Kenneth Kaunda
Encyclopedia
Early life
Kaunda was the youngest of eight children. He was born at Lubwa Mission in ChinsaliChinsali
Chinsali is a town in the Northern Province of Zambia, and is headquarters of Chinsali District. It lies 15 km west of the Great North Road and about 180 km north-north-east of Mpika...
, Northern Province of Northern Rhodesia
Northern Rhodesia
Northern Rhodesia was a territory in south central Africa, formed in 1911. It became independent in 1964 as Zambia.It was initially administered under charter by the British South Africa Company and formed by it in 1911 by amalgamating North-Western Rhodesia and North-Eastern Rhodesia...
, now Zambia
Zambia
Zambia , officially the Republic of Zambia, is a landlocked country in Southern Africa. The neighbouring countries are the Democratic Republic of the Congo to the north, Tanzania to the north-east, Malawi to the east, Mozambique, Zimbabwe, Botswana and Namibia to the south, and Angola to the west....
. His father was the Reverend David Kaunda, an ordained Church of Scotland
Church of Scotland
The Church of Scotland, known informally by its Scots language name, the Kirk, is a Presbyterian church, decisively shaped by the Scottish Reformation....
missionary and teacher, who was born in Malawi
Malawi
The Republic of Malawi is a landlocked country in southeast Africa that was formerly known as Nyasaland. It is bordered by Zambia to the northwest, Tanzania to the northeast, and Mozambique on the east, south and west. The country is separated from Tanzania and Mozambique by Lake Malawi. Its size...
and had moved to Chinsali to work at Lubwa Mission. He attended Munali Training Centre in Lusaka
Lusaka
Lusaka is the capital and largest city of Zambia. It is located in the southern part of the central plateau, at an elevation of about 1,300 metres . It has a population of about 1.7 million . It is a commercial centre as well as the centre of government, and the four main highways of Zambia head...
(August 1941–1943).
Kaunda was a teacher at the Upper Primary School and Boarding Master at Lubwa and then Headmaster at Lubwa from 1943 to 1945. He was for a time working at the Salisbury and Bindura Mine. In early 1948, he became a teacher in Mufulira
Mufulira
Mufulira is a town in the Copperbelt Province of Zambia. It grew up in the 1930s around the site of the Mufulira Copper Mine on its north-western edge...
for the United Missions to the Copperbelt (UMCB). He was then assistant at an African Welfare Centre and Boarding Master of a Mine School in Mufulira. In this period, he was leading a Pathfinder Scout Group and was Choirmaster at a Church of Central Africa Congregation. He was also for a time Vice-Secretary of the Nchanga Branch of Congress.
Independence struggle
In April 1949 Kaunda returned to Lubwa to become a part-time teacher, but resigned in 1951. In that year he became Organising Secretary of the Northern Rhodesian African National CongressNorthern Rhodesian African National Congress
Northern Rhodesian African National Congress was a political party in Zambia. It was formed in 1948, as the Northern Rhodesia Congress , and Godwin Lewanika, a Barotseland native from an aristocratic background, became the first president. It was the first African political party in the country...
for Northern Province, which included at that time Luapula Province. On 11 November 1953 he moved to Lusaka to take up the post of Secretary General of the ANC, under the presidency of Harry Nkumbula
Harry Nkumbula
Harry Mwaanga Nkumbula was a Northern Rhodesian/Zambian nationalist leader who assisted in the struggle for the independence of Northern Rhodesia from British colonialism. He was born in the village of Maala in the Namwala district of Zambia's southern province...
. The combined efforts of Kaunda and Nkumbula failed to mobilize the indigenous African people against the White-dominated Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland
Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland
The Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland, also known as the Central African Federation , was a semi-independent state in southern Africa that existed from 1953 to the end of 1963, comprising the former self-governing colony of Southern Rhodesia and the British protectorates of Northern Rhodesia,...
. In 1955 Kaunda and Nkumbula were imprisoned for two months with hard labour for distributing "subversive" literature. Such imprisonment and other forms of harassment were normal rites of passage for African nationalist leaders. The experience of imprisonment had a radicalizing impact on Kaunda. The two leaders drifted apart as Nkumbula became increasingly influenced by white liberals and was seen as being willing to compromise on the issue of Black majority rule
Majority rule
Majority rule is a decision rule that selects alternatives which have a majority, that is, more than half the votes. It is the binary decision rule used most often in influential decision-making bodies, including the legislatures of democratic nations...
