TRIBUTE BY
HIS EXCELLENCY, DR EDGAR CHAGWA LUNGU, PRESIDENT OF THE REPUBLIC OF ZAMBIA,
FOR
HIS EXCELLENCY, DR KENNETH DAVID KAUNDA, FIRST PRESIDENT OF ZAMBIA
DURING HIS OFFICIAL FUNERAL
FRIDAY, 2ND JULY, 2021
STATE HOUSE
LUSAKA
• YOUR EXCELLENCY, MR. UHURU KENYATTA, PRESIDENT OF THE REPUBLIC OF KENYA;
• YOUR EXCELLENCY, DR. HAGE GEINGOB, PRESIDENT OF THE REPUBLIC OF NAMIBIA;
• YOUR EXCELLENCY, MR. FILIPE JACINTO NYUSI, PRESIDENT OF THE REPUBLIC OF MOZAMBIQUE AND OUR CHAIRPERSON OF SADC;
• YOUR EXCELLENCY, DR. NANA ADDO DANKWA AKUFO-ADDO, PRESIDENT OF THE REPUBLIC OF GHANA;
• YOUR EXCELLENCY MY DEAR BROTHER, DR. EMMERSON D. MNANAGWA, PRESIDENT OF THE REPUBLIC OF ZIMBABWE,
• YOUR EXCELLENCY, MR. CYRIL RAMAPHOSA, PRESIDENT OF THE REPUBLIC OF SOUTH AFRICA;
• YOUR EXCELLENCY, DR. ERIC MOKGWEETSI MASISI, PRESIDENT OF THE REPUBLIC OF BOTSWANA;
• YOUR EXCELLENCY, DR. LAZAROUS M. CHAKWERA, PRESIDENT OF THE REPUBLIC OF MALAWI;
• YOUR EXCELLENCY, THE RT HON. DR. MOEKETSI MAJORO, MP, PRIME MINISTER OF THE KINGDOM OF LESOTHO;
• YOUR EXCELLENCY, DR. JAKAYA MRISHO KIKWETE, FORMER PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED REPUBLIC OF TANZANIA AND REPRESENTATIVE OF HER EXCELLENCY PRESIDENT SAMIA SULUHU HASSAN;
• YOUR EXCELLENCY, MR. BORNITO DE SOUSA BALTAZAR DIOGO, VICE-PRESIDENT OF THE REPUBLIC OF ANGOLA;
• YOUR EXCELLENCY, MR. MOUSSA FAKI MAHAMAT, CHAIRPERSON OF THE AFRICAN UNION COMMISSION;
• YOUR EXCELLENCY, MR. TAGESSE CHAFFO DULLO, SPEAKER OF THE HOUSE OF THE PEOPLE’ REPRESENTATIVES FEDERAL DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC OF ETHIOPIA;
• YOUR EXCELLENCY, MR. NIKOLA SELAKOVIĆ, MINISTER OF FOREIGN AFFAIRS OF SERBIA;
• YOUR EXCELLENCY, MR. JAMES DUDDRIDGE, MINISTER FOR AFRICA FROM THE UNITED KINGDOM;
• YOUR EXCELLENCY, MRS. MANWANINA KIUMBA NANA, MINISTER IN THE OFFICE OF THE PRESIDENT OF THE DEMOCRATIC OF THE REPUBLIC OF CONGO;
• YOUR EXCELLENCY, THE RT HON. PATRICIA SCOTLAND QC, SECRETARY GENERAL OF THE COMMONWEALTH SECRETARIAT;
• YOUR EXCELLENCY MS. CHILESHE MPUNDU KAPWEPWE, SECRETARY GENERAL OF THE COMMON MARKET FOR EAST AND SOUTHERN AFRICA (COMESA);
• YOUR EXCELLENCY, AMB. SALISU UMAR ZAINAB, SENIOR DIRECTOR, MINISTRY OF FOREIGN AFFAIRS OF THE FEDERAL REPUBLIC OF NIGERIA;
• YOUR EXCELLENCIES AMBASSADORS AND HIGH COMMISSIONERS PRESENT;
• MEMBERS OF THE LOCAL AND INTERNATIONAL MEDIA;
• DISTINGUISHED LADIES AND GENTLEMEN.
