By Kasebamashila Kaseba
KK’S, LIFE OF 97, MARRIAGE OF 66 AND VOW TO “THEE BETTY…TO LOVE AND TO CHERISH, TILL EL’S GOVT BURIAL DO US PART”
— from dividing Zambians to feuding Kaunda family to divorcing Kaundas in burial at heroes and unity —
— from dishonouring the death and burial wishes or will to disobeying or ignoring court process or stay —
Mama Betty Kaunda, 82, at death in 2012, the founding first lady or the first first lady and wife of Kenneth Kaunda, for 66 years, from 1946 to 2012, and mother of nine children, was not just an ordinary woman and (state) house wife; but also a power or influence behind the scenes regarding simplicity, humility, chitenge and safari fashion.
Whereas KK was founding president, she was the founding first lady.
First ladies and first families elsewhere and here, before and after her have misbehaved, wielded power and interfered with policy and policy makers, caused scandals including divorce at State House for FJT or coup de tat or lavish live style amidst povery for Robert Mugabe; she raised the family in simplicity and conformity with the rest of the country.
She also played an important and examplary role in the institutionalisation of marriage as KK’s wife and mother of nine children, seven sons and two daughters, as well as being the first lady and mother of the nation.
While KK, both during and after the independence struggle, was essentially an absentee father, acknowledged in the books, Letter to My Children by KK himself and her autobiography helped by Stephen Mpashi, she was an ever abiding homemaker or mother of the nation.
Further to teacher training, tutelage through arranged marriage by parents she also did homemaking training at Mindolo in Kitwe.
She also dressed KK in his safari suit as she wore her chitenge outfits, like the images of the coat of arms.
In fact, her children were so drilled to simple dress that her first son Panji Kaunda, born 1947, even wore a pair of shorts to his ministerial swearing in as Minister in President Michael Sata’s government in 2011.
A story is also told how KK wanted his children to walk to and from their local government schools like all other children or pupils as they were not also presidents or employees of government to use tax payers’ transport and security.
It is said to have taken a lot of persuasion by handlers to afford the children government transport or security.
Thus the office of the first lady, as it was later called and glamourised by her successor Vera Chiluba, is perhaps the most powerful unconstitutional office.
While it was and is deliberately unconstitutional to draw the dividing line, between constitutional and unconstitutional, it has since been proven being unconstitutional has meant unrestrained and unlimited abuse of power or influence peddling.
While Kaunda as a public servant seemed not have a private life, office or business and Mrs Kaunda as a wife of Kaunda, not the president, didn’t have a public life, office and business.
Today, the president and the first lady have both overlapped, overreached and conflicted in public and private capacities. To an extent a permanent secretary or even a minister is delegated to read a speech for the first lady.
While it is true that Mrs Kaunda too wielded a lot of silent influence, it is also agreed she was perhaps the most restrained or disciplined.
She is also said to have helped directly and indirectly solidify marriages of others or seemed to influenced the unwritten consideration of marriage as a qualification to public office.
She has largely been unsung including by the women more interested in the presidency itself.
What is being debated or defended or touted as custom or protocol or convention or law against burial of Mrs Kaunda side-by-side with Dr Kaunda at presidential burial site are just negotiations or discretions or exceptions or decisions of President RB, Secretary to the Cabinet Leslie Mbula and another First Lady Maureen Mwanawasa regarding President Mwanawasa’s burial, an agemate of Col. Panji Kaunda, as opposed to the law and Constitution.
Thus, EL who was deputy minister in the Vice President’s office when the matter of state funerals policy was re-debated in Parliament, needed to be President enough for once to make the decisions over speculations and indecisions and disputes than delegate to the third lower level of Secretary to the Cabinet or Permanent Secretary as the Kaundas have also delegated to the third generation of grandchildren.
EL delegated KK funeral announcement to Secretary to the Cabinet as he launched 2021 FRA crop marketing in Kabwe when leading MCS’s funeral is what caused their fallout with Acting President Guy Scott.
EL delegated Secretary to Cabinet to announce discretional 21 days national mourning when, according to the policy on national mourning by the PF itself, the former presidents are entitled to five days of national mourning.
As a matter of fact, FJT himself, buried in sense side-by-side with LPM, cancelled the law of such retirements and entitlements; challenged and won in court by Grey Zulu; didn’t even write a law or Constitutional provision of such presidential burials.
In the end, it is disrespectful to subject KK’s and BK’s clear wish or will to endless debate even litigation when resources and space and time can accommodate both.
KK, according to tradition and his wish, is supposed to bury his wife or even be side by side whereas (former) employer is supposed to bury its former employee at a place of his choice.
Thus the win-win resolution was for Government that owns both State Lodge and Embassy Park to offer to rebury Betty Kaunda side by side with KK at Embassy Park.
I have not heard that tried and I have not heard the family reject the Government offer.
I guess that is how Maureen Mwanawasa, Leslie Mbula and RB negotiated and settled win-win burial of Mwanawasa at embassy park.
Otherwise, to bury or not to bury BK and KK side by side at Presidential burial site is neither a favour nor an honour to either of them. No one or no ground or no burial can honour either of them more than their life works and marriage.
In the end, only PF and EL lack of leadership while in charge of both State Lodge grave of Mrs Kaunda and Presidential burial site would argue to bury KK with FJT with LPM and MCS than with reburied Betty Kaunda.