, waiting till the majority was 'ready' before extending the franchise. This was, however, to be determined by existing property and literacy qualifications, dropping race altogether. Nkumbula's allegedly autocratic leadership of the ANC eventually resulted in a split. Kaunda broke from the ANC and formed the Zambian African National Congress
Zambian African National Congress
The Zambian African National Congress was a political organisation dedicated to promoting the rights of black people in Zambia. ZANC was formed in 1958, following a split from the Northern Rhodesian African National Congress. The president of ZANC was Kenneth Kaunda. In 1959 the party was banned...
(ZANC) in October 1958. ZANC was banned in March 1959. In June Kaunda was sentenced to nine months' imprisonment, which he spent first in Lusaka, then in Salisbury (now called Harare
Harare
Harare before 1982 known as Salisbury) is the largest city and capital of Zimbabwe. It has an estimated population of 1,600,000, with 2,800,000 in its metropolitan area . Administratively, Harare is an independent city equivalent to a province. It is Zimbabwe's largest city and its...
).
While Kaunda was in prison, Mainza Chona
Mainza Chona
Mainza Mathias Chona served as Prime Minister of Zambia on two occasions: 25 August 1973 to 27 May 1975 and 20 July 1977 to 15 June 1978. He also held various government positions, including Justice Minister , Home Affairs Minister and Minister of Legal Affairs and Attorney-General...
and other nationalists broke away from the ANC and, in October 1959, Chona became the first president of the United National Independence Party
United National Independence Party
The United National Independence Party is a political party in Zambia. It governed that country from 1964 to 1991 under the presidency of Kenneth Kaunda....
(UNIP), the successor to ZANC. However, Chona did not see himself as the party's main founder. When Kaunda was released from prison in January 1960 he was elected President of UNIP. In July 1961 Kaunda organized a civil disobedience
Civil disobedience
Civil disobedience is the active, professed refusal to obey certain laws, demands, and commands of a government, or of an occupying international power. Civil disobedience is commonly, though not always, defined as being nonviolent resistance. It is one form of civil resistance...
campaign in Northern Province, the so called Cha-cha-cha campaign, which consisted of burning schools and blocking roads. Kaunda ran as a UNIP candidate during the 1962 elections. This resulted in a UNIP–ANC Coalition Government, with Kaunda as Minister of Local Government and Social Welfare. In January 1964 UNIP won the General Election under the new Constitution beating the ANC under Nkumbula. Kaunda was appointed Prime Minister
Prime Minister of Zambia
-Prime Ministers of Zambia :-External links:*...
. On 24 October 1964 he became the first President of independent Zambia
Zambia Independence Act 1964
The Zambia Independence Act 1964 was an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom which granted independence to Zambia with effect from 24 October 1964...
. Reuben Kamanga
Reuben Kamanga
Reuben Chitandika Kamanga was a Zambian politician. Before Zambia's independence he served as the deputy president of the United National Independence Party and as Minister of Labour and Mines. After independence in October 1964 he became the country's first Vice-President, serving for three...
was appointed as the first Vice President.
Presidency
In the year of independence, Kaunda had to deal with the independent Lumpa ChurchLumpa Church
The Lumpa Church, an independent Christian church, was established in 1953 by "Alice" Lenshina Mulenga in the village of Kasoma, Northern Rhodesia...
, led by Alice Lenshina
Alice Lenshina
Alice Lenshina was a Christian religious leader who founded the Lumpa Church. She was born Alice Mulenga Lubusha in the Chinsali district of the northern province of Northern Rhodesia. Alice was the name she was given at baptism, while Mulenga was her traditional African name...
in Chinsali, his home district in the Northern Province. The Lumpa Church tried to take up a neutral position in the political conflict between UNIP and the ANC, but was then accused by UNIP of collaboration with the White minority governments. Conflicts arose between UNIP youth and Lumpa members, especially in Chinsali District, where the headquarters of the church were. Kaunda, as Prime Minister of an African majority Government, sent in two battalions of the Northern Rhodesia Regiment. The fight led to the deaths of about 1500 villagers and the flight to Katanga
Katanga Province
Katanga Province is one of the provinces of the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Between 1971 and 1997, its official name was Shaba Province. Under the new constitution, the province was to be replaced by four smaller provinces by February 2009; this did not actually take place.Katanga's regional...
of tens of thousands of followers of Lenshina. Kaunda banned the Lumpa Church in August 1964 and proclaimed a state of emergency
State of emergency
A state of emergency is a governmental declaration that may suspend some normal functions of the executive, legislative and judicial powers, alert citizens to change their normal behaviours, or order government agencies to implement emergency preparedness plans. It can also be used as a rationale...
that was retained until 1991.
