Zambia, 1988 — military coup conspiracy
Event Summary
This entry is coded 7 October 1988, corresponding to the October 1988 coup plot against President Kenneth Kaunda of Zambia, led by former army commander Lieutenant General Christon Tembo. Six military officers, two of them retired, and two civilians were detained under Zambian security laws, having been held since early October 1988 amid rumors of a planned coup, shortly after Kaunda was re-elected for a sixth five-year term in one-party elections. Tembo, who had been replaced as army commander in 1987 and posted as Zambia's ambassador to West Germany, was arrested on his arrival at Lusaka's international airport on 6 October 1988.
State prosecutors later alleged the accused had conspired between August and October 1988 to topple Kaunda's government, coordinating their actions in the mining center of Kabwe, other Zambian towns, and Bonn. Other named detainees included Lieutenant Colonels Chongo Shula and Bizwayo Nkunika, Major Epyrious Mulenga, Captain Patrick Wamulume, and civilians Benjamin Mwila and Aaron Kachila. This was the second Zambian coup plot in a decade, after the 1980 conspiracy.
The 7 October 1988 coding aligns with these early-October detentions.
Researched Details
Researched
Independent research, added record by record. Hover any label for what it means.
Sources
Editorial Note
Cross-Reference
Only one dataset carries it. One of the three reference datasets we check against carries this event; the others do not list it. That is not a contradiction — the datasets cover different periods and use different thresholds — but it means the record has had less outside corroboration.
Identifiers for finding this same event in the other datasets:
- Cline Center id
55110071988
How the match is made is described in crossref-report.md.
Outcome and Target
Coup Atlas research identifies the target as: Kaunda foiled the plot and later pardoned those convicted; he lost power in the 1991 multiparty election.
Baseline coding: Plot discovered and disrupted before execution. Recorded leader fate: remained in office; not physically harmed. The baseline file does not name individual targets; researched names are kept in a separate layer.
Baseline Dataset Citation
Baseline Source-Document Entries
CSP
New York Times
Chicago Tribune
This is the citation trail carried by the baseline dataset, grouped by outlet and rejoined from the line-wrapped original. Coup Atlas has not independently re-checked every document; read the original before citing a specific claim. URLs the import damaged beyond safe repair are shown as plain text and listed in citations-report.md. How this list is built →