The widow of Zambia’s President Michael Sata,
Christine Kaseba, on Wednesday announced she will seek to contest the
January 20 presidential election to replace her husband who died three
weeks ago.
“As difficult as it is for me to mourn my
husband, I have come to the conclusion that part of the true mourning of
this great Zambian leader will be in completing the work he began,’’
Mrs. Kaseba said.
Deploring divisions within the ruling
Patriotic Front (PF), the 55-year-old obstetrician and gynaecologist
said that she had long worked alongside her husband and that she was the
right person to unite the party.
Mr. Sata’s son, Mulenga Sata, who is the
mayor of Lusaka, and the late president’s nephew, Deputy Commerce
Minister, Miles Sampa, have also expressed interest in becoming the PF
candidate in the presidential poll.
However, Mrs. Kaseba has received support from many women, saying it was time for Zambia to get a female head of state.
“Since independence, men have ruled this
great nation and we have seen what they have and have not been able to
do,’’ Beatrice Grillo, who coordinates a council of non-governmental
organisations, said.
Edith Nawakwi, leader of the small Opposition
Forum for Democracy and Development, has also announced her candidacy
in the presidential election.
Africa has only two female presidents, Ellen Sirleaf in Liberia and Catherine Samba-Panza in the Central African Republic.
Zambia is now ruled by Mr. Sata’s former deputy, Guy Scott, the country’s first white president since independence.
Report says Mr. Scott cannot run for president because his parents were not born in the southern African country. (dpa/NAN)
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