Educational policies
At the time of its independence, Zambia's modernization process was far from complete. It had just 109 university graduates and less than 0.5% of the population was estimated to have completed primary education. The nation's educational system was one of the most poorly developed in all of Britain's former colonies. Because of this, Zambia had to invest heavily in education at all levels. Kaunda instituted a policy where all children, irrespective of their parents' ability to pay, were given free exercise books, pens and pencils. The parents' main responsibility was to buy uniforms, pay a token "school fee" and ensure that the children attended school. This approach meant that the best pupils were promoted to achieve their best results, all the way from primary school to university level. Not every child could go to secondary school, for example, but those who did were well educated.The University of Zambia
University of Zambia
The University of Zambia is Zambia's largest university, founded in 1966. It has a student population of about 10,000.-Academics:The University of Zambia is divided into the following faculties:*School of Agricultural Sciences *School of Engineering...
was opened in Lusaka in 1966, after Zambians all over the country had been encouraged to donate whatever they could afford towards its construction. Kaunda was appointed Chancellor and officiated at the first graduation ceremony in 1969. The main campus was situated on the Great East Road, while the medical campus was located at Ridgeway near the University Teaching Hospital. In 1979 another campus was established at the Zambia Institute of Technology in Kitwe. In 1988 the Kitwe campus was upgraded and renamed the Copperbelt University
Copperbelt University
"Knowledge and Service"Copperbelt University was established by an act of the Zambian Parliament in 1987. It is located in Kitwe and earlier it was part of the University of Zambia...
, offering business studies, industrial studies and environmental studies.
Other tertiary-level institutions established during Kaunda's era were vocationally focused and fell under the aegis of the Department of Technical Education and Vocational Training. They include the Evelyn Hone College of Applied Arts and Commerce and the Natural Resources Development College (both in Lusaka), the Northern Technical College at Ndola, the Livingstone Trades Training Institute in Livingstone, and teacher-training colleges.
Economic policies
At independence Kaunda received a country with an economy that was completely under the control of foreigners. For example, the British South Africa CompanyBritish South Africa Company
The British South Africa Company was established by Cecil Rhodes through the amalgamation of the Central Search Association and the Exploring Company Ltd., receiving a royal charter in 1889...
(BSAC, originally setup by the British imperialist Cecil Rhodes) retained commercial assets and mineral rights that it claimed it acquired from a concession signed with the Litunga
Litunga
The Litunga of Barotseland is the king or paramount chief of the Lozi people. The Litunga resides near the Zambezi River and the town of Mongu, at Lealui on the floodplain in the dry season, and on higher ground at Limulunga on the edge of the floodplain in the wet season...
of Bulozi in 1890 (the Lochner Concession). Only by threatening to expropriate it, on the eve of independence, did Kaunda manage to get the BSAC to assign its mineral rights to the incoming Zambian government. During the Federation, Northern Rhodesia's copper revenues were siphoned off by White Southern Rhodesians, since they were the dominant group in the polity. In their view, Southern Rhodesia was well-suited to providing managerial and administrative skills, Northern Rhodesia would provide the copper revenues, and Nyasaland would provide the labour. At independence, Salisbury, the capital of Southern Rhodesia, was much more developed than Lusaka, the capital of Zambia. This was what Northern Rhodesians called the "bamba zonke" ("grab everything" in Fanakalo
Fanagalo
- External links :* * *...
) greed of White Southern Rhodesians.
Following in the steps of the Soviet Union, Zambia instituted a program of national development plans, under the direction of the National Commission for Development Planning: the Transitional Development Plan) was followed by the First National Development Plan (1966–71). These two plans, which provided for major investment in infrastructure and manufacturing, were largely implemented and were generally successful. This was not true for subsequent plans.
A major switch in the structure of Zambia's economy came with the Mulungushi
Mulungushi
Mulungushi is the name of a river in central Zambia which has taken on a symbolic and historical meaning synonymous with the independence and identity of the nation, and has been given to a number of events, localities, buildings and organisations, including:*the Mulungushi Rock of Authority ;*the...
