United National Independence Party | |
|---|---|
 UNIP logo | |
| Abbreviation | UNIP |
| President | Trevor Mwamba |
| Founder | Mainza Chona |
| Founded | October 1959 |
| Preceded by | Zambian African National Congress |
| Headquarters | Lusaka |
| Political orientation | Zambian Humanism Scientific Socialism Democratic Socialism |
| Website | |
| https://unipzambia.org/ | |
The United National Independence Party (UNIP) is a Pan-African socialist party in Zambia. Since the nation's independence the United National Independence Party, under the leadership of then President Kenneth Kaunda, led the country as the vanguard of the African masses and played an instrumental role in the dismantling of the Rhodesia apartheid regime despite intense bombardment.[1][2] With the fall of the USSR in 1991 and growing pressures from western powers, the Republic of Zambia would face intense domestic disobedience in the form of riots and protests across the country, culminating into a failed coup attempt by the Zambia Army. In response to these pressures, Kenneth Kaunda would dissolve the one-party state and shift the party platform to Democratic Socialism, resulting in the return to capitalism after UNIPs electoral defeat to opposition parties.[3]