Zimbabwean leader Robert Mugabe was given a hero’s welcome on Thursday at the opening of a Southern African summit set to be dominated by international concerns over his country’s meltdown. The embattled octogenarian leader received thunderous applause as he walked into the summit of the Southern African Development Community.
Zambia is in the midst of record economic growth but political squabbles and the Southern African nation’s failure to tackle endemic poverty have taken off some of the sheen, analysts say. Multimillion-dollar contracts are pouring in, but most Zambians are preoccupied with the political jousting between President Levy Mwanawasa and main opposition leader Michael Sata.
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/ 19 December 2006
Zambia, normally one of Africa’s most stable countries, is facing unprecedented turbulence as opposition leader Michael Sata turns up the heat on the government only weeks after losing a general election. With tens of thousands of followers attending rallies of Sata, also known as "King Cobra", observers fear it is only a matter of time before simmering tensions boil over.