The United Progressive Party (UPP) was a political party in
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 ...
. The current president of the party is Saviour Chishimba.
History
The party was established by
Simon Kapwepwe
Simon Mwansa Kapwepwe (April 12, 1922 – January 26, 1980) was a Zambian politician, anti-colonialist and author who served as the second vice-president of Zambia from 1967 to 1970.
Early life
Simon Kapwepwe was born on 12 April 1922 in the C ...
and several others who had left the ruling
United National Independence Party
The United National Independence Party (UNIP) is a political party in Zambia. It governed the country from 1964 to 1991 under the socialist presidency of Kenneth Kaunda, and was the sole legal party in the country between 1973 and 1990. On 4 A ...
(UNIP) in August 1971.Jan-Bart Gewald, Marja Hinfelaar & Giacomo Macola (2008) ''One Zambia, Many Histories: Towards a History of Post-colonial Zambia'', BRILL, p98
On 21 December of the same year Kapwepwe, taking advantage of a
by-election
A by-election, also known as a special election in the United States and the Philippines, a bye-election in Ireland, a bypoll in India, or a Zimni election (Urdu: ضمنی انتخاب, supplementary election) in Pakistan, is an election used to f ...
, became an MP for the UPP. Kaunda reacted swiftly; on 4 February 1972, he made the specious accusation that Kapwepwe was an instrument of the White
Rhodesia
Rhodesia (, ), officially from 1970 the Republic of Rhodesia, was an unrecognised state in Southern Africa from 1965 to 1979, equivalent in territory to modern Zimbabwe. Rhodesia was the ''de facto'' successor state to the British colony of S ...
n,
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 ...
n and
Portuguese
Portuguese may refer to:
* anything of, from, or related to the country and nation of Portugal
** Portuguese cuisine, traditional foods
** Portuguese language, a Romance language
*** Portuguese dialects, variants of the Portuguese language
** Portu ...
governments; Kapwepwe and 122 of his followers were arrested and the UPP was banned. Before the end of the year a
one-party state
A one-party state, single-party state, one-party system, or single-party system is a type of sovereign state in which only one political party has the right to form the government, usually based on the existing constitution. All other parties ...
was proclaimed, and Kaunda felt sure enough of his power to free Kapwepwe on 31 December. Kapwepwe retired from politics and only appeared briefly in 1978, when he and