Who is the first president of zambia
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Zambia’s former President Kenneth Kaunda turned 90 on 28 April. The celebrations went well and the nation united in giving the former freedom fighter an occasion to remember. But still, there were people who ran against the grain by calling for a wider scrutiny of his legacy. Reginald Ntomba reports from Lusaka.
A lavish banquet, an interdenominational thanksgiving service, a golf tournament featuring the country’s corporate elite, a football match of Zambia’s stars of yesteryear, numerous gift-delivering delegations and countless messages of goodwill from home and abroad is how Kaunda celebrated his 90th birthday – and perfectly so.
The chain of festivities carried on for weeks. His only regret was that he was without Betty, his wife of 66 years who died in September 2012. Children, grandchildren, great-grandchildren, the government, the nation and the outside world represented by their diplomats provided the nonagenarian with the much-needed company to toast this remarkable milestone.
Kaunda has seen it all. He is one of a few of Africa’s liberation heroes left standing.
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Kenneth Kaunda
Summary
Born in 1924 in the British colony of Northern Rhodesia, Kenneth Kaunda served as Zambia’s first president between 1964 and 1991. From his initial days in office, Kaunda and his government successfully expanded and integrated the education system at all levels. He attempted to diversify the economy, with some success on the industrial side, but made little progress in agriculture. When threatened by a new opposition party in 1971, he transformed Zambia into a one-party state, which it remained for the rest of his presidency. A precipitous drop in global copper prices and simultaneous jump in oil costs in the mid-1970s sabotaged the Zambian economy, forcing Kaunda to seek aid and loans from all quarters. His efforts attracted a significant amount of assistance for his nation, but nonetheless widespread poverty and inflation wracked Zambia by the early 1980s and were key factors in Kaunda’s 1991 ousting from power.
Kaunda’s most striking moves as president were in diplomacy, where he took a firm stand against neighboring Rhodesia’s attempt to unilaterally d
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Tilyenji Kaunda
Zambian pojlitician
Tilyenji Kaunda (born 1954) is a Zambian politician. Until 5 April 2021 he served as leader of the United National Independence Party (UNIP)
Early life
Tilyeni Kaunda is the son of Kenneth Kaunda, former President of Zambia.
Career
UNIP was led by his father from 1960 to 2000. Tilyenji assumed the leadership of UNIP in 2001, but on 5 April 2021 he lost internal party elections for the position of party President.
He was replaced by Reverend Trevor Mwamba, an Anglican priest who had been living in Germany. Reverend Mwamba is the husband of the Botswana ambassador to Germany.
Under his leadership, UNIP significantly reduced its membership base and won hardly any parliamentary seats despite having ruled the country for 27 years. Under Kenneth Kaunda's one party system in Zambia, UNIP accumulated a lot of wealth. Through its company, Zambia National Holdings Limited, UNIP owned several properties. Some UNIP members accused Tilyenji Kaunda and other leaders of selling party assets.[1]
Tilyenji is credited wi
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