Thursday, March 28, 2024

Christon Tembo has passed away

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Lieutenant General Christon Tembo
Lieutenant General Christon Tembo

Former Vice-President Lieutenant General Tembo died at the University Teaching Hospital (UTH) at 14:00 hours yesterday.
He is survived by a wife Nelly, two children and three grandchildren.
Christon Tembo has died. He was 65.

Gen Tembo was admitted to the UTH Intensive Care Unit (ICU) for close to a month, before he passed on.

Family member Chifumu Banda confirmed the death of Gen Tembo in an interview in Lusaka yesterday.
Funeral gathering is at Gen Tembo’s Makeni farm.

Gen Tembo who was former Forum for Democracy and Development (FDD) president, served in former President Frederick Chiluba’s administration as vice president until he resigned, along with several other members of the cabinet, to oppose Chiluba’s third term bid.

Earlier, he served as Chiluba’s Minister of Tourism.
In Dr Kenneth Kaunda’s administration, Gen Tembo served as Zambia Army Commander in the 1980s until he was arrested and charged with treason for purportedly plotting a coup against the UNIP government.

The state dropped the case when Dr Kaunda “forgave” him and other suspected plotters.

And Zambia Army Commander Isaac Chisuzi has sent a message of condolences to the bereaved family and wished them strength and comfort in God in their moment of grief.

Zambia Army Public Relations Officer, Christopher Musonda said in a statement released in Lusaka yesterday that the army was saddened at the death of Gen Tembo.

FDD spokesperson Charles Banda said Gen Tembo’s death was a loss to the party.

He said Gen Tembo’s leadership in FDD inspired a lot of party members.

”It’s a sad development that he had to leave now because we shared a lot of political ideals which we still maintain as a party,” Mr Banda said.

And Patriotic Front (PF) spokesperson Given Lubinda said the party was saddened by Gen Tembo’s death.

He said Gen Tembo would be remembered for serving the nation as Vice-President and also as a man who held several government portfolios.

Mr Lubinda said Gen Tembo was a man worth remembering as a leader who contributed to national development.
“On behalf of the party president, I would like to send my condolences to his wife and family and Zambians during this difficult moment of grief.

We look up to God to give the family strength and comfort in the knowledge that Christ died for us but rose from the dead and that those who sleep in his belief shall rise again,” he said.
[Zambia Daily Mail]

68 COMMENTS

    • Ine difye bwino. Amaka yaba Tata kumulu yalenkosha.

      Its just sad when you lose people with so much positive influence like ba Tembo.
      65 Years is really not that much. Only God knows. We salute you Lieutenant General Christon Tembo.

  1. Lusakatimes, this death happened yesterday and today when you realise it is newsworthy. However, my heartfelt condolences to Gen Tembo. At least he died without being investigated for abuse of authority.
    Nine Chale, uli how?

  2. May his soul rest in eternal peace.
    And may the souls of the faithful departed through the mercy of God rest in peace.

  3. My condolences! May God give strength to the family and the nation in this difficult time….BaGeneral,thank u for what you have done the nation and may your soul rest in peace.You will be greatly missed

  4. Akulu mulute makora, tizamukukumana kuchanya para nyengo yithu nase yafika. Ise tikamimanyani tili nacitima chomene pakupulika nyifwa yinu.

  5. #3. Tembo was a principled man. He sacrificed his position as vice president to fight Chiluba’s stu.pid third term. He shared the same platform as Andy Mazoka at the Lusaka roundabout to denounce Fred. Imagine if a spineless man like Kunda can do that against Nyama Soya. Gen. Tembo had his own personal weaknesses, but he was a democrat who never allowed to be trampled upon. Remember how he handed over the FDD presidency to Edith with no fuss? Rest in peace mudumbu.

    • M’mbale wane, Gen Tembo was a principled man and there are very few like him now remaining. It just has now become a trend that when you leave public office, then investigations will be instituted against you. Adada baTembo bakaba bantu chomene

    • Oh sorry ba Lusaka, I did’nt mean to be rude when I wished you a good one earlier. I guess it was wrong timing, forgive me I beg.

