Mainza Mathias Chona: The man who could have been Zambia’s first Republican President

LUSAKA – In Zambian politics, where party leadership can become a battle of loyalty, ambition and succession, Mainza Mathias Chona’s place in history offers an intriguing contrast. He became the first president of the United National Independence Party (UNIP), the movement that led Zambia to independence, but when Kenneth Kaunda returned from detention in January 1960, Chona stepped aside and allowed him to take over the party’s leadership.