billed as a referendum on President Hichilema’s handling of economy
Many Zambians say they don’t feel the benefits as unemployment, food prices and an unstable electricity supply continue to strain household budgets. Hichilema says he needs another five years to create jobs, improve infrastructure and expand public services.
Zambia’s Guy Scott, who was first white head of state in decades in post-colonial Africa, dies at 82
Scott died at his farm in the capital, Lusaka, the government said in a statement. It said current Zambian President Hakainde Hichilema had accorded him a state funeral, although the date was not yet announced.
Why bitter political feud has left former Zambian president unburied nearly a year after his death
Lungu’s family wanted to bury him in South Africa because of his bitter political rivalry with current Zambian leader Hakainde Hichilema (pictured).
Court stops burial of former Zambian President Lungu in South African an hour before funeral service
Edgar Lungu and President Hakainde Hichilema had a long history of political enmity in the southern African country. Lungu beat Hichilema in a 2016 presidential election, and his government imprisoned Hichilema for four months in 2017 on charges of treason because his convoy didn’t give way to the president’s motorcade on a road. The move to imprison Hichilema was widely criticized by the international community and Hichilema was released and the charges dropped.
