Zambia’s founding president, Kenneth Kaunda, dies aged 97
- Kaunda died at a military hospital in Lusaka, where he was being treated for pneumonia, his son said
- The former president is noted for his role as an anti-colonial fighter who stood up to white minority-ruled South Africa
Kenneth Kaunda, Zambia’s founding president and liberation hero, has died, aged 97, at a military hospital in Lusaka where he was being treated for pneumonia, his son Kambarage said on Wednesday.
Kaunda ruled Zambia from 1964, when the southern African nation won its independence from Britain, until 1991, and afterwards become one of Africa’s most committed activists against HIV/Aids.
“I am sad to inform [members] we have lost Mzee. Let’s pray for him,” Kambarage said on the late president’s Facebook page.
The former president had been feeling unwell and had been admitted to the Maina Soko Medical Centre in Lusaka earlier this week.
A missionary’s son and trained teacher, Kaunda was considered one of the last survivors in the company of African independence heroes.
Referred to by Zambians simply as KK, Kaunda ruled from 1964 until 1991. During his time in power, Zambia became a one-party state, effectively giving him absolute control. He adopted a nationalist-socialist ideology called humanism.
Kaunda is applauded for building schools and hospitals – the colonial government made little investment in such areas. After retiring from politics he was also active in charity work through his Kenneth Kaunda Children of Africa Foundation, an organisation addressing the HIV/Aids pandemic.
