In memorium

We are on the train home to Newcastle and get a moment of internet connection.

Zambia's President, Levy Mwanawasa, has died.  He was taken ill at the AU congress in Egypt a few weeks ago and died this morning.  He was 59.

I am sad for the country and its people.  He had been ill a long time, but his stand against corruption was admirable.  He was also one of the few African leaders who spoke out against Mugabe.  He wasn't perfect, by any stretch of the imagination, but I suspect he left a better, more stable and economically strong country than when he first took office in 2001.

There will have to be an election.  There was a prophecy at the time of the last election in 2006 that he wouldn't survive the term, that a new leader would have to be found.  It has come true, unexpectedly saddening the end of our family holiday.