The founding president of Zambia, Kenneth Kaunda is dead. He died from an undisclosed ailment at the age of 97.
He was on Monday admitted to Maina Soko military hospital in Lusaka, Zambia’s capital, where he was treated for an undisclosed ailment.
Kaunda, one of Africa’s liberation heroes, was said to have made a steady recovery and was responding well to treatment as of Wednesday.
Zambian President Edgar Lungu had subsequently asked citizens to offer prayers for him.
“He stood up for this great nation at its most critical moment, and so we can all stand up for him in his moment of weakness,” Lungu had said.
His death comes as the Southern African country is battling a surge in COVID-19 cases. The Zambia ministry of health had said bed occupancy rate at COVID-19 care centres had exceeded 100 percent and that health workers were overwhelmed.
There are rumours that he died of Covid-19 but his aide, Rodrick Ngolo denied the rumour saying, “He was being treated for pneumonia and not Covid,” AFP reports.
“The problem of pneumonia comes up regularly (in the ex-president) and every time you hear that he is in hospital, it is because of pneumonia,” said Ngolo, adding that the health of the ex-president had “improved” since Monday.
Nicknamed the “African Gandhi” for his non-violent activism, Kaunda led the former British protectorate Northern Rhodesia to bloodless independence in October 1964.
A socialist, he ruled the country for 27 years, largely under a one-party regime, whose mismanagement led to a severe economic and social crisis. After violent riots, he accepted free elections in 1991 and was defeated.
While in power, it hosted many movements fighting for independence or black equality in other countries in the region, including the African National Congress (ANC) party of South Africa.
Also known as “KK,” he was the leader of the main nationalist party, the center-left UNIP. He also became an AIDS activist when he publicly announced that one of his sons had died of the disease.
Source: TSJ