    • True data. The man late Lt. Gen. C. Tembo was really concerned about our welfare as Zambians by resigning from the Country Vice President position to fight against Mr FTJ Chiluba’s senseless Third Term Bid which the PF Leader Undereducate Micheal Chilufya Sata supported until he was dribbled by Mr Chiluba’s handpicking of late Mr LP Mwanawasa to stand as MMD presidential candidate in 2001.The late Lt. Gen Tembo managed to stand with the late Mr A. Mazoka in one accord against the Third Term Bid fueled by Mr Chiluba and driven by the Undereeducate MC Sata and now Mr MC Sata thinks he can cheat me when he did not resign from Mr Chiluba’s , but helped chase the late and others from MMD in…

  6. thats really shocking..!! he was the Man who assisted Dr Chiluba during the failed coup of Captain Solo, and thats the time he assumed the vice Presidency of the country. May the Good Lord be with the bereaved family in this trying time..!!

  7. Why wasn’t this man taken to SA when he fell ill like all the others? Known terminal illness? Condolences anyway

    • Just another style of Animal Farm. So many KNOWN Ba fimo fimo with terminal illnesses have been flown to SA before, repeatedly.

  8. we shall meet on the other side
    Tukamonana
    kafikenipo tata
    Lesa wesu no mutender wakwa Leas, ube no mweo wenu until the trupet sounds

  9. My the Soul of late LT. Gen. Tembo rest in peace and condolences one more to his bereaved family.
    On “Mr Lubinda said Gen Tembo was a man worth remembering as a leader who contributed to national development.
    “On behalf of the party president, I would like to send my condolences to his wife and family and Zambians during this difficult moment of grief.”, I am surprised the Mr G. Lubinda is speaking on behalf of the Undereducate MC Sata the self made leader of the PF political party instead of speaking on behalf of the PF political party as a whole. What a PF spokesman! I hope he will do better in future.

    • # 25 In the name of your God , can you use the language befitting the mourning time .If General forgave PF president Sata who are you to bring in conflict? What on earth did you expect Hon Lubinda to have said ?? Live by the dictates of your Good book perhaps we can then see sense to join your flock.

    • Firstly May the Soul of the late … Rest In Peace following my mistake above.
      Please, the Holy Scriptures indicate that you shall not use the name of the good Lord God in vain and so be careful with the way you use it.
      On “can you use the language befitting the mourning time?” Help me understand what EXACTLY is that language befitting the mourning time, please, wiseman -reborn! I have no concern on this “If General forgave PF president Sata who are you to bring in conflict?” On “What on earth did you expect Hon Lubinda to have said ?? Live by the dictates of your Good book perhaps we can then see sense to join your flock.” Nothing but the TRUTH was expected from PF’s Mr Given…

    • #25 Thanks for being very magnanimous as to admit to the mistakes of omission not commission . Hon Lubinda spoke on behalf of the part president , whom in all essence should have been the one to have conveyed that message . We do not know why this ,is so , however the message had to be relayed .Hon Lubinda did it nothing out of the ordinary my brother period.

    • Exactly, PF’s Spokesman Mr Given Lubinda did nothing WRONG in announcing that “On behalf of the party president, I would like to send my condolences to his wife and family and Zambians during this difficult moment of grief”, but my concern is that he MUST have indicate that the PF as a political party was sending such a message and he said it on behalf of Mr Undereducate who could not due to circumstances beyond control at that time. Just wait and read the message the will probably come from the UPND Team and check how well put it may be. Later.

  10. Indeed its sad that we realise his goodness and honest when he’s no more! he stood up to his principles and questioned FTJ’s tactics! Tata mwende umutende tuka kumana ku calo cha malubamaluba! RIP and may Jehovah God give strenght and comfort to the family

    • Such “he [late Lt. Gen. C. Tembo] stood up to his principles and questioned FTJ’s tactics! ” is what is expect for any one person I can trust and the PF’s self-imposed Leader Standard ^ school drop out Undereducate Michael Chiluba fails short of this noble trait as he supported Mr FTJ Chiluba’s Third Term Bid by evening supporting MMD Thugs, now probably PF Thugs, to machete my fellow Zambians until we then University of Zambia (UNZA) students thwarted Chiluba’s and Sata’s plans to r a p e our Zambian Country Constution to impose Mr Chiluba as our President for a third Term.
      My advice to all Zambians is that let us learn to tell people the truth when they are still alive in lieu of…

    • Dear #26.1 Maestro , So many Zambians did a lot to swat the third term maoeuvre . I was the president of Medical students union then and we did a lot from ridge way campus and so were noble persons like General .

