from ARNOLD MULENGA in Lusaka, Zambia
Zambia Bureau
LUSAKA, (CAJ News) – SPECULATION has gripped Zambia amid reports President Hakainde Hichilema has been taken ill.
The health of the president is an emotive issue in the Southern African country, where two died in office, namely Levy Mwanawasa, in August 2008 and Michael Sata in October 2014.
All former presidents that ruled the former Northern Rhodesia since independence from Britain in 1964, are late.
The list includes founding head of state, Kenneth Kaunda, who led until 1991 (died in 2021), and Edgar Lungu, leader from 2015 to 2021.
Lungu died in South Africa in July last year and remains unburied, in a mortuary in South Africa, following a deadlock between his family and Hichilema’s United Party for National Development (UPND) led government.
Rumours circulated again on Monday Hichilema had been taken ill and evacuated to South Africa.
Reports have been swirling since New Year’s Day that Hichilema suddenly collapsed while holidaying at his farm in Choma.
Sishuwa Sishuwa, historian and political commentator, asked the government to confirm reports that Hichilema was unwell and had been flown out of the country for medical attention.
“Or can the president himself appear in public to quell the rumours?” he quipped.
“It is normal to fall sick but Zambians deserve to know the condition of their president.”
Thabo Kawana, Ministry of Information and Media Permanent Secretary, dismissed the reports as “nonsense.”
UPND quotes a television channel implying Hichilema is on holiday in Namwala, in the Southern province.
Hichilema (63) last posted on his social media page after 20h00 on Monday.
“We stopped briefly at the Daniel Munkombwe Toll Plaza in Choma today to say ‘hi’ to our fellow citizens,” he is quoted.
Choma, over 286 kilometres west of Kinshaha, is the capital of the Southern province.
A torrid year is predicted for former opposition leader, Hichilema, who is seeking a second term.
– CAJ News