Michael Sata

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Michael Chilufya Sata (born 1937 in Mpika, Zambia) is a Zambian politician, the former chief executive of the ruling Movement for Multiparty Democracy (MMD) and a close partner of former president Frederick Chiluba. As leader of the opposition Patriotic Front (PF), Sata, popularly known as "King Cobra", emerged as the leading opposition presidential contender and rival to incumbent President Levy Mwanawasa in the 2006 presidential elections, but was defeated by Mwanawasa according to official results.

1 Early years
2 2006 election
3 References
4 External links

[edit] Early years

He was born and brought up in Mpika, Northern Province. He worked as a police officer, railwayman and trades unionist before entering politics in 1963. He worked his way up through the rough-and-tumble rank-and-file of the former ruling United National Independence Party to the governorship of Lusaka in 1985. As Governor he made his mark as a man of action with a hands on approach. He cleaned up the streets, patched roadways and built bridges in the city. Afterward he became a Member of Parliament for Kabwata constituency in Lusaka. Though once close with then President Kenneth Kaunda, he became disillusioned by Kaunda's dictatorial style and he left UNIP to join the MMD during the campaign for multi-party politics.

After Frederick Chiluba defeated Kaunda in 1991, Sata became one of Zambia's most instantly recognisable faces. Under the MMD, he served as minister for local government, labour and, briefly, health where, he boasts, his "reforms brought sanity to the health system".

In 1995, he was appointed minister without portfolio, the party's national organising secretary during which his political style was described as "increasingly abrasive".

However, when Chiluba nominated Levy Mwanawasa as MMD candidate in 2001, Sata left the MMD and set up a new party, the Patriotic Front (PF). He contested the 2001 elections but did not do well - his party only won one seat in parliament.

[edit] 2006 election

Sata contested the September 2006 presidential election as a populist championing the causes of the poor in the face of Mwanawasa's economic reform policies. While the slate of candidates contesting the election frequently resorted to personal attacks and insults, Sata's remarks were at times quite scathing. At one campaign event in particular, Sata was reported to have ripped apart a cabbage in front of his supporters. The cabbage was a reference to Mwanawasa’s speech impediment, which is an injury from a 1992 car crash.^[1] He has also accused Mwanawasa of "selling out" Zambia to international interests, and at one event, he referred to Hong Kong as a country and Taiwan as a sovereign state. In response, China, which is interested in Zambia's copper reserves, threatened to cut off relations with Zambia if he was elected.^[2]^[3] Sata's right hand man in the campaign was Dr. Guy Scott, the Patriotic Front secretary general. Scott is a white Zambian politician. He served a number of ministerial positions during the Chiluba government. ^[4] Sata also received the public backing of Chiluba.^[5]

Initial results from the election gave Sata the lead, but further results put Mwanawasa in first place and pushed Sata into third place.^[6] Interim results released after votes from 120 of 150 constituencies were counted put Mwanawasa on just over 42% of the vote; Hakainde Hichilema had 28%; and the Michael Sata had slipped to 27%. When opposition supporters heard that Sata had slipped from first to third place, riots erupted in Lusaka.^[7] On October 2, the Zambian Electoral Commission announced that Mwanawasa had officially won the election; final results put Sata in second place with about 29% of the vote.^[8]^[9]

Sata was arrested in early December 2006, accused of making a false declaration of his assets when applying to run for president in August, along with other charges. He was questioned by police and released on bail. If convicted, he could have received a prison sentence of least two years.^[10] As a convict, he would also be unable to hold public office. Sata said the charges were politically motivated, and in court he pleaded not guilty to them.^[11] On December 14, the charges were dropped on the grounds that the declaration of assets was not made under oath.^[12]

On March 15, 2007, Sata was deported from Malawi shortly after arrival. Sata said that he was only there to meet with the business community, and alleged that the Zambian government had effected the deportation by falsely claiming that Sata was in Malawi to assist that country's former president, Bakili Muluzi. The Zambian government denied this,^[13] while the Malawian government gave no explanation for Sata's deportation. On April 6, Sata's lawyer said that he had initiated a lawsuit against the Malawian government for violating his rights.^[14]

After losing his passport in London in late 2007, Sata was issued another; however, on November 10 Ronnie Shikapwashya, the Minister of Home Affairs, announced that Sata's passport was withdrawn temporarily because he had obtained the new passport without following the necessary procedures and proving that he needed a new passport. Shikapwashya said that an investigation would follow, that Sata had been interrogated, and that he could face arrest.^[15]