    • wiseman -reborn, great stuff and nice contribution to mother Zambia. Your “Maestro , So many Zambians did a lot to swat the third term maoeuvre . I was the president of Medical students union then and we did a lot from ridge way campus and so were noble persons like General ” is why I wrote UNZA students for I was not alone but we were many, And as a collection of monks, mamas, mojos, lumpens and you name it, all of us did it together with our then cousins [Zambia Policemen] made it as most of the nation was not interested in changing our Constitution to suit Mr FTJ Chiluba’s and the Undereducate MC Sata’s wrong motives to deny us Zambians what was due to us as a people – a new…

    • The above MUST read:
      “Such “he [late Lt. Gen. C. Tembo] stood up to his principles and questioned FTJ’s tactics! ” is what is expect ED for any one person I can trust and the PF’s self-imposed Leader Standard ^ school drop out Undereducate Michael ChiluFYa SATA fails short of this noble trait as he supported Mr FTJ Chiluba’s Third Term Bid by evening supporting MMD Thugs, now probably PF Thugs, to machete my fellow Zambians until we then University of Zambia (UNZA) students thwarted Chiluba’s and Sata’s plans to r a p e our Zambian Country Constution to impose Mr Chiluba as our President for a third Term.”

    • How do we remember him ? A million pound question . Yes he opposed FTJ , this was not the first time , he opposed KK and was sent to jail for 10 years. Later on to be represented by LPM in a very spectacular trial of the late 80s when LPM and General Christon Tembo became a house hold names .

  11. There is a dark cloud hovering over the soil of Mother Zambia as one of its gallant sons departs leaving many pleasant memories. How do we remember you General ,not for corruption but diligence and humility even after serving 10 yrs in jail and become # two leader you never showed vengeance true qualities of a leader . Rest in peace

  12. To 17 year old MMD GRZ under President RB Banda and his Administration, I am recommending that they declare a National mourning for the late Lt. Gen. Christone Tembo as he served the country at serious GRZ levels of both Zambia Army Commander and Vice President in his life time which is no mean task.

    • Thank you , This is what is expect from the student of the Alma mater of Unza to suggest .Not what you have been parroting. Pardon my usage of the words on this one , sharom

    • Cool and keep well. Definitely we will not always agree, but at time we will have commen thoughts coming together to help Zambia proceed as a Nation. Disagreeing does not mean that we are at war. In fact, it simply shows that we are thinking and solicing for the best option for us all as a people.
      I strongly believe that Zambia has a lot of young people now who are ready to do all that s necessary to drive the whole nation to prosperity through strick use of all our natural resources to give each Zambian a fair share of the national cake.
      So, feel free to disagree with me, but always note that I write what I do based on my knowledge, esperience and interests. have a blessed day baba.

    • # 28 Maestro H , Thanks for your candor. There is indeed unity in diversity , I love justice , I love nobility and above all I value and promote self expression , which were the attributes of the late General . The old generation is going by, what shall become of us if we can not identify what is wrong , what is true , what is a threat ,what is a disguise . The majority of Zambians are counting on us the so called educated ,let us not disappoint them . Education yes , but you can still learn from a potter in a surgical theater who has been there for many years so is president sata , General learn t from him too.

    • True, my friend. This is why president Hakainde Hichilema indicated that he will consider the PF Leaders Stadard 6 school drop out Undereducate Michael Chilufya Sata to become prime minister or so in a possible unity government. The brother MC Sata has both good and bad experience of which Zambia can utilise his good one, but Zambia can not afford at this time when our Constitution gives a lot of power to a seating President to let the Undereducate MC Sata to lead us with his motive of having Mr Chiluba go for a third term in the past as history which can not be disptued. To make matters worse, the Undereducate doesn’t want Zambia to have a New Constitution before the 2011 elections.

    • This question to ask yourself is why does the Undereducate MC Sata have this current standpoint of disbanding the NCC?
      Also, why did he help bring in a Constitution, which we are using today, that barred former President KK from standing for Zambia President in 1996? Why didn’t the Undereducate join forces with the mighty UPND in 2001 when it was under the able leadership late Mr A. Mazoka after the people like Lt. General C. Tembo whom the Undereducate MC Sata helped chase away from the MMD when they opposed Mr Chiluba’s Third Term? Why did Mr MC Sata promise to dismiss all plunder cases of the Luapula people should he won the 2006 Presidential elections?

