Zambia is going to the polls on September 28, 2006. Five presidential candidates are fighting for the seat that second Republican president Frederick Chiluba once called very sweet.
All the five presidential candidates are promising Zambians heaven once elected to power. First president Kenneth Kaunda on September 13 reiterated his support for young Hikainde Hichilema - the United Democratic Alliance presidential candidate. He denied allegations that he has given his support to Hichilema because two of his sons are in alliance with him. The two sons are Tilyenji Kaunda, the United National Independence Party (UNIP) president who is chairman of the UDA and Kaweche Kaunda who is seeking election as Member of parliament in Malambo constituency.
Tilyenji stood and lost the disputed presidential race in 2001 which all observers believed were won by the later Anderson Mazoka but which were rigged in favour of current president Levy Mwanawasa.
Hichilema is new in politics. He resigned as a managing partner of Grant Thorton. in his declaration before Chief Justice Enerst Sakala, the UDA presidential hopeful declared assets of over K23 billion acquired in a short period of 15 working years. This has raised a lot of eyebrows because, observers allege, was earned through the administration of liquidated parastatal companies. Further observers allege that Hichilema mismanaged an Export Fund which was supposed to be accessed by business entities. They allege that he created shadowy companies which accessed this fund ahead of other eligible companies.
The other controversy surrounding Hichilema relates to the UDA presidential candidate's accession to the United Party for national development's presidence. They allege that Hichilema bought his way to the position and the party. In this regard his detractors claim that Hichilema bought support, first from Anderson Mazoka's widow and later to key members of the party.
They further allege that he rose to the party's position through tribalism because most of the people from Southern province belonging to the Tonga tribe publicly proclaimed his candidature. This briefly earned his the tribal tag which has not fully disappeared.
Thus first president Kaunda's support has not taken into account all these issues. Asked on Radio Phoenix on the link to his sons and whether he wanted to rule Zambia by proxy - the first president denied all this. However, he came out strongly against one of the most popular candidates Michael Sata, whom he claimed was not presidential material. And with regard to Levy Mwanawasa, the first president claimed Mwanawasa had allowed a known criminal and prohibited immigrant to return to Zambia to continue the plunder of Zambia's emeralds.
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