Lieutenant Christopher Mwamba Luchembe (born 1960) is a former

Zambia Army The Zambian Army, is the land military branch of the Zambian Defence Force. Like all branches of the Zambian military, citizens of the nation are required to register at 16 years old, and citizens can join at 16 years old with parental consent or ...

Lieutenant who staged the 1990 Zambian coup d'état attempt during the one-party state era of Zambian President

Kenneth Kaunda Kenneth David Kaunda (28 April 1924 – 17 June 2021), also known as KK, was a Zambian politician who served as the first President of Zambia from 1964 to 1991. He was at the forefront of the struggle for independence from British rule. Diss ...

in 1990. His action came amidst widespread calls for multiparty democracy. On July 1, 1990 Luchembe announced in the radio studios of the

Zambia National Broadcasting Corporation The Zambia National Broadcasting Corporation (ZNBC) is a Zambian television and radio station, formerly state owned, now technically a statutory body but still essentially under government control. It is the oldest, widest, and largest radio and ...

(ZNBC) that the Zambia Army had taken over the government and he cited riots of the previous week as reasons for his action; about 27 people had died in the riots, while more than 100 were wounded. Although Lieutenant Luchembe's coup attempt against President Kaunda failed, it weakened Kaunda's political power, which was already shaky after three days of rioting.

Arrest

Lieutenant Mwamba Luchembe was captured by soldiers and was escorted from the Zambian National Broadcasting Corporation (ZNBC) radio studios and taken to the outskirts of the capital, Lusaka. "I wanted to take over the government but Kaunda's puppets are stopping me," he said, pointing to the soldiers surrounding him. "These are Kaunda's puppets."

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Luchembe, Mwamba 20th-century Zambian politicians 1960 births Living people