By Enyichukwu Enemanna
President of Zambia, Hakainde Hichilema has described the death of the country’s former First Lady as a “deep shock”.
Maureen Mwanawasa passed away at the age of 61 on Tuesday after a brief illness at a hospital in the capital, Lusaka, her family said.
The former first lady was married to the country’s third President, Levy Mwanawasa, who served from 2002 until his death in 2008.
Trained as a lawyer, Heritage Times HT reports that the late Mwanawasa was known for her active involvement in advocacy for social justice, community development and public health issues.
In a condolence message, President Hichilema called on the country to unite “as we join her family, and indeed the nation, in prayer”.
She co-owned a law firm with her husband until he entered politics and was actively involved in her husband’s successful presidential bid in 2001.
Before her husband’s death in 2008, she was considered a potential candidate to succeed.
She did not however seek to stand for election after his death.
She was a founding member and former president of the Organisation of African First Ladies Against HIV/AIDS, currently known as the Organisation of African First Ladies for Development.
As a strong advocate of community development, she earned several awards, including the International Hope Award from World Vision in 2006.
“May her legacy of hardworking, kindness, compassion, and dedication to our nation continue to inspire us,” Nevers Sekwila Mumba, leader of Mwanawasa’s Movement for Multiparty Democracy (MMD) said in a condolence message.