WE ARE GATHERED HERE TODAY TO CELEBRATE THE LIFE OF AN AFRICAN POLITICAL GIANT. WE ARE HERE TO REMEMBER THE LIFE OF A FREEDOM FIGHTER. A STATESMAN. A PAN AFRICANIST. A PATRIOT.
WE ARE ALSO HERE TO PAY UTMOST RESPECT TO A GREAT MAN. A LEGEND. A TRUE AFRICAN ICON. AND A FOUNDING FATHER OF OUR COUNTRY, ZAMBIA.
AT THE AGE OF 97, MANY PEOPLE WOULD SAY WE ARE CELEBRATING THE LIFE OF KENNETH DAVID KAUNDA RATHER THAN MOURNING HIM. BUT WHEN I RECEIVED THE MESSAGE OF THE DEMISE OF OUR FIRST PRESIDENT, I SHED TEARS AND I WAS HEART BROKEN.
EVERY APRIL, 28TH, I ENSURED THAT I VISITED HIS HOME TO CELEBRATE HIS BIRTHDAY WITH HIM. I FELT THAT ON HIS BIRTHDAYS I COULD SPEND TIME WITH HIM AND JUST SHOW HIM HOW MUCH WE, AS A NATION, ARE INDEBTED TO HIM AND HOW MUCH WE LOVED HIM. BUT IT WAS ALSO TO CELEBRATE WITH HIM HIS LONG LIFE AND GOOD HEALTH.
I WAS ALWAYS AMAZED AT HIS GOOD SIGHT, AND AT THE WAY HE NONCHALANTLY READ THOSE LOVELY MESSAGES IN HIS BIRTHDAY CARD WITHOUT HAVING TO USE HIS READING LENSES. THAT IS WHY I WAS SHOCKED WHEN I HEARD THE SAD NEWS OF HIS PASSING BECAUSE I THOUGHT HE COULD HAVE BEEN WITH US JUST A LITTLE LONGER.
THE LAST TIME I SAW KK, AS HE WAS FONDLY KNOWN TO THE WORLD, WAS AGAIN ON APRIL, 28 THIS YEAR AND AS IF TO SAY GOODBYE TO ME AND MY DELEGATION, HE BLESSED ALL OF US, LITERALLY TOUCHING OVER OUR HEADS WITH HIS TRADE MARK WHITE HANDKERCHIEF AND WHISPERING BLESSINGS TO EACH ONE OF US.
BUT MANY OTHER PEOPLE WILL TELL YOU SIMILAR STORIES. JUST A FEW DAYS AGO ON ZNBC TV, I SAW A DOCUMENTARY OF KK BLESSING PRESIDENT MNANGAGWA AND HIS DELEGATION WHEN THEY VISITED HIM.
PRESIDENT KENNETH KAUNDA WAS A FREEDOM FIGHTER WHO, THROUGH LONG HELD PERSEVERANCE, TENACITY AND PERSONAL SACRIFICE, HELPED LIBERATE ZAMBIA FROM COLONIAL RULE.
HE, AND HIS MANY COLLEAGUES, NOW GONE, BELIEVED THAT WE AFRICANS DESERVED TO DECIDE OUR OWN DESTINY AS A PEOPLE, AND THAT WE COULD NOT BE DISCRIMINATED AGAINST AND HAVE OUR NATURAL RESOURCES PLUNDERED BY SETTLERS WHILE WE WALLOWED IN ABJECT POVERTY AND DEGRADATION.
WHEN INDEPENDENCE ARRIVED, KK, AS YOUNG AS HE WAS, WAS UNFAZED, AND HE AND HIS CABINET EMBARKED ON NOT ONLY USING THE AVAILABLE RESOURCES TO BUILD OUR COUNTRY, BUT EMBARKED ON NATIONALISM.
UNDERSTANDABLY, THERE WERE FEW ZAMBIANS WITH THE RIGHT QUALIFICATIONS, AND THIS GREAT MAN EMBARKED ON A ROBUST PROGRAMME TO EDUCATE ZAMBIANS, BOTH YOUNG AND OLD.
