Rupiah Bwezani Banda Rupiah Bwezani Banda more popularly known as “RB” was the overwhelming choice for Presidential candidate of the ruling party, the Movement for Multi-Party Democracy (MMD) in the forthcoming presidential by-election in Zambia. The incumbent President of Zambia Dr.Levy Mwanawasa died in a Paris hospital on August 19, 2008 from the effects of a stroke that he suffered at Sharm-El –Sheikh, Egypt while attending the annual summit meeting of the African Union (AU). In elections held on September 5, 2008 to replace him by the party’s 60-member National Executive Committee (NEC), Banda polled 43 votes. His nearest rival had 11. Seven party provincial committees and unanimously endorsed Banda’s candidature even before that election.

Acting President Banda with late President Levy Mwanawasa

Adult life and Public Service 
It was a landslide victory that brought to the fore a man with a lifelong history of service to the people of Zambia.
“RB” has spent virtually all his adult life in the public service. The breadth of his experience and his coolness under fire has marked him out as the safest pair of hands at this trying moment in the history of Zambia. As it is, Zambia has no reason to doubt “RB.” He is a smooth operator very attuned to the exercise of power having been near the top since independence. He has been Vice-President of Zambia since 2006 and became the acting President upon the death of President Mwanawasa – a trying moment which thanks to his diplomatic skills and resilience passed off well for the country.
 

Participation in Zambia’s anti-colonial struggle
This is just the tail-end of his long career in the public service. He was one of a generation of young men who participated in Zambia’s anti-colonial struggle and went on to be trail-blazers after independence in October 1964.
He served as Foreign Minister of Zambia from 1975 – a critical period in the history of Southern Africa. At that time, Zambian diplomacy centred on efforts to liberate Southern Africa and Zambia’s role was pivotal in the events and initiatives leading up to resolution.

Foreign Minister and Regional Liberation Struggle
At the time, Zimbabwe, Namibia and South Africa were still under minority rule. The military coup that overthrew the Portuguese government of Prime-Minister Marcelo Caetano and paved the way for the independence of Angola and Mozambique had occurred only the previous year and the two countries won their independence only later that year.

Acting President Banda with Former South Africa Nelson Mandela and ex-wife Winnie during Mandela's first visit to Zambia after serving 27 years in prison

Zambia’s abiding interest in the liberation of the region meant that its Foreign Minister was among the key figures in the diplomacy and events that eventually led to the emancipation of the region. RB has therefore a regional profile. For, arising from that background he is known and has interacted extensively with many of the leaders of the region today. He for instance was foreign minister at the same time as Angolan President Jose Eduardo dos Santos was Foreign Minister of his country. He came to the foreign ministry after several years of service as ambassador of Zambia in some of the world’s most critical capitals. By that time he had already served as the Permanent Representative of Zambia to the United Nations where again he was right in thick of southern African diplomacy as Zambia sought international support and involvement in the liberation of countries south of the Zambezi. He had a critical input and left an imprint on the events that shaped the destiny of these countries.

President of the UN Council on Namibia
He for instance served as President of the UN Council on Namibia which was effectively the government of Namibia while the matter of South Africa’s disputed mandate over the territory that was at the time known as South-West Africa was resolved. The Council was also the focal point for the “Contact Group” on Namibia that was put together by the US Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for African Affairs, Dr Chester Crocker. It was largely through this contact group that the breakthrough that led to the independence of Namibia was achieved. Later as Senior District Governor for Lusaka, he was the political and administrative head of the Zambian capital, the country’s nerve centre, which gave him an invaluable insight into civic affairs as well as politics at the local level. He had been for many years, Member of Parliament for the Lusaka seat of Munali, at the time one of the largest as it incorporated what is now Lusaka Central constituency.

RB was among a group of young leaders of the United National Independence Party (UNIP), the party that won Zambia’s independence in October 1964. All were to undergo a kind of “baptism by fire” as progressively more responsible and challenging jobs were thrust on their shoulders. Exposed at an early age, they were to have some of the most illustrious careers to date in the service of their country. Among RB’s contemporaries, were Vernon Mwaanga who was to be Zambia’s Foreign Minister and subsequently Vice-Chairman of the Rural Development Sub-Committee of the UNIP Central Committee, Alexander Chikwanda, who served as Finance, Local Government, and Agriculture Minister, the late Ali Simbule who famously riled the British Government for likening it to a “toothless bulldog” wagging its tail before rebel Rhodesian leader Ian Smith and Moto Nkama who served at the UN and was for many years ambassador of Zambia to what was then West German.