ZAMBIA’S founding President, Kenneth Kaunda, turns 92 today.
Dr Kaunda, affectionately referred to as KK or Super Ken – though not so frequently these days – is now grown to a new level of a senior statesman not only in Zambia but also on the African continent and beyond.
Zambia is lucky that it still has a founding father and fountain of knowledge in Dr Kaunda. We urge the general citizenry, particularly young people, to take advantage of this nonagenarian for guidance.
Dr Kaunda might be walking with the support of a cane, but his emotional and spiritual strength is a source of encouragement and something to learn one or two lessons from.
His long life can be attributed to a positive lifestyle, which includes a strict commitment to a vegetarian diet and a devotion to abstinence from alcohol and, more importantly, his strong belief in God.
Dr Kaunda is a living light that illuminates the various paths into Zambia’s colonial and post-independence eras. His is credited not only for leading Zambia to independence but many other countries in the region and beyond.
The emancipation of Africa would not have been complete without the participation of Dr Kaunda.
His love for Zambia and Africa entailed great sacrifice.
The attributes above are just a tip of the iceberg for this larger-than-life pan-Africanist. Since leaving active politics in 1991, Dr Kaunda has been playing the role of father-of-the-nation figure for Zambians. He has also been involved in various charitable organisations. His most notable contribution has been his zeal in the fight against the spread of HIV and AIDS. From 2002 to 2004, he was an African President-in-Residence at the African Presidential Archives and Research Centre at Boston University in the US.
Dr Kaunda, who was removed from power in 1991 following a worldwide political wind of change, will be celebrating his birthday without his wife and soul mate, Betty, who died in September 2012. However, it goes without saying that this is Dr Kaunda’s special occasion and, therefore, it will be attended by his children, grand-children and great-grand-children, notwithstanding an invited host of political figures from the present generation and the by-gone UNIP era.
He has put this birthday celebration on hold in honour of his fellow freedom fighter Lewis Changufu who died yesterday, but it is still in order to wish him a happy birthday.
Not all Zambians may be able to give him a birthday present but he would certainly be most grateful for a gift of heeding his unwavering fatherly advice as stated in the Bible book of Mark 12 v 31: “Love your neighbour as yourself.”
We wish Dr Kaunda many more happy returns.