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Zambia’s founding president Kenneth Kaunda dies aged 97
Kaunda was among Africa’s few surviving liberation heroes.
Zambia’s founding president, Kenneth Kaunda has died. He was 97.
Kaunda was hospitalized early this week at a military hospital in the capital Lusaka, his office said on June 15.
“We have learned with deep sorrow, of the death of Zambia’s first President and our founding father, Dr Kenneth Buchizya Kaunda. He passed away peacefully in Lusaka today, after a short illness. We express our deepest condolences to the Kaunda family during their bereavement and pray for strength as they come to terms with this sad loss. President Kaunda will be sorely missed by all Zambians and the rest of the people on the African continent. Rest in peace gallant son of Africa,” wrote opposition United Party for National Development leader Hakainde Hichilema.
Kaunda was in office from 1964, when the southern African nation won its independence from Britain, until 1991, when he and his party were defeated in a landslide by the Movement for Multiparty Democracy (MMD) party, led by trade union leader Frederick Chiluba.
After stepping away from politics, he was involved in various charitable organizations. One of his notable contributions was his zeal in the fight against the spread of HIV/AIDS.
He was among Africa’s few surviving liberation heroes.
