Benjamin Yoram Mwila (September 17, 1943 – August 17, 2013), often known as BY, was a

Zambia Zambia (), officially the Republic of Zambia, is a landlocked country at the crossroads of Central Africa, Central, Southern Africa, Southern and East Africa, although it is typically referred to as being in Southern Africa at its most cent ...

n politician and businessman. Mwila was a prominent leader and co-founder of the Zambia Republican Party. He served as an MP for

Luanshya Luanshya is a town in Zambia, in the Copperbelt Province near Ndola. It has a population of 117,579 (2008 census). Luanshya was founded in the early part of the 20th century after two prospector/explorer, William Collier shot and killed a Roan A ...

in the

National Assembly In politics, a national assembly is either a unicameral legislature, the lower house of a bicameral legislature, or both houses of a bicameral legislature together. In the English language it generally means "an assembly composed of the repre ...

. Mwila held several cabinet portfolios within the cabinet of

President President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) *President (education), a leader of a college or university *President (government title) President may also refer to: Automobiles * Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese ful ...

Frederick Chiluba Frederick Jacob Titus Chiluba (30 April 1943 – 18 June 2011) was a Zambian politician who was the second president of Zambia from 1991 to 2002. Chiluba, a trade union leader, won the country's multi-party presidential election in 1991 as th ...

during the 1990s, including

Minister of Defence A defence minister or minister of defence is a Cabinet (government), cabinet official position in charge of a ministry of defense, which regulates the armed forces in sovereign states. The role of a defence minister varies considerably from coun ...

from 1991 to 1997.

Life and career

Mwila was born in

Kawambwa Kawambwa is a town in the Zambian province of Luapula located on thedge of the northern Zambian plateau above the Luapula valley at an altitude of 1300 m. It was chosen as an administrative district of the same name by the British colonial author ...

, Zambia, on September 17, 1943. He attended

primary school A primary school (in Ireland, the United Kingdom, Australia, Trinidad and Tobago, Jamaica, and South Africa), junior school (in Australia), elementary school or grade school (in North America and the Philippines) is a school for primary e ...

in Kawambwa and Chiwala Secondary School in

Ndola Ndola is the third largest city in Zambia and third in terms of size and population, with a population of 475,194 (''2010 census provisional''), after the capital, Lusaka, and Kitwe, and the second largest in terms of infrastructure development aft ...

. He then transferred to

Munali Secondary School Munali Secondary School is a state-funded secondary school located on the Great East Road in Lusaka, Zambia. Munali was the first secondary school for black students in Zambia's history. Some of its alumni are notable Zambian politicians and public ...

. Mwila was originally a member of the Movement for

Movement for Multi-Party Democracy The Movement for Multi-party Democracy (MMD) also known as New Hope MMD is a political party in Zambia. Originally formed to oust the previous government, MMD controlled an absolute majority in parliament between 1991 and 2001, when its past lead ...

(MMD), whose other members included Frederick Chiluba. Chiluba was elected President of Zambia in 1991. Mwila was also elected to the

as an MP from the

constituency An electoral district, also known as an election district, legislative district, voting district, constituency, riding, ward, division, or (election) precinct is a subdivision of a larger State (polity), state (a country, administrative region, ...

in the 1991 general election. President Chiluba appointed Benjamin Mwila as a member of his cabinet. He served as Minister of Defence from 1991 to 1997, and he also served for a time as Minister of Energy and Water Development. Mwila left the MMD in 2000 after being criticized by fellow party members for considering a presidential candidacy. He founded the Zambia Republican Party. Mwila ran for President of Zambia in the 2001 presidential election as leader of the Zambia Republican Party.

Levy Mwanawasa Levy Patrick Mwanawasa (3 September 1948 – 19 August 2008) was the third president of Zambia. He served as president from January 2002 until his death in August 2008. Mwanawasa is credited with having initiated a campaign to rid the corrupti ...

of the MMD won the 2001 election, while Mwila garnered approximately 4.84% of the vote. In 2006, Mwila's Zambia Republican Party merged with several other political parties to form the

National Democratic Focus The National Democratic Focus (NDF) was a political alliance in Zambia. History The alliance was formed in 2006 as the National Democratic Front, and was initially planned to consist of the Party for Unity, Democracy and Development (PUDD), the ...

(NDF). That same year, Mwila was elected to the National Assembly from the

Nchelenge Nchelenge is a town in the Luapula Province of northern Zambia, lying on the south eastern shore of Lake Mweru. It is contiguous with Kashikishi, and they are sometimes referred to as Nchelenge-Kashikishi. Nchelenge is the administrative centre ...

constituency under the NDF ticket. In 2011, Mwila left the NDF and rejoined the MMD. He ran for his re-election to his parliamentary seat from Nchelenge, but was defeated in the 2011 general election. Mwila died at a hospital in

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the north by the neighbouring countri ...

on August 17, 2013, at the age of 70. He had been hospitalized for treatment of

malaria Malaria is a mosquito-borne infectious disease that affects humans and other animals. Malaria causes symptoms that typically include fever, tiredness, vomiting, and headaches. In severe cases, it can cause jaundice, seizures, coma, or death. S ...

for two weeks. His funeral was held at the Cathedral of the Holy Cross in Lusaka with the burial at the city's Memorial Park Cemetery.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Mwila, Benjamin 1943 births 2013 deaths Defence Ministers of Zambia Energy ministers of Zambia Members of the National Assembly of Zambia Movement for Multi-Party Democracy politicians National Democratic Focus politicians Alumni of Munali Secondary School People from Kawambwa District