DR. KENNETH KAUNDA, AFRICA’S OLDEST LIVING STATESMAN than
THE history of Zambia would be incomplete without the mention of Dr. Kenneth Kaunda, the First Republican President of the country and his generation of freedom fighters who liberated the country from the British colonial rule in 1964.
In the words of University of Zambia (UNZA) Historian Dr. Euston Chiputa, “A society that does not know its history is bound to lose even what it has to foreigners.”
In the rich history of Zambia lies a man who galvanized a group of spirited individuals that risked their own lives to give the country the much yearned for political liberation.
About 56 years ago, Dr. Kaunda and his African comrades were youthful and energetic and fought for the liberation of Zambia and other southern African countries from the colonial rule.
Today, most of Dr. Kaunda’s contemporaries such as Julius Nyerere of Tanzania, South Africa’s Nelson Mandela, Robert Mugabe of Zimbabwe, Malawi’s Kamuzu Banda, and Jomo Kenyatta of Kenya among others are departed.
Official history records show that Zambia’s First Republican President Dr. Kenneth David Buchizya Kaunda is currently the oldest living Former President on the African continent at the age of 96 years and fourth oldest in the world today.
Before Dr. Kaunda’s 96th birthday in April 2020, no other African President, serving or former had lived beyond 95 years, with Zimbabwe’s Robert Mugabe who came close to this record but died at the age of 95 years.
But at the global level, Mexico’s 50th President, Luis Echeverria who served from 1970 to 1976, is the holder of the world’s oldest living former President followed by Lee Teng-Hui of Taiwan who turned 97 years old on January 15 this year, while the Republic of Laos former President Khamtai Siphandom ranks third as he is only 2 months older than Dr. Kaunda.
Dr. Kaunda who was born on April 28, 1924, in Northern Zambia, turned 96 this year 2020.
Before Dr. Kaunda’s 96th birthday in April 2020, no other President, serving or former had lived beyond 95 years.
“Literally he (Dr. Kaunda) should be the oldest founding leader of the African continent. When you scan the more than 50 countries of Africa, I don’t think you will find anyone alive who was President of a country and also participated in the liberation of the African continent. So when you speak about participation fully, we are talking about his contemporaries like Mwalimu Julius Nyerere, Jomo Kenyatta, Apollo Milton Obote, Kwame Nkrumah, Gamal Abdel Nasser Hussein, and many other leaders that led their respective countries to independence. So, yes it is correct to say he is the only surviving one among them,” Dr. Chiputa explained.
Zimbabwe’s Robert Mugabe who was born in February 1924 was the record holder of the oldest President to be alive in Africa and the entire world. Mr. Mugabe was 3 months older
Dr. Kaunda.
The Zimbabwean longest serving leader died in September 2019, two years after being ousted out of power in Zimbabwe, the country he liberated from the British colonial rule and ruled for 30 years.
Dr. Kaunda is 6 months older than United States of America oldest living President, Jimmy Carter, who ruled the world’s powerful nation for a tenure of 4 years.
President Carter, who was also born in 1924 like Kaunda, but different months, served as the 39th President of the United States from January 20, 1977 to January 20, 1981. Jimmy Carter passed George H.W. Bush to become the longest living president in the United States, at 94 years old.
This year 2020, marks exactly 29 years since Dr. Kaunda left office as President of Zambia. He ruled Zambia for 27 years (1964- 1991), but his contributions to the political liberation of most Southern African countries have not gone unrecognized.
The University of Zambia don, Dr. Chiputa noted that it was important for Zambians to know the history of the country to understand where the country is coming from and what the freedom fighters who worked with Kaunda went through to liberate Zambia and the other countries in the region at a great cost.
Dr. Kaunda’s lifetime dedication as a mediator for peace in the region and globally earned him the first-ever Nobel Peace Award from the Pillars of Peace Zambia Chapel.
The Pillars of Peace Zambia chapel recognised Dr. Kaunda in 2016 for being a champion and an ambassador of peace throughout his life.
His international recognition profile might rise further this year, 2020, if he wins the 2020 Nobel Peace Prize following his nomination to the Norwegian Nobel Institute by the Los Angeles Lusaka Sister Committee through Vice- President, Dr. Mwelwa Mulenga and Dr. Earnestine Robertson based in the United States. The First Republican President has also guided various political leaders in the country and African region.
“The application was filed through the Nobel Institute whose principal duty is to assist the Norwegian Nobel Committee in the task of selecting the recipient(s) of the annual Nobel Peace Prize and to organize the Nobel award event in Oslo,” the Los Angeles Lusaka Sister Committee stated in a statement made available to the media.
Mrs. Inonge Mutukwa Wina, the wife to Zambia’s first Minister of Finance, late Arthur Wina, holds Dr. Kaunda in high esteem for the role he played in the political liberation of Zambia and many other African countries that were under the colonial rule.
Mrs. Wina, 79, who is the first and only woman to hold the position of Vice President in the history of Zambia, narrates that at the mention of Dr. Kaunda, the only thing that comes to her mind is a picture of a hero, a man who led a dedicated team of men and women to create a political and economic state which is now called Zambia.
She observed that Dr. Kaunda had unique and special abilities to galvanize people from different backgrounds and at different levels in the party to work together for a common goal to bring about the liberation of Zambia from the British colonialists.
The Vice President noted that even after independence, as a selfless and humble leader, Dr. Kaunda accommodated both the educated and uneducated leaders in his cabinet of 17 Ministers and the Vice President.
Mrs. Wina stressed that President Kaunda’s ability to galvanize support helped him get contributions from Zambians after independence towards the construction of the University of Zambia, which became the only higher institution of learning the country had at the time.