WHILE KK WORKED TO DEVELOP ZAMBIA, WHICH HE DID, MUCH OF SOUTHERN AFRICA WAS NOT FREE. THERE WAS CIVIL WAR IN ANGOLA, IN MOZAMBIQUE, APARTHEID IN SOUTH AFRICA, LIBERATION STRUGGLES IN NAMIBIA AND ZIMBABWE.
KK KNEW, THAT AS LONG AS SOUTHERN AFRICA REMAINED UNSTABLE, ZAMBIA’S DEVELOPMENT WOULD REMAIN A PIPEDREAM. TO THIS EFFECT, I AM NOT SURPRISED TO SEE HEADS OF STATE AND GOVERNMENT PRESENT AT HIS FUNERAL. I SEE OTHER FOREIGN DIGNITARIES PRESENT DESPITE THE DANGEROUS WORLD WE ARE LIVING IN WITH THE PANDEMIC.
BUT I KNOW YOU COULD NOT MISS THIS MOMENT BECAUSE THE MAN WE BID FAREWELL TO MEANT A LOT TO YOU AND YOUR COUNTRIES, JUST LIKE HE DID TO US.
KK HOSTED MANY NATIONALS AND LIBERATION MOVEMENTS TO ACHIEVE THIS IDEAL. AND DESPITE FEARS AND DISCONTENT BY SOME ZAMBIAN CITIZENS THAT HOSTING OUR BROTHERS AND SISTERS FROM THE REGION WAS ENDANGERING THE COUNTRY, DESPITE ATTACKS FROM COLONIAL GOVERNMENTS IN THE REGION AND LOSS OF LIFE, KK DID NOT BUCKLE.
HE WAS EVEN MORE DETERMINED TO ENSURE AFRICA WAS FREE. AND INDEED AFRICA WAS FREED. THANKS TO DR KAUNDA AND OTHER LEADERS OF HIS TIME, AFRICA IS FREE. AND HE LIVED LONG ENOUGH TO SEE THE LIBERATION OF THE WHOLE CONTINENT.
DISTINGUISHED LADIES AND GENTLEMEN,
I WISH TO PAY SPECIAL TRIBUTE TO REGIONAL AND WORLD LEADERS WHO ARE HERE, AND THOSE WHO HAVE BEEN MOURNING WITH US, INCLUDING THOSE WHO HAVE OBSERVED DAYS OF NATIONAL MOURNING IN HONOUR OF DR. KAUNDA. THE GOVERNMENT AND THE PEOPLE OF ZAMBIA ARE HUMBLED BY YOUR SOLIDARITY.
LADIES AND GENTLEMEN,
THE STORY OF KK IS EMBODIED IN THE LIVES OF ALL ZAMBIANS WHO LIVED UNDER HIS LEADERSHIP. WE ALL HAVE A STORY TO TELL ABOUT DR KAUNDA BECAUSE WE GREW UP DURING HIS PRESIDENCY. KK EMPHASISED FREE EDUCATION FOR AFRICAN CHILDREN, NEVER MIND WHETHER THAT CHILD WAS ZAMBIAN OR NOT.
I AM A PRODUCT OF KK’S FREE EDUCATION UP TO UNIVERSITY. PRESIDENT MNANGAGWA WOULD TELL A SIMILAR STORY ABOUT KK’S BELIEF IN THE EDUCATION OF AFRICAN CHILDREN HAVING BEEN EDUCATED HERE IN ZAMBIA. IT WAS BECAUSE OF THAT VISION THAT SOME OF US HERE ARE PRIVILEGED TO BE PRESIDENTS. WITHOUT KK’S VISION, AS PRESIDENT MNANGAGWA PUT IT WHEN HE CAME HERE, THE TWO OF US WOULD NOT HAVE REACHED WHERE WE ARE.
KK ALWAYS TALKED ABOUT THE ERADICATION OF POVERTY AND DISEASE AMONG AFRICANS, ESPECIALLY THE AFRICAN CHILD. THIS WAS WHY UNDER HIS LEADERSHIP, HOSPITALS AND HEALTH CENTRES WERE BUILT ACROSS THE COUNTRY. WE ENJOYED FREE ACCESS TO MEDICAL FACILITIES UNDER KK, REGARDLESS OF OUR ORIGINS.
