Lieutenant Christopher Mwamba Luchembe (born 1960) is a former Zambia Army Lieutenant who staged the 1990 Zambian coup d'état attempt during the one-party state era of Zambian President Kenneth Kaunda in 1990. His action came amidst widespread calls for multiparty democracy.
Mwamba Luchembe | |
|---|---|
| Personal details | |
| Born | Mwamba Luchembe 1960 Northern Rhodesia |
| Nationality | Zambian |
| Military service | |
| Allegiance |  Zambia |
| Branch/service | Zambia Army |
| Rank | Lieutenant (Zambia) |
On July 1, 1990 Luchembe announced in the radio studios of the Zambia National Broadcasting Corporation (ZNBC) that the Zambia Army had taken over the government and he cited riots of the previous week as reasons for his action; about 27 people had died in the riots, while more than 100 were wounded. Although Lieutenant Luchembe's coup attempt against President Kaunda failed, it weakened Kaunda's political power, which was already shaky after three days of rioting.[1]
Arrest
editLieutenant Mwamba Luchembe was captured by soldiers and was escorted from the Zambian National Broadcasting Corporation (ZNBC) radio studios and taken to the outskirts of the capital, Lusaka. "I wanted to take over the government but Kaunda's puppets are stopping me," he said, pointing to the soldiers surrounding him. "These are Kaunda's puppets."[2]
References
edit- ^ Perlez, Jane (July 1990). "Failed Zambia Coup Weakens Leader". The New York Times.
- ^ "Officer Held After Claim of Zambia Coup : Africa: State radio denies President Kaunda has been overthrown. The trouble follows food price hikes and riots. - latimes". Los Angeles Times. Archived from the original on 7 March 2016. Retrieved 18 February 2020.