Zambia’s President “KK” Goes Home @ 97

On Wednesday, 7 July 2021, Zambia’s first President Kenneth Kaunda who died aged 97 on 17 June 2021 was laid to rest in Lusaka.

Eulogies read by neighbouring Presidents Emerson Mnangagwa of Zimbabwe, Lazarus Chakwera of Malawi and Uhuru Kenyatta of Kenya took me back to Mark Antony’s eulogy of Caesar in Shakespeare’s tragedy “Julius Caesar.”

Mark Antony

The popular Shakespearean quotation in our secondary school days which we gleefully recited at the least opportunity was;

“Friends, Romans, countrymen, lend me your ears. I come to bury Caesar, not to praise him. The evil that men do lives after them. The good is oft interred with their bones. So let it be with Caesar.”

The noble Brutus hath told you Caesar was ambitions. If it were so it was a grievous fault, and grievously has Caesar answered it, here under leave of Brutus and the rest – For Brutus is an honorable man. So are they all honorable men.”

Kaunda

On 24 October 1964, Northern-Rhodesia became independent from British rule with a new name of Zambia under the leadership of a trained teacher, later Headmaster, President Kenneth Kaunda. A committed Pan-Africanist, he became to his sub-region what Osagyefo Dr Kwame Nkrumah of Ghana is to the whole of Africa.

He ruled Zambia for 27 years from 1964 to 1991 and handed over peacefully after losing an election to Opposition Leader Frederick Chiluba. Described as “the last of the giants of Africa,” he will be remembered for his selflessness and personal philosophy of “Humanism.” For him, the human being was the most important resource, and therefore central in all considerations.

He also made Zambia the hub for the fight for independence for other countries, a move which cost Zambia a lot, attracting guerilla attacks.

From 1972 – 1990, Kaunda ruled Zambia as a one-party state with all other parties banned, with the motto “One Zambia, One Nation.” With that, he made enemies who called him a dictator.

He was also accused of putting his sub-region ahead of his country by offering Zambia as the headquarters for the fight for the independence of Southern-Rhodesia (Zimbabwe) Nyasaland (Malawi,) Angola, Mozambique, Namibia and South Africa.

Eulogies

Taking a veiled swipe at other African leaders, President Kenyatta stated Kaunda has taught African leaders that, “there is life after high office” by serving Zambia/the sub-region in fields like HIV/AIDS awareness. Incidentally, none of the presidents who have ruled for over thirty years was at KK’s funeral.

Malawian President Lazarus Chakwera eulogized KK as a great leader who worked the passions of his supporters with singing. He played the piano/organ and the guitar and loved to dance even at 97 before his death.

He also loved football and at a stage, called the national team “KK Stars!

Perhaps, the most moving tribute came from Zimbabwean President Mnangagwa. Having lived in Zambia during the liberation struggle in his country then Southern-Rhodesia, Mnangagwa called Zambia his second-home as he recounted fond memories. He was full of gratitude to KK for sacrificing his country so others could gain independence.

Conclusion

For a continent which does not lack self-seeking leaders who think more of themselves and their family/friends, and not the Hobbesian “public good,” Kenneth Kaunda was a rare breath of fresh air in African leadership. He was simple, humble and respectful.

Despite the accusation of making his country a one-party state, the outpouring of grief by Zambians showed he was a great leader who was loved. Certainly, as an ordinary mortal, he made mistakes. Nonetheless, he has left a positive legacy, giving up power peacefully, for which he will be remembered by posterity.

Oliver Cromwell

On 30 January 1649, when Oliver Cromwell then a Colonel in the English Army executed King Charles 1, to replace the monarchy with a republic, he was hailed as a revolutionary hero. However, a year after his death on 3 September 1658, his body was exhumed, tried for regicide/treason, executed and decapitated. To this day, Oliver Cromwell remains the most controversial/divisive leader of England as both hero and villain, unlike Zambia’s Kaunda.

History affords all a learning opportunity, as history repeats itself!

Perhaps, like Dr Kwame Nkrumah, President Kaunda’s selflessness could serve as a model for African leaders. Is it not asked “what shall it profit a man if he gains the whole world but loses his soul?”

As Mark Antony said eulogizing Julius Caesar “the evil that men do lives after them. The good is oft interred with their bones!”

African leaders, learn from the last of the giants, President Kenneth Kaunda of Zambia!

Leadership, lead selflessly!

Fellow Ghanaians, WAKE UP!

 

Brig Gen Dan Frimpong (Rtd)

Former CEO, African Peace Support Trainers Association

Nairobi, Kenya

Council Chairman

Family Health University College

Accra

[email protected]