USA Africa Dialogue Series - Farewell to President Kenneth Kaunda

Farewell to President Kenneth Kaunda-Farewell to KK

By

Lawrence Ogbo Ugwuanyi

By Wednesday this week, First President of Zambia Kenneth Kaunda-as reported in the media  will leave this earth finally to meet his maker!  President Kaunda who died a few weeks ago will-as reported in the media- be buried quietly in a ceremony that will likely be far from the heavy noise that often lead legends home in Africa-as may have been ordered by the late legend while alive . Those who knew President Kaunda – while he lived on this side of eternity will attest to the fact that this is an icon that has shown a spetacular example of leadership and devotion to humanity.

President Kenneth Kaunda fondly called KK in Zambia, first struck my mind as an icon with a difference on a trip to Lusaka  in 2012. One will easily notice the greatness of this icon, beginning from the Kenneth Kaunda  International airport to the city where the average Zambian will feel excited to tell you about KK. They are remarkably at home and very happy with his life of sacrifice for the liberation of Zambia. KK lived a simple and focused life of patriotism laced with indepth humanism. He was wise to have picked a cabinet at Zambian independence; many of whom ended succeeding him, one after the other. A very close aid to KK was generous to inform me that KK  had no good house after functioning as a President of Zambia, as result of which a later successor built a house for him. Although Zambia is also struggling with a dose of post-colonial forces like other modern states, it is doubtful how or whether this can be linked to any form of visionlessness or poor leadership style by  President KK.

After his presidency and in the later years of his life President KK focused on Children of Africa and campaigned vigorously for a better children ethics in Africa. He would often shed tears in some of these campaigns. It was for  one of these campaigns  and other related issues that he visited Bayelsa state in 2006 or thereabout where he prophesised to Dr.Goodluck Ebele Jonathan that he would end-up a President of Nigeria(for details read Breathe of Fresh Air-a biographical collection on President Goodluck Ebele Jonathan). This was based on the eloquent testimony of good leadership that Goodluck Jonathan had in his state as a Governor. This prophecy came to pass.

In 2011 while researching on the subject of Pan-Africanism, I was his struck by his humanist interpretation of the demands of the project. He insists and I  eternally agree with Kaunda- that Pan-Africanism cannot be built on fond illusions because people cannot just be good and brotherly because they are Africans but because institutions that can lead to this are vigilantly constructed, protected and re-inforced! I therefore  went beyond textual research to seek a first-hand contact with President  KK . It was this ambition that got me to  President  KK where we had one-on- one chat on the subject in Abuja. But President KK went beyond the subject to make other recommendations  that are relevant to a viable future modernity. Reading  President KK at a close range-one of the fathers of African freedom,I was motivated  to initiate a project Africa Shall be Free which aimed at adapting  the ideology of his book Zambia Shall be Free to engage the entire continent- still ravaged by alternative but effective forms of colonialism-economic, religious, and intellectual. He would later send an autographed copy of his book Zambia Shall be Free to encourage the project. Unfortunately the project suffered a number of setbacks. But the entire effort and interaction made an indelible impact that makes me feel that those who seek  to have anything  to do with leadership should draw some inspiration from the consummate  humanist President Kenneth kaunda.