Zambia rarely makes a stir at the annual un general assembly in New York. But when Michael Sata, the president, failed to turn up for his speech this year, other African delegations took note. The 77-year-old had collapsed in his hotel suite on September 25th and was treated by doctors sent by the American government. He had rarely appeared in public in recent months. When he addressed the Zambian parliament earlier in September he joked, "I am not dead," and then left without delivering his speech. Under the Zambian constitution, if Mr Sata becomes unfit to work he will be replaced by his vice-president, Guy Scott, pending a new election to be held within 90 days. If so, Mr Scott would be the first white man to head an African state since the end of apartheid in South Africa two decades ago. What is more remarkable is that few Zambians seem concerned-a marked contrast from neighbouring South Africa or Zimbabwe, where politics is still riven by questions of race and colonialism.
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