Zambia has declared 21 days of national mourning following the death of father Kenneth Kaunda on Thursday at the age of 97. And tributes follow each other from especially southern Africa.
Like Zambia, South Africa has declared a period of national mourning: ten days of immediate effect in memory, says Cyril Ramaphosa, of Kenneth kaunda, this “great leader” who “stood by the side of the South African people when we needed it most”, “gave Zambia refuge, care and support for freedom fighters who are forced to flee their country of origin “, reminded the South African president.
Seven days of national mourning have been ordered in honor of Botswana, believes its president, “an emblematic statesman, altruistic”, “rightly revered as the father of independence and African unity”, whose leadership was “a source of inspiration and resilience”. Kenneth Kaunda was “determined to liberate our region from colonialism,” the Namibian president tweeted.
Congolese President Félix Tshisekedi says he learned “with great sadness, about Kenneth Kaunda’s death, the father of independence”. His Rwandan counterpart Paul Kagame writes in his condolences that “Kenneth Kaunda’s commitment to the liberation of Africa will never be forgotten and that his pan-African heritage will live on for generations”.
For its part, “SADC, the South African Development Community, mourns the Zambian president, one of the last pioneers of independence in Africa”. Finally, the African Union, for its part, considers that “Africa has lost one of its best sons”.
Teacher at the University of Kinshasa and director of studies at EHESS in Paris, historian Elikia Mbokolo recalls how Kenneth Kaunda had an original place among the fathers of African independence.
Kenneth Kaunda is the last of the giants. He belongs to the generation that gave Africa its fathers, sometimes grandfather […] Less visible than his comrades, much more discreet, of a very strong character when it comes to politics, but at the same time easygoing, easy to get along with. One of the English-speaking intellectuals who is modest and reserves quite rare among us French-speakers […] I met him once or twice […] Kaunda was quite curvy, so when he raised his voice and said “no, I do not”, he listened to him. […]
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