- Advertisement -
Former Zambian President Kenneth Kaunda is due to be buried next Wednesday. At the podium, this Friday 2 July, the current president Edgar Lungu was whistled during his speech. Zambia is organizing a one-and-a-half-month presidential election in a tense climate “on the brink of a human rights crisis”, according to Amnesty International, which criticizes the repressive methods of the six-year-old head of state and candidate for a new term. What remains of the Kaunda spirit in Zambia. Decryption of Nic Cheeseman, British political scientist, expert on democracy and African elections.
Nic cheeseman : Like many leaders of his generation, Kenneth Kaunda will always be remembered as one of those who fought for colonial rule. One of the things that the Zambians mourn is not only Kaunda as an individual, but the memory of the time when the Zambians were really proud. They had just won their freedom, they were independent, they were about to build a nation. And one of the things that people grieve about is the loss of it. For today, Zambia, which does not pay its debt, almost seems to return to a situation where it is controlled by external forces.
RFI: Kenneth Kaunda, 1991, accepts free elections. After his defeat, he left power. Is it not also a certain idea of democracy that the Zambians mourn today?
Yes and no, because it is difficult to present Kaunda as a model for democracy when he had set up a one-party system. I think his death can be seen as death for a certain leadership style, inspiring and respectful. He does not seem to be as corrupt and irresponsible as his successor leader in multi-party Zambia. Take Edgar Lungu, the current president, he is accused of using oppression and violence in many places to stay in power. It is true that Kaunda could have been criticized for the same thing in the 1990s, but today he has a good image, as he is remembered as someone who was less corrupt than Frédérick Chiluba and less divisive than Edgar Lungu.
Do the presidential candidates demand the legacy of Kenneth Kaunda?
It is not certain that the main candidates can easily claim his legacy. We saw the ruling party give it a chance through this government-sponsored trip to uncover Kaunda’s coffin in the provinces. Some said it was not the family’s will. But Edgar Lungu, right now seems to be in very bad shape, and he has not done much in the field. Generally, governments tend to use the death of a person in power to try to strengthen the status quo, and I expected this to be the case in Zambia. But I think it’s probably because Lungu is not feeling well and he can not travel and talk about not seeing the things we could have expected because he could not do it.
Also read Zambia: Unanimous Tributes to Kenneth Kaunda, the Last Hero of African Independence
.
