{Zambians formed long lines Sunday to pay last respects to their late president, Michael Sata, who died in London last week aged 77 while undergoing treatment for an undisclosed illness.
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Sata’s body, which was repatriated on Saturday, is to lie in state for a week in the capital Lusaka until a November 11 funeral in a graveyard reserved for heads of state.
Sata’s widow Christine, along with other family members and officials, were among the first to view his body in the Mulungushi International Conference Centre. The doors were then opened to the public.
Meanwhile, Mr Sata’s son, Mulenga, has given a hint about his desire to succeed his father.
Mr Sata’s governing party the Patriotic Front, left with no clear successor already has its notable members jostling for the top position, which current interim leader Guy Scott is not eligible to fill in election to be held in less than 90 days due to a parentage clause in the country’s Constitution.
“These things happen, you have heard my name proposed here…it is politics,” Mr Mulenga is quoted as saying by the private daily The Post.
“I have been mentored in the school of Sata not to shy away from challenges, so why not?”
Mr Mulenga is current Lusaka Mayor and Lusaka district chairman for the governing party.
SYMPATHY VOTE
He may ride on the back of Mr Sata’s tribesmen and sympathy vote, but his bid may fail as he is not sufficiently grounded in the party.
Sata, a former trade union leader nicknamed “King Cobra” for his acerbic broadsides, had denied persistent rumours in the last few months of his rule that he was gravely ill.
His detractors portrayed him as an authoritarian populist, while his admirers — many ordinary Zambians among them — remember him as a dynamic figure with the country’s best interests at heart.
“Our president was a selfless man who wanted the best for this country, he sacrificed a lot for this country,” one grieving citizen, Mary Tembo, told AFP after viewing Sata’s casket.
Jean Ndayisenga, a Rwandan refugee living in Zambia for 17 years, said Sata would be remembered for giving refugees permanent resident permits. He said no previous Zambian presidents had ever given refugees such status.
“For sure we are going to miss the president. We only hope the one who will take over will follow his steps,” he said.
More: Daily Nation
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