“When UNIP took over government, the country had a population of about 4 million but with only a 100 individuals with university degrees, a few with diplomas and a few with high school certificates simply because the British that were ruling us, did not pay much attention to education.
I supposed they perceived education as a tool that would open Africans’ eyes to knowledge. So education was denied to us. A few Zambians that acquired university education, had to travel outside Zambia. People like John Mwanakatwe, trained in South Africa, people like Arthur Wina had to train in Uganda at Makelele University, People like Sikota Wina and Peter Matoka had to study in South Africa and many others,” Mrs. Wina explained.
She stressed that the situation meant that immediately the country became independent, priority was education hence President Kaunda made huge investment in the construction of secondary schools to ensure that each district had one.
“The University of Zambia had to be established during the same period and the Lusaka Central Hospital which is now University Teaching Hospital (UTH) also had to be established. There was an appeal to all Zambians and people warmed up to the appeal and they brought chickens, goats as contributions towards the construction of the university.
And I remember Mr. Clifford Little was the headmaster at Munali Secondary School then, he was the treasurer for the fundraising event. They sold the chickens and put money together so that every Zambian could feel that this is our own. Those were the activities Dr. Kaunda and his colleagues undertook,” Mrs. Wina explained.
She remembered how Dr. Kaunda chose to take a huge risk by remaining neutral together with the countries in the non-aligned movement when the world was going through the cold war which tore the globe into two blocks, the western world and the eastern bloc.
She disclosed that Dr. Kaunda took a neutral stance because he saw no benefit in siding with any of the warring parties led by Russia on one side and America on the other.
Another memory the Vice President shared about Dr. Kaunda was the heavy price the country paid under his leadership during the unilateral declaration of Zimbabwe under Ian Smith which left Zambian borders shut on either sides.
Mrs. Wina remembered how Dr. Kaunda and his cabinet used to air-lift all imported commodities including fuel to run the country’s economy just few years after independence.
“Such global issues also affected our new republic. All these things were happening under the leadership of Dr. Kaunda. So you can see what kind of a leader Dr. Kaunda was and what he did for the nation and the region. The young generation should learn and read more about Dr. Kaunda to understand what he did for the nation. Read about Dr. Kaunda as a father of the nation and as a family man,” Mrs. Wina calmly explained.
When asked for her message to Dr. Kaunda on his birthday which fell on April 28th, Mrs. Wina, who is also a freedom fighter stated that, “As he celebrates 96 years, Dr. Kaunda should face the future with pride and contentment for the huge achievements and sacrifices he made to liberate this country from colonialism and for his leadership in supporting the liberation movements when they were under siege from apartheid South Africa and the Portuguese colonialists. So
I think at 96, he should be a very happy man, and a proud person because he has given birth to this country we now call Zambia. Happy birthday KK!”
During his reign, Dr. Kaunda demonstrated selflessness and inclusivity of not leaving any section of society behind hence he appointed Lazarus Tembo as the first-ever blind man to work as Minister in the history of the republic of Zambia.
Lazarus Tembo was one of Zambia’s most popular singers who was later after independence appointed by President as Minister of Culture.
On his 96th birthday, a blind senior citizen Professor Elijah Ngwale could not forget the love President Kaunda had for persons with disabilities during his reign. Prof. Ngwale narrated that Dr. Kaunda treated persons with disabilities with great care and ensured that their welfare was priority.
When asked how he remembered Dr. Kaunda as a President, Prof. Ngwale took a deep breath, before responding with a smile that KK, as he was fondly called was a President who wanted to see disabled people including the blind to be self-reliant hence he directed all state and private institutions to employ blind persons and the physically challenged as phone and switchboard operators in order for them to earn a decent living like other able-bodied citizens.
He disclosed that Dr. Kaunda as a University of Zambia Chancellor, authorized the enrollment of the blind persons at the University which was uncommon at the time.
Mama Betty Chilombo who served as a Member of the Central Committee in the United Independence Party (UNIP) disclosed that Dr. Kaunda was a selfless leader who united all the tribes of Zambia under the motto ‘one Zambia, one nation.’
Mamma Chilombo, 82, noted that Zambians should learn from Dr. Kaunda to be patriotic and dedicated to the preservation of peace and unity.
Meanwhile, on the day to mark his 96 th birthday, Dr. Kaunda received a surprise visit by President Edgar Lungu who was the only outsider to join his few family members to commemorate the birthday anniversary at his State Lodge residence in Lusaka.
Despite the suspension of all public gatherings due to the outbreak of COVID-19, President Lungu couldn’t stay away from Dr. Kaunda to wish the founding father of Zambia well on the day he was born 96 years ago. President Lungu hailed Dr. Kaunda for liberating Zambia and other African countries, and pledged to build on the successes of the First Republican President.
President Lungu noted that despite the current pandemic which restricts people from visiting each other, he could not resist visiting Dr. Kaunda to wish him well on this important day in his life, because of his status in the country and the continent.
“Sir, I could not allow this day pass without coming to see you…. I want to assure you that we will not destroy this beautiful country, we will maintain it the way you left it and pass it over to the next generation. God bless you and thank you very much,” President Lungu remarked before taking leave after his visit. And Dr. Kaunda who was in high spirit thanked the Head of State for the present and good wishes on his birthday.
As a youth, Kenneth Kaunda founded the African National Congress (ANC) and later became the Head of the United National Independence Party (UNIP), the organization which helped liberate Zambia from the British colonial rule.
After the freedom struggle, Dr. Kaunda became the First Republican President of Zambia in 1964, and ruled the country for 27 years before losing power to Frederick Jacob Titus Chiluba of the Movement for Multiparty Democracy, MMD, in 1991.