Michael Sata, 77, passes away in London after unspecified illness

Zambian President Michael Sata died Tuesday evening after an illness, the
government in Lusaka said Wednesday, months after he reportedly visited Israel
for medical treatment.
Sata, who was 77, rose from cleaning railway platforms in
London to his country’s highest office, where he vowed to sweep away corruption
but leaned heavily on political foes.

Sata died at about 11 p.m. in London, where he had been receiving treatment for
a long-rumored but undisclosed illness.
In June, Sata visited Israel on what Zambian officials
said was a “working visit” at the invitation of then president Shimon Peres.
However, Israeli sources said he spent several days at Sheba Medical Center.
It was not clear if Sata ever actually met with Peres
during the furtive visit, which was dogged with rumors in Zambia over the
leader’s health.
For supporters who voted him into office in 2011, he
was a no-nonsense man of action. For critics, the former policeman, trade
unionist and taxidermist was an authoritarian populist.
What is undisputed is that he seemed to revel in
scorched earth politics.
Detractors, political foes, the media and even allies
frequently came under attack from a man who earned the sobriquet “King Cobra.”
He once publicly upbraided his whole cabinet,
threatening to collapse his own government if they did not do a better job.
The final period of Sata’s rule saw a crackdown on
political opponents and critical journalists who reported on his long-suspected
illness and frequent “working trips” abroad, apparently for medical treatment.
In January 2014, an opposition politician was charged
with defamation for calling him a potato. In June the authorities charged three
opposition activists for claiming that he was dying.
Sata’s surprise election victory, and a calm power
transfer raised hopes things were looking up for his copper-rich but dirt-poor
southern African nation.
He vowed to be a champion of the poor, unveiling a plan
to transform the country within 90 days by tackling corruption, lowering taxes,
creating jobs and scoring a better deal with what he once called Chinese
“infestors.”