Lusaka, Zambia – Zambia is in mourning following the death of Edith Zewelani Nawakwi, a pioneering figure in the nation’s political landscape.
She passed away on Monday, April 7, 2025, at Garden City Hospital in Johannesburg, South Africa, where she was receiving specialist medical treatment, her family said.
She was 66 years old.
Nawakwi, often described as a firebrand politician, made history in 1998 as Zambia’s first female Minister of Finance, a milestone that also marked her as the first woman to hold this position in the Southern African Development Community (SADC) region.
Her appointment was a testament to her expertise as an economist, having earned a degree in Economics and Business Management from the University of Zambia and a postgraduate diploma in Economics of Energy and Development from Imperial College London.
Nawakwi rose to prominence in the early 1990s as a key figure in the Movement for Multi-Party Democracy (MMD), which ended Kenneth Kaunda’s 27-year presidency in 1991, ushering in multi-party democracy.
During her tenure in the MMD government under President Frederick Chiluba, she served in various ministerial roles, including Minister of Energy and Water Development, Minister of Agriculture, Food and Fisheries, and Minister of Labour and Social Security, before her historic appointment as Finance Minister.
In 2001, Nawakwi became a vocal critic of President Chiluba’s bid for an unconstitutional third term. Her opposition led to her departure from the MMD, and she co-founded the Forum for Democracy and Development (FDD) alongside other former MMD members. In 2005, she made history again by becoming the FDD’s president, the first woman to lead a major political party in Zambia. Under her leadership, she contested the presidency in the 2011, 2015, and 2016 general elections, advocating for economic reform, social justice, and democratic governance.
At the time of her passing, Nawakwi was a fierce critic of President Hakainde Hichilema’s administration. She faced legal challenges, including charges of seditious practices, which her supporters argued were politically motivated. Despite her declining health, which required multiple medical trips abroad in recent years, she remained a prominent voice in Zambian politics.
Hichilema has honored Nawakwi’s contributions by granting her an official funeral and declaring Friday, April 11, 2025, a day of national mourning. Her body arrived in Zambia on Thursday, April 10, 2025, at Kenneth Kaunda International Airport in Lusaka aboard a South African Airlines flight.
The funeral service will take place on Friday April 11, 2025 at the Anglican Cathedral of the Holy Cross, followed by her burial at Leopards Hill Memorial Park in Lusaka.
