By AUSTIN KALUBA
They say behind every successful man there stands a woman. Maureen Mwanawasa was not just an ordinary woman but had her own enviable attributes. So committed was she to her late husband Levy Mwanawasa that their connection endured death, culminating in her being laid to rest on his 16th Memorial Day, marking his departure on August 19, 2008.
She was the first of Zambia’s first ladies to face the emotional devastation of a sitting president’s death, which was at Percy Army Training Hospital in Clamart, France at age 59. That was followed by a traumatic flight home from France and a harrowing national farewell to Zambia’s nine provinces.
It all adds to many reasons why the former first lady, who died at the relatively young age of 61 and was put to rest on Monday, August 19, 2024, is considered one of Zambia’s most respected first ladies, singularly befitting a national day of mourning.
When the massive French Air Force plane landed at the Lusaka International Airport on Saturday, August 23, 2008, Maureen became a national widow as she stood at the top of the staircase to disembark after many hours airborne.
That image, which tore millions of citizens’ hearts to shreds, was only repeated when similarly, another sitting first lady, Christian Kaseba-Sata, stood at the top of the staircase when the plane landed on Saturday, November 2, 2014, from London.
STORY
Maureen Kakubo’s story began when she was born on April 28, 1963, in Kabwe in colonial Zambia, one year shy of Zambia’s Independence, to Jeniya Lupumpaula Chilunga Kakubo and Lupumpaula Buluwayo Kakubo. She was the eighth in a family of 10 children (including a set of twins), six boys and four girls. This was a time when African families had large families.
At the age of seven in 1970, she started her education at Raphael Kombe Primary School in Chimanimani township in Kabwe, proceeding to St. Mary’s Secondary School in Maramba, Livingstone in 1976. At St Mary’s, she pursued her Form One to Form Five (today’s Grade Eight to Grade Twelve), completing her secondary education in 1981. In later years, Maureen cherished very fond memories of the school and became an active member of FOMAGA, the school’s alumni association.
Maureen met her future husband, Levy Mwanawasa, a fellow lawyer in Kabwe and the two got married on May 7, 1987. The couple had four children together, three girls and a boy.
ICHIBUMBA
Zambia’s entry into the 1990s cannot be recalled without the towering stature of ‘ichibumba’ MMD Vice-President Levy Mwanawasa shaking the judicial space with his court injunctions – the first time many citizens were learning of such legal tools – which were formidable obstacles in the ruling UNIP’s attempts to bar the new political party from sweeping the liberation entity from power after 27 years in control.
The ‘ichibumba’ nickname, which in ciBemba means ‘brick wall’ meant that Levy was impenetrable and un-put-down-able; which image was reinforced by the legally and politically razor-sharp spouse he had in Maureen.
Levy was to leave the Chiluba administration in 1994, citing uncontrolled corruption in high places. Come 2001, Levy was nominated to be the ruling MMD’s presidential candidate. Maureen campaigned with her husband till he won the December 27, 2001 polls, taking office on January 2, 2002.
POTENTIAL
As early as 2006, Maureen was seen as a potential candidate for president of the country, but following her husband’s death she did not file as a potential candidate to represent her husband’s party in the election.
Despite being pleasant and amiable, she could also be combative; as she was seen to be when she clashed with Michael Sata, then the leader of the Patriotic Front (PF), who on following the valedictory tour went to pay his respects to her at her husband’s funeral. She then sent him away.
Maureen was president of the Organization of African First Ladies against HIV/AIDS and founder of the Maureen Mwanawasa Community Initiative (MMCI) in 2002. She was also the joint owner of Mwanawasa & Company, her husband’s law firm until he entered politics and left his private practice.
Her services to humanity were recognized internationally, leading to her being awarded the International Hope Award by World Vision in 2006.
Like her husband, she was a Jehovah’s Witness, but in 2001 she was excommunicated for being actively involved in politics. As a result of the excommunication, she joined the Baptist Church.
In May 2016, she ran for executive mayor of Lusaka on the United Party for National Development (UPND) ticket. Maureen filed her nomination papers on May 30, 2016, and received the endorsements of Guy Scott, who had served as vice president and acting head of state, as well as Sylvia Masebo and Obvious Mwaliteta.
During her campaign, she promised to curb the almost perennial cholera outbreaks and water shortages if elected. Maureen also promised to clean up Lusaka by creating a garbage collection system. Media reports conveyed her sentiments:
“Everywhere you look around in Lusaka, there is garbage and this should change starting this week when we form Government. There is no way our beautiful city can be floating on garbage…The levels of indiscriminate disposal of garbage in Lusaka city are alarming. When you are on the streets of Lusaka, you look west you see garbage, you look east you see garbage, you look north, it’s garbage, you look south it’s garbage. This is unacceptable.
“Would you like it if your house was filled with garbage and there is a bad odour all around? The answer is ‘no’. We need to maintain our hygiene and stay healthy and fit. It is our duty to keep our city clean not only for us, but also for the people visiting our city and also for the future generation.”
Despite an aggressive campaign, she turned out second, losing to the (PF) candidate, Wilson Kalumba who won the August 11, 2016 election with 270,161 votes, while Maureen garnered 150,807 votes.
Not only did she run for mayor; she actively participated in the UPND campaigns that saw her escape reported petrol-bombing in Shiwang’andu. This happened on January 2, 2015 where a helicopter she was travelling in with former deputy speaker Mutale Nalumango, Felix Mutati was attacked by PF cadres, leading to its landing being aborted.
Such instances only amplify the dramatic life Maureen lived as she fought to liberate her country from government excesses and uplift the lot of the vulnerable.
CANCER
Maureen also was patron of the Breakthrough Cancer Trust and the Child Care and Adoption Society of Zambia. After her demise, her connection to the Cancer Trust led to speculations that she may have been aware that she had the disease which claimed her life after a short illness at a hospital in Lusaka.
She is survived by four children, among them Chipokota Mwanawasa, a lawyer and entrepreneur. At the news of her passing, tributes were made from several quarters.
In his statement, President Hichilema called on the country to unite “as we join her family, and indeed the nation, in prayer.”
Former first lady Thandiwe Banda expressed deep sorrow over the death of her fellow first lady, describing her as a figure of strength and grace.
“May her legacy of hardworking, kindness, compassion, and dedication to our nation continue to inspire us,” said clergyman and politician Nevers Sekwila Mumba.
Academician and political activist Sishuwa Sishuwa described her as a strong woman who became a devoted partner, a mother of four, and a ‘Mother of the Nation’.
‘You supported and stood by your man, just like he supported and stood by you. Your combined experience teaches us that our choice of a partner in life has a significant effect on our lives,’ he wrote in a letter to the late first lady.
Maureen Mwanawasa went beyond the mundane wifely and stately roles to assert herself as a woman gifted in her own right.