MOST OF ALL, UNDER KK, UNITY WAS OF UTMOST IMPORTANCE. OUR MOTTO – ONE ZAMBIA, ONE NATION, EXEMPLIFIES JUST HOW MUCH KK BELIEVED IN THE IDEAL THAT NO NATION COULD DEVELOP WITHOUT UNITY.
KK PREACHED THE GOSPEL ACCORDING TO MATTHEW “THOU SHALT LOVE THY NEIGHBOUR AS THYSELF.”
THIS HE EMPHASISED IN HIS PHILOSOPHY OF HUMANISM WHICH PROFESSED HELPING ONE ANOTHER. HUMANISM WEEK WAS A SPECIAL PERIOD WHICH PRECEDED OUR INDEPENDENCE DAY ON 24TH OCTOBER.
DURING HUMANISM WEEK, EVERY ZAMBIAN WAS CALLED UPON TO RENDER HELP TO THE NEEDY. AS SCHOOL CHILDREN, WE SPENT THE WEEK CLEANING IN HOSPITALS AND OTHER PUBLIC PLACES.
WHILE MANY WILL TELL YOU THAT KK EXUDED AN AURA OF REVERENCE, THOSE CLOSE TO HIM WOULD ACTUALLY TELL YOU THAT BEHIND THAT REVERENCE WAS A KIND, FRIENDLY AND CARING HUMAN BEING.
KK WAS A DISCIPLINARIAN, BUT TRUE TO HIS CHRISTIAN BELIEF, HE NEVER HELD GRUDGES. HE WOULD RATHER HAVE PEOPLE REFORM AND BE USEFUL IN SOCIETY AGAIN.
KK WAS A SOCCER FAN, AND HIS NATIONAL TEAM WAS THE REVERED KK 11. WHEN THE KK 11 WAS PLAYING, I HOPE KALUSHA BWALYA IS HERE, THE MATCH WOULD NOT START UNTIL HE JUGGLED THE BALL AND FERROCIOUSLY KICKED IT IN ANY DIRECTION.
HE LOVED GOLF, TOO, AND ENCOURAGED THE GROWTH OF SPORT AMONG THE YOUNG POPULATION. HE WAS A MUSICIAN WHO LOVED HIS GUITAR, AND COMPOSED A FEW SONGS, INCLUDING ONE FOR HIS SWEETHEART, MAMA BETTY KAUNDA.
BUT OF COURSE, HIS HIT SONG WAS TIYENDE PAMODZI NDI MUTIMA UMODZI WHICH EMPHASISED UNITY, A VALUE HE ALWAYS ESPOUSED TO THE POINT OF HIS DEATH.
LADIES AND GENTLEMEN,
I HAVE LEARNT A LOT OF THINGS FROM THE PRESIDENTS THAT SERVED BEFORE ME. BUT FROM DR KAUNDA, I LEARNT THE IMPORTANCE OF PATRIOTISM AND NATIONAL UNITY.
KK’S CONTRIBUTIONS TO HUMANITY NEITHER ENDED WITH HIS PRESIDENCY IN 1991 NOR HIS RETIREMENT FROM ACTIVE POLITICS IN 1999. HE BECAME A COMMITTED ACTIVIST AGAINST HIV AND AIDS IN AFRICA. HE WAS BOLD AND COMPASSIONATE ABOUT THE FIGHT AGAINST HIV AND AIDS AND BANISHED STIGMA AND DISCRIMINATION FROM THE EARLY DAYS OF THE PANDEMIC.
WHAT A GREAT PATRIOT YOU WERE, SIR. GO WELL, THE NATION YOU LOVED LOVES YOU BACK. AFRICA REMEMBERS YOUR BENEVOLENCE. THE WORLD APPRECIATES YOU.
MAY GOD BLESS YOU. MAY GOD BLESS THIS COUNTRY YOU SERVED SO WELL. MAY GOD BLESS THE AFRICA YOU HELPED LIBERATE.
I SAY THANK YOU FOR ALL YOU DID FOR US ALL.
MAY YOUR SOUL REST IN ETERNAL PEACE.
I THANK YOU.
