Tributes have already started pouring in for former Zambian President Kenneth Kaunda who died in the capital, Lusaka, yesterday, at the age of 97.
Zambian President Edgar Lungu who led the tributes said he learnt of Kenneth Kaunda’s passing with great sadness. He said though his death is sudden, he believes late Kaunda is comforted wherever he is.
Former captain of the Zambian national football team, Kalusha Bwalya, said President Kenneth Kaunda made an immense impact on all Zambians, Africans and the World at large.
Head of the African Union Commission Moussi Faki Mahmat in his tribute said late Kaunda helped found the Organization of African Unity – the predecessor to the AU adding that he was one of the last surviving members of a generation of anti-colonial campaigners and his passing is the end of an era.
Zambia’s opposition leader Hakainde Hichilema wrote on Facebook that KK, as he was affectionately called “will be sorely missed by all Zambians and all Africans.
Former Nigerian President Olusegun Obasanjo asked all Africans and friends of Africa to take solace in the knowledge that President Kaunda has gone home to a well-deserved rest and proudly taking his place beside his brothers such as Ghana’s Kwame Nkrumah, Jomo Kenyatta of Kenya, Julius Nyerere of Tanzania and South Africa’s Nelson Mandela.
