LUSAKA-(MaraviPost)-Kenyan President William Ruto called on African leaders on Tuesday to prioritize unity and economic development over partisan politics, as Zambian President Hakainde Hichilema was sworn in for a second five-year term.
Speaking before thousands at National Heroes Stadium in Lusaka, Ruto framed Zambia’s election as a test of democratic maturity and urged Hichilema to govern inclusively.
“Democracy is not tested when we agree. Democracy is tested when we disagree,” Ruto said. “Elections are designed to settle who governs. They should never determine who belongs.”
Addressing Hichilema directly, he added: “I am confident that in this new mandate you will govern for Zambians. Those who voted for you and those who did not. They all belong equally to Zambia and they must all have a place in the future.”
Ruto linked Zambia’s post-election moment to a broader continental challenge. Invoking Zambia’s founding President Kenneth Kaunda, he said Kaunda’s generation secured political independence, but today’s leaders must deliver economic independence.
“Our task is to turn political freedom into economic freedom. Natural wealth into African prosperity. Sovereignty into self reliance. And democracy into opportunity,” he said.
He warned that political instability around elections undermines investment and growth. “Africa cannot industrialise if every election becomes a moment of national uncertainty. Business, capital and prosperity need credible institutions, rule of law and national unity. Our politics must never become more important than our countries.”
Ruto praised Hichilema’s first-term record of steering Zambia out of debt default, managing a cost-of-living crisis, and expanding free education, while noting that the second term must now convert stability into jobs and household incomes. He pledged closer Kenya-Zambia cooperation on trade, infrastructure and investment.
The Kenyan President also made the case for deeper African integration, calling on the continent to use the African Continental Free Trade Area to move from exporting raw materials to manufacturing and intra-African trade.
“Africa must industrialise. Africa must manufacture. Africa must add value to what it produces. And Africa must trade with Africa,” Ruto said, closing with Kaunda’s metaphor that “the African spirit is like the Zambezi. A tremendous force when harnessed.”
Hichilema’s inauguration comes weeks after his re-election on August 13. The ceremony was attended by several regional heads of state.
FULL SPEECH BY PRESIDENT WILLIAM RUTO
National Heroes Stadium, Lusaka | September 1, 2026
Your Excellency President Hakainde Hichilema,
First Lady,
Distinguished Guests,
People of Zambia,
On behalf of the people of Kenya, I bring you warm congratulations as you begin your second term in office.
Zambia gave Africa the enduring idea of ‘One Zambia, One Nation’. But this is also an African idea. That our differences should never become our divisions. That political contest need not become national conflict. And that what unites us must always be greater than what separates us.
Democracy is not tested when we agree. Democracy is tested when we disagree. Elections produce winners and losers. Some will celebrate. Others will be disappointed. But when the contest is over, the nation must remain united.
Elections are designed to settle who governs. They should never determine who belongs. Democratic leadership must preserve the very cohesion in whose name authority is exercised.
My brother President Hichilema, I am confident that in this new mandate you will govern for Zambians. Those who voted for you and those who did not. They all belong equally to Zambia and they must all have a place in the future. Political competition may divide choices. It must never divide our destiny.
Kaunda’s generation answered the question: ‘Can Africa be free?’ They fought colonialism and built independent nations. Our generation must answer a different question: ‘What will Africa do with its freedom?’
Africa has land. Africa has energy. Africa has minerals. Africa has the world’s youngest population. Our challenge is not the absence of resources. Our challenge is how to use them to create opportunity and wealth.
Our task is to turn political freedom into economic freedom. Natural wealth into African prosperity. Sovereignty into self reliance. And democracy into opportunity.
People do not vote merely for flags and anthems. They vote for work. For incomes. For education. For healthcare. For dignity and for opportunity.
Africa cannot industrialise if every election becomes a moment of national uncertainty. Business, capital and prosperity need credible institutions, rule of law and national unity.
We must compete vigorously without becoming enemies. We must disagree without destroying anything. And we must seek victory without excluding. Our politics must never become more important than our countries.
Kenya too will hold elections next year. We must uphold the same standards.
Your Excellency, in your first term you took office at a time when Zambia faced debt default. You faced a cost of living crisis. You faced drought and energy shortages. Your choices, my brother, in those difficult moments demonstrated leadership and statesmanship, not populism.
You worked to resolve the debt crisis. You restored Zambia’s standing. You rebuilt economic confidence. Today international reserves have risen. Inflation has fallen. You expanded free education from early childhood through to secondary school.
The challenge of the second term is to translate that economic stability into jobs, incomes and opportunities for families. Kenya will walk that journey with Zambia. Our friendship must be measured by prosperity. By trade. By investments. By infrastructure. By markets and by jobs.
What is true for Kenya and Zambia must become true for Africa. For too long Africa has exported raw materials and imported value back. Through the African Continental Free Trade Area, we can turn fragmented markets into one economic community.
Africa must industrialise. Africa must manufacture. Africa must add value to what it produces. And Africa must trade with Africa.
President Kaunda once said that the African spirit is like the Zambezi. A tremendous force when harnessed. Africa has that power. The power of our people. The power of our resources. The power of our markets. The power of our ideas. And the power of our youth.
Kaunda’s generation secured political freedom. We must secure economic freedom. Let us build an Africa where democracy delivers dividends. Where resources become prosperity. Where young people see their future at home. And where Africa takes its place in the world with dignity.
Your Excellency, I wish you wisdom and strength in the years ahead. I pray that this new chapter will strengthen Zambia’s unity, enlarge opportunity and advance Africa’s journey.
They gave us freedom. Our duty is to turn that freedom into prosperity.
One Zambia, One Nation.
One Africa, One Destiny.
God bless the people of Zambia.
God bless Africa.
Thank you.
Leave a Reply