    • Why has the Undereducate MC Sata been in a marriage of convenience with the POST Newspaper which has gone to an extent of manipulating the level of the Undereducate’s support in Western and the Southern Province where Presidential Election results have consistently shown otherwise? Why is the Undereducate seemingly supporting the POST in its activities while he understands that the POST as a shareholder in the Zambian Airways have misused Zambian tax payers money of about 12 million US Dollars that can be used to develop infrastructure like schools and hospitals – bringing in modern equipment to treat all Zambians of Heart problems and others?
      Clean people to work with like HH are there.

    • Why have the Imagebuilders of the Undereducate MC Sata, the POST, been failing to work with clean UPND if they are not always seeking for partnerships with questionable individuals for the sole aim of protecting their businesses like he failed Zambian Airways? Why are both the Undereducate MC Sata and the POST advancing a tribal political scenario in Zambia? Do they – Undereducate MC Sata and the POST – really have a true heart for all Zambians if there aim is to split Zambian people across tribes – following the consistent claim that the UNPD is a Tonga tribal political party and the numbers of percentages of Bemba and Tonga tribes people in Zambia during the last election campaign time?

    • I am looking forward to a day when Zambians shall stop believing that some failed politican or Newspaper can really SPEAK FOR THEM when they, ZAMBIANS, have mouths and hands to allow them, Zambians, to speak and write for themselves or better still use the voting period as a way to speak for themselves.
      I hope to see a Zambia with questioning Zambians at all the time who will not take the NEWS they read in the POST Newspaper as GOSPEL TRUTH, but as an input that contents only a small chunk of the reality on the ground. I am sure that if we all work tireless together, we can a bring in a truely responsible and dedicated TEAM or set of Zambians to form GRZ in 2011 – for now the UPND.

  13. May your soul rest in eternal peace our CHURCH ELDER ,MP,ICE PRESIDENT ,COMMANDER AND MOTIVATION. MY HEART CONDOLENCES TO THE WIFE AND AGGRIEVED FAMILY.

  14. Maestro, what are you on?
    Where did HH say Sata will be his PM? Who has more popular support between the two of them? HH simply realises his political career is due to end without Sata’s support and is now listening to what smart people were telling him, to support PF – his time will come later!

  15. Dark Knight
    You annoy so many people by suggesting that SATA turn will come. SATA cant, will never, ever become president of Zambia. He has lost so far three times, what makes you that come 2011 things will be different? The same people who didnt vote for him will again not vote for him, with increased campaign and more people registered, he will even lose by a greatere margin no matter who stands under MMD. You cant crank up support fort a three time loser now.

    • Read my post carefully. Who is more popular between Sata and HH? Are you suggesting that if Sata steps aside HH will win? Which rock did you crawl out of?

  16. The General was a valiant leader, fearless and true to his Ungoni. As rare as they come, he was principled to the core and will forever be missed. I SALUTE THE IMPECCABLE ZEAL WITH WHICH HE SERVED AND THIS I BELIEVE WILL FOREVER BE ETCHED CLEAR AND DEEP IN ZAMBIAS HISTORY. How that GOD has planned these things that often, the courageous and dilligent do not outlive the cowardly and weak. BEGONE GREAT AND MIGHTY MAN OF VALOUR THE BIDDING OF HE WHO CALLS.

  17. MHSRIP. I know his blemish is when a few months a go urged FDD to disband and re-join MMD. In my view that was the worst weakness he showed, to haunt his name. You resign on your own than to try to cox your friends to disband an opposition party to join a sinking ruling party for appeasment sake. Teta, Mike Mulongoti, Sondashi and other SoyaNyama campaigners have realised, backed a clueless guy into plot one.

  18. May His Soul Rest In Eternal Peace.He was really one of the few Generals who had the interest of Zambia at heart unlike the current crop of generals who go to Jail after serving.

  19. They shall not grow old as we who are left grow old.
    Age shall not weary them, nor the years condemn.
    At the going down of the sun and in the morning,
    We will remember them.

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