By Luvuyo Nkosi @newsworthy24/7.
19th June 2021
As President Kenneth Kaunda lay critically ill in a Lusaka Military Hospital with severe pneumonia, the incumbent President collapsed while inspecting a huge military parade 5 kilometres away from where KK, as he was fondly referred to, was hospitalised. President Edgar Lungu suffers from hypoglycemia, a chronic diabetic condition that can be triggered by heavy drinking, among many other reasons.
At 97, it was largely expected that Kaunda would not survive the pnuemonic attack, but instead of holding a vigil for the highly regarded elderly statesman, the embattled Zambian leader flew to Koama, a little town in Western Zambia, approximately 200 km from the Capital Lusaka, to campaign in an election many citizens believe he has already lost.
And it was while in Koama that news broke out that Dr Kenneth Kaunda had succumbed to his sickness and had died. Remarkably news of Kaunda’s death filtered in from foreign news networks including Aljeezera and SABC as the Zambian state owned broadcaster ZNBC continued normal programming of cartoons and free advertising of the ruling party campaign messages.The nation was stunned.
Zambians were treated to yet another bizarre situation when for several hours, there was no official announcement from the state about Kaunda’s death. Zambia’s main opposition leader Hakainde Hichilema filled the void and paid a moving tribute to the late President.
It was only after Hichilema’s eulogy that a terse statement was released by government, not by President Lungu, but by his advisor. Zambians were incensed that President Edgar Lungu had delegated such a serious task to a subordinate civil servant. The incident underscored Lungu’s nonchalant and dispassionate character and his outlook as a leader detached from reality. One street trader remarkably remarked;
“I felt embarrassed by President Cyril Ramaphosa’s KK live TV tribute yesterday. It felt like being in a home where neighbours mourn a departed one, while the Chief mourner and owner of the home is indisposed due to Gin”.
The trader’s statement summed up many Zambians’ increasing frustration of Lungu’s culture of leadership and their desire that he goes.
President Lungu and the First Lady finally visited the funeral home with a hoarde of State media but amazingly addressed the dead man, instead of the Nation in mourning.
“Dear KK, I learnt of your passing this morning. You are gone at a time we least expected….”
Most Zambians unanimously agree that nothing is working for President Edgar Lungu, and that as a matter of fact in some quarters it is being suggested that people are feeling pity for him, but are still united and resolved of their desire that he must go.