KK WILL BE BURIED AT PRESIDENTIAL BURIAL SITE….DISREGARD ANY INFO NOT COMING FROM GRZ OR PANJI ON THIS MATTER – MALUPENGA
By Ulande Nkomesha,
GOVERNMENT has maintained that first Republican President Dr Kenneth Kaunda will be put to rest at the Presidential burial site on Wednesday.
And Ministry of Information and Broadcasting Permanent Secretary Amos Malupenga says the public should disregard any information that is not coming from government or Dr Kaunda’s eldest son Colonel Panji Kaunda regarding the funeral.
Recently, Dr Kaunda’s son Kaweche Kaunda said it was his father’s and family’s wish for him to be buried next to his wife Betty Kaunda at his farm in New Kasama, and that government had no mandate to decide where the nation’s founding father would be buried.
But speaking to Diamond TV, Monday, Malupenga said government had the responsibility of speaking to the public and the media regarding Dr Kaunda’s funeral arrangements.
“The arrangement between the government and the Kaunda family is that colonel Panji Kaunda will speak on any issue relating to this funeral and the family if there is anything to be spoken. Otherwise, by and large, it is the government that is speaking to the public and the media. So, if there is any position to be communicated, you expect that communication to be communicated through the government, other than that if the family wishes to communicate something to the public, that will be done through Colonel Panji Kaunda. Even then, the family is reluctant to speak to the public or to the media, they have said even the family themselves, they will communicate to the public or the media through the government,” Malupenga said.
“So, we have been having meetings and discussions with the family from the time the funeral happened. Any view or any concerns that they would want to share to the public, they have spoken through the government. So, we expect only one spokesperson as far as the funeral arrangements are concerned, that is the government. By extension if there is anyone who will speak from the Kaunda family, it is only Panji Kaunda. So, whatever comes from any other mouth rather than Panji Kaunda, that should be disregarded by the public.”
Malupenga said Dr Kaunda would be buried at Embassy Park.
“The late president will be buried on Wednesday 7th of July. The programme will be preceded by a church service at the Cathedral of the Holy Cross. Then from there, the procession will come here at Embassy Park where the late founding father and first president Dr Kenneth Kaunda will be put to rest at the Presidential burial site. We just wanted to seize the opportunity to thank the Zambian people in the manner they have mourned the late president, with the due honour and dignity that is due to him as the founding father,” he said.
“We also want to inform the public that the mourning period was for a period of 21 days and within the 21 days a number of activities have taken place to accord the country and the world at large to mourn Dr Kaunda. So, we started with the provincial tours where the provinces were given the symbolic opportunity to pay their last respects. Today (Monday) is the last day for the tours of the provinces. Tomorrow we will be doing just the final touches in readiness for the burial on Wednesday.”
Malupenga said Dr Kaunda’s burial was only restricted to family members and a few invited dignitaries.
“We have to announce to the public that the burial will be private or restricted to very few people. So mainly it will be members of the family and a few invited dignitaries. Attendance is strictly by invitation, both at the church service and at the burial site. We encourage the rest of the country to follow the proceedings live on TV. This is in line with the directive by the President that this funeral will be held in strict adherence to the pandemic guidelines as prescribed by the Ministry of Health. So, we have to remind the public again that they shouldn’t throng the Cathedral or the burial site here because these two events will be restricted to the private members of the family as well as few invited dignitaries,” said Malupenga.
“The international community has been given an opportunity through the state funeral to pay their last respects. Now we are concluding with the family and a few invited guests. As I indicated, this is going to be a private burial procession. In terms of the international community that is why we had the state funeral. You will recall that we had close to 10 Heads of State and other heads of other international organisations that came to mourn with us. So, the international community was given that opportunity through that arrangement. The rest of the country had also been given an opportunity through these provincial tours. So, the last event will be restricted to members of the family and a few selected dignitaries. This will include a few government officials, political leaders, a few religious leaders, and a few other invited dignitaries.”