Kenneth Kaunda, Zambia's first president and one of the last of the generation of African leaders who fought colonialism, has died aged 97.
Kaunda was admitted to a military hospital in the capital, Lusaka, on Monday suffering from pneumonia. His aides said he did not have Covid-19.
In the 1950s, Kaunda was a key figure in what was then Northern Rhodesia's independence movement from Britain.
He became president following independence in 1964.
Profile of Kenneth David Kaunda
Born in April 1924 at Lubwa Mission in the northern province of the Republic of Zambia, Kenneth Kaunda became President of the Republic of Zambia in October 1964.
Kaunda started playing a continental role in 1963 when he became President of the Pan-African Freedom movement for East, Central and Southern Africa. He extended his influence to the global level after Zambia’s independence, serving as chairperson of the Organisation of African Unity from 1970 to 1971 and from 1987 to 1988.
A great friend of the South African liberation struggle, he was close to veterans of the liberation movement such as Oliver Tambo, Walter Sisulu, Chris Hani and others. He maintained his support for the liberation movements despite Pretoria’s policy aimed at destabilisation of governments in the region.
In 1991, he founded the Kenneth Kaunda Peace Foundation dedicated to the establishment of peace and conflict resolution on the continent. KK, as he is fondly known, now devotes his life in fighting HIV/AIDS in Africa.
No comments:
Post a Comment