Reforms of April 1968: the government declared its intention to acquire an equity holding (usually 51% or more) in a number of key foreign-owned firms, to be controlled by the Industrial Development Corporation (INDECO). By January 1970, Zambia had acquired majority holding in the Zambian operations of the two major foreign mining corporations, the Anglo American Corporation and the Rhodesia Selection Trust (RST); the two became the Nchanga Consolidated Copper Mines (NCCM) and Roan Consolidated Mines (RCM), respectively. Kaunda announced the creation of a new parastatal body, the Mining Development Corporation (MINDECO). The Finance and Development Corporation (FINDECO) allowed the Zambian government to gain control of insurance companies and building societies. The foreign-owned banks, such as Barclays, Standard Chartered and Grindlays Bank
Grindlays Bank
The Grindlays Bank was a major British overseas bank established in 1828.It operated mainly in British colonies, especially British India. After decolonization, it was a major foreign bank in India, Pakistan and other West Asian countries. As ANZ Grindlays Bank, it was for a while the largest...
, successfully resisted takeover. In 1971, INDECO, MINDECO, and FINDECO were brought together under an omnibus parastatal, the Zambia Industrial and Mining Corporation (ZIMCO), to create one of the largest companies in sub-Saharan Africa, with Francis Kaunda (not related to President Kaunda)as Chairman of the Board. The management contracts under which day-to-day operations of the mines had been carried out by Anglo American and RST were ended in 1973. In 1982 NCCM and RCM were merged into the giant Zambia Consolidated Copper Mines Ltd (ZCCM).
Unfortunately for Kaunda and Zambia, these programs of nationalization, even assuming they could have worked, were ill-timed. Events that were beyond their control would wreck the country's plans for national development. In 1973 the massive increase in the price of oil was followed by a slump in copper prices in 1975 and a diminution of export earnings. In 1973 the price of copper accounted for 95% of all export earnings; this halved in value on the world market in 1975. By 1976 Zambia had a balance-of-payments crisis, and rapidly became massively indebted to the International Monetary Fund
International Monetary Fund
The International Monetary Fund is an organization of 187 countries, working to foster global monetary cooperation, secure financial stability, facilitate international trade, promote high employment and sustainable economic growth, and reduce poverty around the world...
(IMF). The Third National Development Plan (1978–83) had to be abandoned as crisis management replaced long-term planning.
By the mid-1980s Zambia was one of the most indebted nations in the world, relative to its gross domestic product
Gross domestic product
Gross domestic product refers to the market value of all final goods and services produced within a country in a given period. GDP per capita is often considered an indicator of a country's standard of living....
(GDP). The IMF was insisting that the Zambian government should introduce programs aimed at stabilizing the economy and restructuring it to reduce dependence on copper. The proposed measures included: the ending of price controls; devaluation of the kwacha
Zambian kwacha
The kwacha is the currency of Zambia. It is subdivided into 100 ngwee.-Etymology:The name derives from the Nyanja and Bemba word for "dawn", alluding to the Zambian nationalist slogan of a "new dawn of freedom"...
(Zambia's currency); cut-backs in government expenditure; cancellation of subsidies on food and fertilizer; and increased prices for farm produce. Kaunda's removal of food subsidies caused massive increases in the prices of basic foodstuffs; the country's urban population rioted in protest. In desperation, Kaunda broke with the IMF in May 1987 and introduced a New Economic Recovery Programme in 1988. However, this did not help him and he eventually moved toward a new understanding with the IMF in 1989. In 1990, with the collapse of the Soviet Union and Eastern Europe (on which Kaunda’s ideology, Zambian Humanism had been fashioned) , Kaunda was forced to make a major policy shift: he announced the intention to partially privatize the parastatals. However, these changes came too late to prevent his fall from power, which was largely the result of the economic troubles.
One-party state and "African socialism"
In 1964 there was the Lumpa UprisingLumpa Church
The Lumpa Church, an independent Christian church, was established in 1953 by "Alice" Lenshina Mulenga in the village of Kasoma, Northern Rhodesia...
in Northern Zambia, four months before independence. Kaunda had a state of emergency declared which was not repealed until his fall from power. The state of emergency gave Kaunda absolute power.
