Zambia: President Hakainde Hichilema Takes Oath

Zambia has seen its newly elected president, Hakainde Hichilema, sworn in this week on the back of several promises and the hope for a revitalised economy.

On 12 August, the 59-year-old businessman-turned-opposition-politician secured just under three million votes – a million more than his opponent, former incumbent Edgar Lungu – for a resounding victory.

On Tuesday, 24 August, Hichilema took the oath of office to become Zambia’s sixth democratically elected president during an inauguration ceremony held at Heroes Stadium, Lusaka, in front of an invite-only crowd as per coronavirus guidelines.

Hichilema’s first speech as leader paid special attention to growing the battered economy – with plans to boost and diversify its mining sector – so it could “lift more people out of poverty than ever before.”

He also promised unity, good governance and developmental foreign policy, while dealing with the political corruption that had become endemic under Lungu’s tenure.

Hichilema proclaimed “a new dawn in Zambia” to the cheers of thousands of supporters, then added that “the time has come for all Zambians to feel fully free.”

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