Zambian president Mwanawasa passes away

  1. Posted on Thursday 3 July 2008 - 15:08
    Mugadza
    Mugadza Munyaradzi, AfricaNews reporter in Harare, Zimbabwe
    Zambian President Levy Mwanawasa died in a Paris hospital on Thursday after suffering a stroke earlier this week. Mwanawasa, 59, was rushed to hospital on Sunday in the Egyptian resort of Sharm el-Sheikh where he was urgently transferred to France for further treatment.
    Levy Mwanawasa
    Mwanawasa was unable to attend the African Union summit where he was highly expected to face Robert Mugabe after he declared himself winner in the June 27 presidential run off after opposition leader pulled out.

    “He passed on this morning,” Malone Zaza, identified as the high commission spokesman, told the radio.

    Mwanawasa chaired the Southern African Development Community, which has been mediating between President Robert Mugabe and the opposition to try to end a political and economic crisis in Zimbabwe.

    Mwanawasa, who was the chairman of the Southern African Development Community(SADC) will be greatly missed because he was playing a pivotal role in resolving the Zimbabwean crisis.

    He had distanced himself from being a sympathizer of Robert Mugabe like president Thabo Mbeki of South Africa.

    The Zambian president was one of the African leaders who lambasted president for the violent political and economic recession characterizing Zimbabwe for the past eighty years.

    At one time he described Zimbabwe as a sinking titanic.

    He suffered a mild stroke in 2006 but said before being re-elected that year that he was fit to stand for office.

    Meanwhile, Deputy President Rupiah Banda had issued a statement saying he was not dead adding more confusion.

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