The Lumpa Church was destroyed and banned. It was a major source of opposition because it refused to allow church members to participate in politics which went against the 100% participation wanted by UNIP. This created a lot of animosity between the two groups and violence that began on a small scale escalated into a small civil war in which more than a thousand people were killed. The crisis was brought about by a combination of complacency on the part of the Colonial administration and UNIP intransigence. Kaunda tried to mediate the differences between the Church, local authorities and UNIP party members but was eventually unable to control party cadres in the North.
Becoming increasingly intolerant of opposition, Kaunda banned all parties except UNIP, following violence during the 1968 elections. In 1972, he made Zambia a one-party state, probably because he was worried by Simon Kapwepwe
Simon Kapwepwe
Simon Mwansa Kapwepwe was the first vice-president of Zambia from 1967 to 1970.- Early life :Simon Kapwepwe was born on 12 April 1922 in the Chinsali district of the Northern Province of Northern Rhodesia...
's decision to leave UNIP and found a rival party, the United Progressive Party
United Progressive Party (Zambia)
The United Progressive Party was created in Zambia by Simon Kapwepwe and others, all from the ruling United National Independence Party in about August 1971. This provoked a big crisis in the cabinet, with five ministers expelled by Kenneth Kaunda, chief of the government and of the UNIP...
, which Kaunda immediately banned. Next, he appointed the Chona Commission, which was set up under the chairmanship of Mainza Chona
Mainza Chona
Mainza Mathias Chona served as Prime Minister of Zambia on two occasions: 25 August 1973 to 27 May 1975 and 20 July 1977 to 15 June 1978. He also held various government positions, including Justice Minister , Home Affairs Minister and Minister of Legal Affairs and Attorney-General...
in February 1972. Its task was to make recommendations for the constitution of a 'one-party participatory democracy' (i.e. a one-party state). The Commission's terms of reference did not permit it to discuss the pros and cons of Kaunda's decision. The sole surviving opposition party, the ANC
ANC
ANC commonly refers to the African National Congress, a revolutionary movement which became the ruling political party in South Africa in the 1994 election.ANC may also refer to:-Organizations:...
, boycotted the Commission and unsuccessfully challenged the constitutional change in the courts. The Chona report was based on four months of public hearings and was submitted in October 1972. It was widely regarded as a 'liberal' document. Finally, Kaunda neutralised Nkumbula by getting him to wind-up the ANC, join UNIP and sign a document called the Choma Declaration on 27 June 1973. The ANC ceased to exist after the dissolution of parliament in October 1973. Allegedly Kaunda "bought off" Nkumbula by offering him an emerald mine.
With no more opposition against him, Kaunda allowed the creation of a personality cult. He developed a left nationalist-socialist ideology, called Zambian Humanism. This was based on a combination of mid-twentieth-century ideas of central planning/state control and what he considered basic African values: mutual aid, trust and loyalty to the community. Similar forms of African socialism
African socialism
African socialism is a belief in sharing economic resources in a "traditional" African way, as distinct from classical socialism. Many African politicians of the 1950s and 1960s professed their support for African socialism, although definitions and interpretations of this term varied...
were introduced inter alia in Ghana by Kwame Nkrumah
Kwame Nkrumah
Kwame Nkrumah was the leader of Ghana and its predecessor state, the Gold Coast, from 1952 to 1966. Overseeing the nation's independence from British colonial rule in 1957, Nkrumah was the first President of Ghana and the first Prime Minister of Ghana...
("Consciencism") and Tanzania by Julius Nyerere
Julius Nyerere
Julius Kambarage Nyerere was a Tanzanian politician who served as the first President of Tanzania and previously Tanganyika, from the country's founding in 1961 until his retirement in 1985....
("Ujamaa
Ujamaa
Ujamaa was the concept that formed the basis of Julius Nyerere's social and economic development policies in Tanzania just after it gained independence from Britain in 1961...
"), while in Zaire
Zaire
The Republic of Zaire was the name of the present Democratic Republic of the Congo between 27 October 1971 and 17 May 1997. The name of Zaire derives from the , itself an adaptation of the Kongo word nzere or nzadi, or "the river that swallows all rivers".-Self-proclaimed Father of the Nation:In...
, President Mobutu Sese Seko
Mobutu Sese Seko
Mobutu Sese Seko Nkuku Ngbendu wa Za Banga , commonly known as Mobutu or Mobutu Sese Seko , born Joseph-Désiré Mobutu, was the President of the Democratic Republic of the Congo from 1965 to 1997...
