Obituary for the late Zambian President, Dr. Levy Patrick Mwanawasa S.C

The third President of the Republic of Zambia, Levy Patrick Mwanawasa has died, 15 days before he could turn 60 years old, leaving behind a distinct and strong reputation of his dislike of illicit activities that disturbed his wish for good governance of this country.

Dr. Mwanawasa was born in Mufulira on the Copperbelt Province on 3rd September , 1948. He was the second born in a family of 10.

His father was born in 1923, at Mukobela village in Chief Chamuka's area in Chibombo District of Central Province, while his mother was born at Chapusha Village in chief Chipepo in Kapiri Mposhi in 1932.

The late Dr. Mwanawasa attended his primary education at various schools in Mufulira, Luanshya and Ndola rural.

In 1965, he qualified for his secondary school education and went to Chiwala Secondary School in Ndola, where he did his Form I (grade 8) to Form V (grade 12) from 1965 to 1969.

He qualified to go to the University of Zambia. While at the highest institution of learning in the country, Dr. Mwanawasa served as vice president of the University of Zambia Students Union (UNZASU). He organized students in several demonstrations in support of the liberation struggle in South Africa.

Because of his passion for justice, Dr. Mwanawasa pursued a Bachelor of Law Degree at the University of Zambia (UNZA) from 1970 to 1973 and obtained a degree with a merit.

The following year, in 1974, Dr. Mwanawasa began his work experience when he worked on part time basis at Jacques and Partners law firm. In June 1975, after his completion of studies at the Law Practice Institute in Lusaka, the law firm took him on fulltime as a Legal Assistant.

He was thereafter transferred to its Ndola office.

Dr. Mwanawasa worked for this firm, practicing law, until 1977, when he left the firm which, from 1976, changed its name to Cave Malik and Company.

In 1978, he started his own practice under the business name of Mwanawasa and Company, where he was senior partner until March 1992. He retired as senior partner of the firm because of his appointment as Vice President of the Republic of Zambia in 1991.

From 1982 to 1983, Dr. Mwanawasa served as Vice chairman of the Law Association of Zambia. In 1985, first Republican President, Kenneth Kaunda appointed Dr. Mwanawasa as Solicitor General of the Republic until 1986, when he returned to his private law practice.

His work was recognized both locally and internationally as he, in 1989, was admitted as Solicitor of the Supreme Court of England and Wales. In 1992, he was conferred with the dignity of State Counsel (SC) in Zambia.

Dr. Mwanawasa's excellent work as a lawyer saw him represent a lot of prominent people, one of them being Lt. Gen. Christon Tembo in his treason charges in 1989.

Because of his strong stance for the introduction of multiparty politics in Zambia and display of power in the application of the law in this struggle, he was nicknamed "Mr. Injunction” or "Arrest them”.

When the wind of democracy blew across Zambia, when many citizens cried that the country should move away from the soviet block and revert to plural multiparty political dispensation, Dr. Mwanawasa joined in championing these new human rights demands.

In 1990, he was, in absentia, elected Chairman of the Legal Committee of the interim committee of the newly formed Movement for Multiparty Democracy (MMD) at Garden House Conference.

When the MMD was registered as a political party in 1991, Dr. Mwanawasa was elected Vice President of the party, beating two other contestants, Lieutenant General Christon Tembo and Baldwin Nkumbula.

He was later in the same year elected Republican Vice President, by the then Republican President, Dr. Frederick J.T Chiluba after the party won the October 1991 general elections.

In this general election, Dr. Mwanawasa was elected Member of Parliament for Chifubu constituency in Ndola.

Two months later, on 8th December , 1991, Dr. Mwanawasa, while on duty, was involved in a nasty road traffic accident in which he sustained multiple body injuries and rendered him unconscious. His Aid de-Camp (ADC) died on the spot in this accident.

Dr. Mwanawasa was flown to Johannesburg, South Africa for medical treatment, where he remained in hospital for three months.

He was thereafter unable to continue playing his favourite sport, squash.

Because of his strong conviction that government leaders and every citizern at large should remain just, he resigned his position as Vice President of the Republic of Zambia, not because of the accident but because of his intolerance for injustice.

Dr. Mwanawasa cited gross abuse of office and corruption by some leaders in the MMD government and insubordination to him by some of his colleagues. He however remained vice president of the party, MMD, and continued to participate in many activities of the party.

In 1996, he challenged President Chiluba for the party presidency at the party's national convention but was defeated. He however continued to be a member of the MMD, though inactive.

He concentrated on his law practice firm which was called Levy Mwanawasa and Company, with effect from August 1994.

On August 23rd, 2001, the National Executive Committee of the MMD elected Dr. Mwanawasa, who was then outside the leadership of the party, as its presidential candidate in that year's presidential and parliamentary elections.

He won the election which was heavily contested by United Party for National Development's (UPND) Anderson Mazoka, Forum for Democracy and Development's (FDD), Christon Tembo and Brigadier General Godfrey Miyanda of Heritage Party, among many other contestants.

Dr. Mwanawasa was subsequently inaugurated as Zambia's third republican president on January 2nd, 2002. He also assumed the chairmanship of the Organisation of African Unity (OAU)/African Union (AU) until July the same year.

As republican president, Dr. Mwanawasa championed good governance and the rule of law. He assumed a "zero tolerance” to corruption stance and called his administration as "New Administration”, an administration of laws and not of men.

His strictness on fiscal matters, coupled with a lot of other policies, saw the country registering remarkable economic improvements, a few years after assuming office as President.

Dr. Mwanawasa suffered his first stroke in April 2006, which was mild and was successfully treated in London. He fully recovered and returned home, where he continued with his good work for Zambia and her citizens.

Last year, Dr. Mwanawasa assumed the chairmanship of the Southern African Development Community (SADC) until last weekend, when South Africa President, Thabo Mbeki took over at the just ended SADC summit in that country.

Among one of the challenges of his chairmanship of SADC, was the issue of Zimbabwe's political impasses between the ruling ZANU-PF of Robert Mugabe and the opposition Movement for Democratic Change under Morgan Tsvangirai.

In September last year, Dr. Mwanawasa was bestowed with an honorary doctorate degree in law by the Harding University of the United States of America in recognition of his outstanding performance as a lawyer over the past years.

The presentation of the doctorate was given to the President at the Benson auditorium of the university.

On 29th June this year, while on duty in Egypt where he had gone to attend the African Union summit, he suffered another stroke and was consequently admitted to Sharm-El-Sheik International hospital in that country.

He was later evacuated to Percy Military Hospital in Paris France, where he died at 10:30 hours this morning.

Dr. Mwanawasa, 59, was married to Maureen, who is also a lawyer by profession, and he has left behind six children.

Several Zambians described the death of Dr. Mwanawasa as a loss of greatest magnitude and have called for calm, peace and unity during the mourning period.

Acting President, Rupiah Banda, who announced the death of Dr. Mwanawasa this afternoon, said the nation would mourn for seven days.