Zambia’s veteran opposition leader Hakainde Hichilema is set to be sworn in as president later today Tuesday(24th.August.2021), raising the hopes of his counterparts in other African states that they too can overcome state repression and one day rise to power.
During a long political career that saw him fail in five previous bids to become president, Mr. Hichilema was brutalized, tear-gassed and even detained for a traffic offence in 2017 that was deemed treasonous after his convoy failed to give way to the motorcade of outgoing President Edgar Lungu.
But in an extraordinary reversal of his fortunes, the man once declared an enemy of the state will be sworn in as Zambia’s seventh president after defeating Mr. Lungu in their latest election duel on 12 August. END
