After rioting, Zambia’s acting president reinstates official

In a sign of a bitter power struggle within Zambia’s governing party following the death of President Michael Sata last week, the country’s acting president, Guy Scott, fired the head of the party – but was swiftly forced to back down and reinstate him after riots broke out.

The fractures in the government over the succession question threaten to destabilize the southern African country, which is a major copper producer.

Sata died in office last week after a long illness that was repeatedly denied by officials. He had flown to London for “a medical checkup,” according to the government, after missing several crucial public engagements, including a speech to the U.N. General Assembly.

Scott, the vice president, became acting president, in accordance with the constitution. He has ruled out running for president; a presidential election must be held within 90 days.

Late Monday, Scott dismissed Edgar Lungu as the governing Patriotic Front party’s secretary-general. Lungu is seen as a front-runner to be the party’s presidential candidate.

As jostling in the ruling party heated up in recent months, with Sata sidelined, Lungu had dismissed a number of top party officials aligned with his rivals.

Scott on Monday warned Patriotic Front members against infighting and lack of discipline while the country was in mourning for Sata.

“Last week, I appealed to all my colleagues to mourn our departed president in dignity and desist from fractious succession campaigns,” he said in Monday’s statement, adding that some people ignored the warning.

“I have taken this step as party president to warn again all those who are disregarding a very sensible and humane request to reflect on their conduct,” he said in Monday’s statement.

The firing prompted Lungu’s supporters to take to the streets, some carrying machetes, to burn tires and throw stones. The disorder prompted police to fire tear gas.

Speaking on national radio, Lungu charged that his dismissal was illegal.

In what appeared to be a pointed reference to Scott’s skin color, he also accused the acting president of “insulting our culture.” Scott is the only white leader in sub-Saharan Africa, albeit a temporary one.

“This is illegal and highly provocative under the current environment in which we are mourning our late president,” Lungu’s statement read.

Scott reinstated Lungu after a meeting of the party’s central committee.

Among the rivals in the Patriotic Front jostling to be named the party’s presidential candidate are Lungu; former Justice Minister Wynter Kabimba; Sata’s son, Mulenga Sata, who is mayor of Lusaka, the Zambian capital; and Finance Minister Alexander Chikwanda.

Two opposition parties will likely field candidates in the presidential election.

The Patriotic Front took power in 2011, defeating the Movement for Multiparty Democracy (MMD) which had been in power for 20 years.

The president of the MMD, Nevers Mumba, accused Patriotic Front members of “stone age politics” by rioting over the removal of Lungu.

The Zambian Episcopal Conference, a religious body, said in a statement Tuesday that political jostling was un-Zambian and un-Christian.

“We further ask our political leaders to be more prudent in what they say and do in order to avoid heightening the levels of tension in the country,” the statement said.

Follow @RobynDixon_LAT for news from Africa