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Last year, during a ceremony to lay the foundation stone for the Institute for Democracy in Lusaka, President Chiluba intimated that he would leave office at the end of his second term this year. "If the law says you retire after two terms, even if you are 45 years of age, accept and step down," the president said. "The history of Africa is replete with military coups as a way to remove leaders from office, because leaders are not ready to go. We must bring an end to that."

A prominent Zambian lawyer, Professor Patrick Mvunga, who chaired a constitutional review commission in 1991, said: "We travelled extensively in all parts of the country, and everywhere we went, the people were unanimous about two terms of office for the president."

Professor Mvunga told ENI that President Chiluba ought to listen to the churches. "The voice of the church is the voice of the people. The people have spoken. Why should we continue to debate the obvious?"

Copyright © 2001 ENI

Zambia's president now thinks third term may be just the ticket | At first, President Frederick Chiluba of Zambia was all for term limits. But now it appears that he—or influential people in his party—are trying to prolong his rule. — The New York Times (Mar. 2, 2001)

Chiluba justifies his third term bid — Post of Zambia (Mar. 1, 2001)

Pastor Mumba urges the church to intervene — Post of Zambia (Mar. 1, 2001)

Zambia wary of changing term limits — Associated Press (Feb. 28, 2001)

Zambian church opposes Chiluba campaign — Business Day (Feb. 16, 2001)

Evangelical bishops join debate on Chiluba's presidency — Panafrican News Agency (Jan. 30, 2001)

Church criticizes Chiluba's third term agitators — Post of Zambia (Jan. 4, 2001)

Christianity Today's earlier coverage of Zambia includes:

Zambia's Churches Win Fight Against Anti-AIDS Ads | Church leaders are concerned that condom promotion encourages promiscuity. (Jan. 12, 2001)

Archbishop Caught in War of Words with Zambian Government | Pentecostal leader says government 'ineffective,' selfish. (Feb. 10, 2000)

Eight Years after Zambia Became Christian Nation, Title Not Convincing | Immorality and corruption on the rise, say church leaders (Jan. 18, 2000)

Zambia President Disillusions Christians (Mar. 2, 1998)

The U.S. State Department criticized Zambia's human rights record last year as "poor" in its Country Report on Human Rights Practices (released last week).

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March (Web-only) 2001, Vol. 45