Rupia Banda, Zambia’s Former President, Dies At Age Of 85

Rupiah Banda, Zambia’s former president, died on Friday at the age of 85 following a protracted battle with colon cancer, according to his son Andrew.

Andrew Banda told an AFP correspondent in Lusaka, “He is gone.”

From 2008 to 2010, the country’s fourth leader since independence from Britain lasted for three years, a period marked by economic progress and charges of corruption.

Banda was vice president when his predecessor, Levy Mwanawasa, died suddenly after a stroke, thrusting him into the presidency.

Despite supervising significant economic progress throughout his tenure, the senior diplomat was defeated in the 2011 elections.

During Banda’s brief presidency, Zambia’s economy grew, owing mostly to increased copper prices and a rise in Chinese investment.

He continued Mwanawasa’s construction spree, constructing much-needed roads, hospitals, and schools.

Banda took credit for Zambia’s 7.6% increase in growth in 2011, up from 6.4 percent the previous year.

He had anticipated that the improved economy would persuade voters to keep him in power.

The majority of Zambia’s 17.9 million people, on the other hand, did not benefit from the mining and construction booms.

As corruption allegations appeared, wealth increased in the hands of a few, tarnishing his reputation.

Michael Sata, the opposition leader, defeated him in a landslide in September 2011.

– ‘A farmer’s son’ –

Banda was born on February 19, 1937, in the little village of Gwanda, then the British territory of Southern Rhodesia, in neighboring Zimbabwe.

His parents had relocated to Zambia, previously Northern Rhodesia, in search of work.

Banda returned to his homeland after completing his studies in Ethiopia and Sweden, getting a bachelor’s degree in economics.

Banda began his diplomatic career in Europe in the early 1960s. Following that, he was named ambassador to Egypt, the United States, and the United Nations.

When Zambia’s first president, Kenneth Kaunda, appointed Banda as foreign minister and subsequently mining minister in 1975, he became embroiled in domestic politics.

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Banda was a famous businessman and enthusiastic football lover who was a long-time member of Kaunda’s United National Independence Party (UNIP).

He was the proprietor of KB Davis, a company that supplied mining equipment in Zambia’s north-central copper-belt region, and he oversaw various state-run companies under Kaunda.

He also dabbled in sports, serving as vice-president of the Zambian Football Association at one point.

Despite his triumphs, Banda continued to portray himself as a people’s leader.

In a 2008 interview with AFP, he said, “In addition to my political expertise, I am also a farmer, a man of the land.”

“I’ve experienced what it’s like when the rains come late and a crop fails.”

– ‘A thief’s friend’ –

Banda had planned to retire from politics and finish his years of active engagement with UNIP by settling on a farm in Chipata, in eastern Zambia.

Mwanawasa, on the other hand, drew Banda back into the fold, choosing him vice-president shortly after his 2006 election triumph over Sata.

When Mwanawasa died two years later, Banda outmanoeuvred a dozen other candidates from the now-ruling Movement for Multi-Party Democracy (MMD) to become the late president’s replacement.

He was quickly accused of giving his children government contracts and ignoring Mwanawasa’s anti-graft fight.

Banda refused to challenge the acquittal of former president Frederick Chiluba, who was convicted for alleged theft under his predecessor and acquitted.

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Mwanawasa’s corruption task team was disbanded as a result, causing Sata to call him a “buddy of thieves.”

In 2020, Banda disclosed that he had been diagnosed with colon cancer.

He had remarried with Thandiwe Banda, a political science teacher about 40 years his junior, many years previously.

When Banda took office, she made history as Zambia’s youngest first lady.