Hindustan Occasions by way of Getty PhotosZambia’s former President Edgar Lungu has died on the age of 68, his celebration has mentioned in a press release.
He had “been receiving specialised remedy in South Africa” for an undisclosed sickness, the Patriotic Entrance (PF) added.
Lungu led Zambia for six years from 2015, dropping the 2021 election to the present President Hakainde Hichilema by a big margin.
After that defeat he stepped again from politics however later returned to the fray. He had ambitions to vie for the presidency once more however on the finish of final yr the Constitutional Courtroom barred him from working, ruling that he had already served the utmost two phrases allowed by regulation.
In a brief video, Lungu’s daughter Tasila mentioned that the previous head of state, who had been “beneath medical supervision in current weeks”, died at a clinic in South Africa’s capital, Pretoria, at 06:00 (04:00 GMT) on Thursday.
“On this second of grief, we invoke the spirit of ‘One Zambia, One Nation’ – the timeless creed that guided President Lungu’s service to our nation,” she added in an emotional assertion.
Lungu first grew to become president in January 2015 after profitable a particular presidential election triggered by the loss of life of Michael Sata.
After finishing Sata’s time period, he gained an extra 5 years in energy in 2016 taking simply over 50% of the vote.
However after six years on the helm, Lungu was blamed for a struggling financial system and excessive unemployment. He misplaced in 2021 by near one million votes with Hichilema tapping into widespread dissatisfaction among the many citizens.
He mentioned he was retiring within the aftermath of the vote, however returned to frontline politics in 2023 as his successor’s reputation waned.
“I’m able to struggle from the entrance, not from the rear, in defence of democracy. Those that are prepared for this struggle, please come together with me, I’m prepared for something,” Mr Lungu instructed supporters on the time.
Andy Luki JrAfter returning to politics, the previous president complained of police harassment. At one level final yr he mentioned he was “nearly beneath home arrest”.
“I can’t transfer out of my home with out being accosted and challenged by the police and driving me again house”, Lungu instructed the BBC’s Newsday programme.
Within the interview in Might 2024, he alleged that he had been barred from attending a convention overseas and from travelling for medical remedy.
In 2023, the police warned him towards jogging in public, describing his weekly exercises as “political activism”.
The federal government mentioned that Lungu had “by no means been positioned beneath home arrest” and that he was free to train his rights.
Lungu was a lawyer by coaching however loved a meteoric rise in politics after profitable a seat in parliament as a PF MP in 2011.
He entered authorities as deputy minister within the vice-president’s workplace in that yr and rose to change into minister of house affairs in simply over 12 months.
He later grew to become minister of defence after which justice. A detailed pal described Lungu as a “good foot-soldier, lawyer and politician, father, husband and grandparent”.
Born on 11 November 1956, Lungu graduated with a regulation diploma from the College of Zambia in 1981. He additionally underwent army coaching on the then Miltez military school in Kabwe.
He later labored at Andre Masiye and Firm Advocates, Barclays Financial institution and Zambia Consolidated Copper Mines.
Further reporting by BBC Monitoring
Getty Photos/BBC
