Mwanawasa death rumour sends shockwaves

By Thursday, June 5, it was widely known in Zambia that the country's leader was ensconced in hospital in Egypt after being taken ill at Sharma el Sheikh where he was attending an African Union (AU) summit on the Zimbabwean political crisis.

The lingering source of concern was the speed and severity of the president's illness, as reported, that caught the country by surprise. However, the fact that things had come to that level was not beyond comprehension and was easily internalised by many people in Lusaka in particular.