Peter Sinkamba
A SYNOPSIS OF NOVEMBER EVENTS IN HISTORY OF ZAMBIA
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November is an eventful month in Zambia’s history since independence.
November, 8 2025: Stoning of President Hakainde Hichilema in Chingola. President Hichilema visited Chingola on the Copperbelt to express solidarity with victims of the Chiwempala Market fire. During his address, a group of individuals began chanting and throwing stones at the podium, prompting his security detail to evacuate him swiftly. The disturbance, reportedly fueled by frustrations over the Senseli mine activities, escalated into a riot involving vandalism and arson. A police vehicle (Toyota Land Cruiser ZP 2537 B) was attacked, its windscreen shattered, overturned, and set ablaze. The presidential holding tent, carpets, a portrait of the President, and other equipment were also destroyed.
November 16, 2025: Undisclosed visit to Zambia by Donald Trump Jnr. President Hichilema has confirmed meeting Donald Trump Jr. Although it was reported that he had come to Zambia for business, he has not been reported anywhere in Zambia attending a business event.
Here are some of the historical events that have happened in the month of November in Zambia since 1964.
November 1, 1991: First Multi-Party Elections after One-Party Rule were held on November 1, 1991. The opposition leader, Frederick Chiluba of the Movement for Multi-Party Democracy (MMD), won the presidential election, defeating the founding father of the nation, Kenneth Kaunda of the United National Independence Party (UNIP). This event marked a major turning point in Zambia’s political history, transitioning to a multi-party democracy and a peaceful transfer of power.
November 18, 1996: Second Multi-Party General Elections were held on November 18, 1996. Incumbent President Frederick Chiluba was re-elected. This election was a major event because it took place amidst significant political controversy:
The National Assembly had passed a constitutional amendment earlier in the year that barred individuals not born in the country to Zambian parents from running for political office, which was widely seen as a measure to prevent former President Kenneth Kaunda from running (his parents were alleged to have come from what is now Malawi). In protest of this and general government intolerance of the opposition, Kaunda’s United National Independence Party (UNIP) and other opposition parties boycotted the election.
As a result, Chiluba’s Movement for Multi-Party Democracy (MMD) achieved a landslide victory, winning 131 out of 150 elected seats in the National Assembly, though the outcome was widely criticized by international observers and some donor nations temporarily suspended aid.
November 4, 1999. Death of Wezi Kaunda. Wezi Kaunda, the son of former president Kenneth Kaunda and a prominent political figure in his own right, was fatally shot in Lusaka on November 4, 1999. This event was a somber moment that garnered national attention.
November 3, 2008: Presidential Inauguration of Rupiah Banda. Rupiah Banda, who had been acting president after the death of Levy Mwanawasa in August 2008, was elected president in October and was sworn into office on November 3, 2008.
November 3, 1968: President Kenneth Kaunda dissolved the parliament amidst political violence and party bans. Legislative elections followed in December.
November 3, 1983: Nalumino Mundia was appointed Prime Minister.
November 3, 2008: Rupiah Banda was sworn in as president after winning the October 30, 2008, election following the death
November 8, 1991: The state of emergency, which had been in effect since before independence in 1964, was officially lifted.
November 21, 1996: President Chiluba was sworn in for his second term, promising an end to being “bulldozed” by NGOs, which led to police raids on human rights groups a few days later.
November 26, 1982: Adamson Bratson Mushala, an insurgent leader, was killed by government troops, effectively ending a long-running insurgency.
Next attraction is November 28, 2025. This is promising to leave a historical impact on the history of Zambia when protests against Bill 7 will be launched starting with State House. The Archbishop Ignatius Chama of the Kasama Archdiocese has issued a powerful moral appeal to Zambian Christians, urging them to join nationwide peaceful demonstrations organized by the Oasis Forum in opposition to what he described as a potentially dangerous erosion of constitutional safeguards.
Speaking on Radio Lutanda’s Ishiwi lyakwa Kacema program on Friday, Archbishop Chama framed the upcoming protest scheduled for November 28 at State House in Lusaka not merely as a political act, but as a sacred civic duty rooted in Christian ethics and constitutional fidelity.
“The Constitution is not a mere legal document; it is the covenant between the state and its people,” Archbishop Chama declared. “When that covenant is manipulated, when rights are quietly stripped away under the guise of reform, it is not only the duty of citizens it is the conscience of the faithful to rise in peaceful, orderly protest.”
The Archbishop emphasized that the right to peaceful assembly is enshrined in Zambia’s Constitution and must be exercised with integrity. He warned against apathy, particularly among the country’s estimated 70% Christian population, stressing that silence in the face of governance overreach undermines both democracy and moral leadership.