Cape Town - Zambian President Michael Sata’s death was confirmed on Wednesday by the secretary to the cabinet, Rowland Msiska, in a televised address.
Sata died in a London hospital. He was 77.
He was a controversial figure who was given the nickname “King Cobra” because of his sometimes venomous style of politics.
Ill-health appears to have struck down Sata before he could complete his first term and his demise has created great uncertainty about the succession in his Patriotic Front (PF) which is riven by bitter rivalry between its left and right wing factions.
Sata’s death would also, apparently, give Africa its first white president since South Africa’s FW de Klerk was succeeded by Nelson Mandela in 1994, as Zambia’s Vice-President Guy Scott should succeed Sata, at least temporarily.
Sata was known for his sharp tongue not only in Zambian politics but also in regional meetings, where his occasional outbursts against other leaders sometimes caused offence. But his critics said his bark was worse than his bite and that he did not always carry out his threats.
Before he and the PF party took office in 2011 after defeating President Rupiah Banda and his Movement for Multiparty Democracy (MMD), Sata had directed fiery statements at foreign investors, the Chinese in particular, for allegedly exploiting Zambian workers, especially in the country’s vital copper belt.
He was particularly enraged when Chinese mine managers at Collum opened fire on protesting miners in 2010.
Sata, a Catholic, also promised to restore Christian ethics and to root out the corruption which had bedevilled MMD administrations for the past 20 years.
His election created some concern among mining houses that he would introduce radical changes. But Sata toned down his election campaign rhetoric against the mining houses, though he did introduce minimum wages for domestic workers and non-unionised shop workers.
His election also encouraged mineworkers to strike for higher wages and this led to many work stoppages, including wildcat strikes. But some critics complained that this discouraged mining investment more than it improved the lot of workers.
The promise of a clean sweep of corruption is unfulfilled and the commitment to open politics undermined.
Sata and the PF also seemed to falter in keeping their election promise to attack corruption. They failed to bring any major targets to book apart from digging up 2.1 billion kwacha (then about $395 000) on the farm of Banda’s labour minister, Austin Liato.
Sata’s firing of some judges was also alleged to be motivated more by concerns that they had acted against the interests of his cronies than because of any misconduct.
And many questions were raised about his commitment to democratic government when he effectively banned the MMD by having it deregistered. The party eventually managed to overturn the move through the courts.
Sata’s departure for London earlier in October - for a “medical check”, according to the official announcement - had left little doubt that he was gravely ill as his absence meant he missed the 50th anniversary celebrations of Zambia’s independence.
Like many other African leaders, Sata apparently did not accept that he had become unfit for office and so went to New York in September for the start of the annual UN General Assembly debate, but was too sick to present his speech.
His failure to acknowledge his illness did not allow a succession process to be completed.
This “could unleash political chaos”, the journal Africa Confidential speculated recently when it became obvious that Sata was terminally ill.
The journal said that it appeared Sata had shifted in office from a left-leaning champion of state welfare and job creation to a moderate, and so might have favoured his “politically lacklustre” son, Mulenga Sata, to succeed him rather than the left-wingers in the PF.
In August, already ill, Sata fired Justice Minister Wynter Kabimba, who was considered the leader of the left wing faction. This suggested the right wingers lead by Finance Minister Alexander Chikwanda were in the ascendancy.
Scott is known to be a leading member of the leftist faction, but it is not clear whether he would be allowed by the PF to run the country until 2016 elections.
Scott earned some notoriety in South Africa last year by making some very unflattering comments about South Africa and its president, Jacob Zuma.
Independent Foreign Service