Mike Mulongoti (born 3 August 1951, died 2 May 2019) was a

Zambian Zambia (), officially the Republic of Zambia, is a landlocked country at the crossroads of Central, Southern and East Africa, although it is typically referred to as being in Southern Africa at its most central point. Its neighbours are th ...

politician who served as the president of the People's Party.

Career

Zambian Parliament

Mulongoti earned a Masters of Business Administration prior to his career in politics. He joined the Movement for Multi-Party Democracy and served as Deputy Minister of Defense. He was subsequently one of 22 ministers who were fired for opposing an amendment to the Constitution to extend President Frederick Chiluba's tenure. Mulongoti was a founding member of the

Forum for Democracy and Development The Forum for Democracy and Development (FDD) is a political party in Zambia. History The FDD was founded in 2001 by former members of the Movement for Multi-Party Democracy (MMD), disaffected by Frederick Chiluba's efforts to change the constit ...

and contested the 2001 general elections. Mulongoti was later appointed as Minister of Information and Broadcasting Services and Minister of Works and Supply under presidents Levy Mwanawasa and

Rupiah Banda Rupiah Bwezani Banda (19 February 1937 – 11 March 2022) was a Zambian politician who served as the fourth president of Zambia from 2008 to 2011, taking over from Levy Mwanawasa, who died as the sitting president. Banda was an active participant ...

. In this role, he contributed to the civil forfeiture of nearly $60 million stolen during the rule of Frederick Chiluba. The money was used to upgrade hospitals.

People's Party

Mulongoti served as People's Party president towards the end of his political career. After the 2016 general election, Mulongoti publicly disapproved dropping the treason charges against

Hakainde Hichilema Hakainde Hichilema (born 4 June 1962) is a Zambian businessman, farmer, and politician who is the seventh and current president of Zambia since 24 August 2021. After having contested five previous elections in 2006, 2008, 2011, 2015 and 2016 ...

and five other party members.

Death and legacy

Mulongoti was diagnosed with cancer in 2018. He was initially treated at

University Teaching Hospital The University Teaching Hospital (UTH) formerly Lusaka hospital is the biggest public tertiary hospital in Lusaka, Zambia. It is the largest hospital with 1,655 beds. It is a teaching hospital and, as such, is used to train local medical student ...

before being evacuated to South Africa for specialized treatment. He returned to Zambia later and died on 2 May 2019. Mulongoti was laid to rest at Leopard's Hill Memorial Park and is survived by wife Betty Mulongoti. Mulongoti’s closest political ally, Nason Msoni, attended the service.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Mulongoti, Mike Zambian democracy activists 1951 births 2019 deaths People's Party (Zambia) politicians 21st-century Zambian politicians