, a much less "benevolent" dictator than Kaunda or Nyerere, was at a loss until he hit on the ideal ideology – 'Mobutuism'. To elaborate his ideology, Kaunda published several books: Humanism in Zambia and a Guide to its Implementation, Parts 1, 2 and 3. Other publications on Zambian Humanism are: Fundamentals of Zambian Humanism, by Timothy Kandeke; Zambian Humanism, religion and social morality, by Cleve Dillion-Malone S.J. and Zambian Humanism: some major spiritual and economic challenges, by Justin B. Zulu. Kaunda on Violence, (US title, The Riddle of Violence), was published in 1980.
Freedom fighters
Although Kaunda's nationalization of the copper mining industry in the late 1960s and the volitility of international copper prices contributed to increased economic problems, matters were made worse by his economic and logistical support for the Black freedom fighters in the region who were operating in South AfricaSouth Africa
The Republic of South Africa is a country in southern Africa. Located at the southern tip of Africa, it is divided into nine provinces, with of coastline on the Atlantic and Indian oceans...
, the South African controlled U.N. mandate of South-West Africa (now Namibia
Namibia
Namibia, officially the Republic of Namibia , is a country in southern Africa whose western border is the Atlantic Ocean. It shares land borders with Angola and Zambia to the north, Botswana to the east and South Africa to the south and east. It gained independence from South Africa on 21 March...
), the Portuguese
Portugal
Portugal , officially the Portuguese Republic is a country situated in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula. Portugal is the westernmost country of Europe, and is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the West and South and by Spain to the North and East. The Atlantic archipelagos of the...
colonies of Angola
Angola
Angola, officially the Republic of Angola , is a country in south-central Africa bordered by Namibia on the south, the Democratic Republic of the Congo on the north, and Zambia on the east; its west coast is on the Atlantic Ocean with Luanda as its capital city...
and Mozambique
Mozambique
Mozambique, officially the Republic of Mozambique , is a country in southeastern Africa bordered by the Indian Ocean to the east, Tanzania to the north, Malawi and Zambia to the northwest, Zimbabwe to the west and Swaziland and South Africa to the southwest...
, and in Rhodesia
Rhodesia
Rhodesia , officially the Republic of Rhodesia from 1970, was an unrecognised state located in southern Africa that existed between 1965 and 1979 following its Unilateral Declaration of Independence from the United Kingdom on 11 November 1965...
(now Zimbabwe
Zimbabwe
Zimbabwe is a landlocked country located in the southern part of the African continent, between the Zambezi and Limpopo rivers. It is bordered by South Africa to the south, Botswana to the southwest, Zambia and a tip of Namibia to the northwest and Mozambique to the east. Zimbabwe has three...
). Kaunda tried to solve the conflict in Southern Africa between the White minority governments of Rhodesia, South Africa and Angola and Mozambique and the African freedom fighters by mediation and boycotts.
On 25–26 August 1976, Kaunda met with the Prime Minister of South Africa, B.J. Vorster
B.J. Vorster
Balthazar Johannes Vorster , better known as John Vorster, served as the Prime Minister of South Africa from 1966 to 1978 and as the fourth State President of South Africa from 1978 to 1979...
at Victoria Falls
Victoria Falls
The Victoria Falls or Mosi-oa-Tunya is a waterfall located in southern Africa on the Zambezi River between the countries of Zambia and Zimbabwe.-Introduction:...
and again on 30 April 1982 with Prime Minister, Pieter Willem Botha
Pieter Willem Botha
Pieter Willem Botha , commonly known as "P. W." and Die Groot Krokodil , was the prime minister of South Africa from 1978 to 1984 and the first executive state president from 1984 to 1989.First elected to Parliament in 1948, Botha was for eleven years head of the Afrikaner National Party and the...
on the Botswana
Botswana
Botswana, officially the Republic of Botswana , is a landlocked country located in Southern Africa. The citizens are referred to as "Batswana" . Formerly the British protectorate of Bechuanaland, Botswana adopted its new name after becoming independent within the Commonwealth on 30 September 1966...
border to discuss the political situation in South-West Africa and South Africa
South Africa
The Republic of South Africa is a country in southern Africa. Located at the southern tip of Africa, it is divided into nine provinces, with of coastline on the Atlantic and Indian oceans...
. However, he did not manage to get serious concessions from the South African government. Kaunda was criticised in the African press for talking to representatives of the apartheid regime.
Foreign policy
During his early presidency he was an outspoken supporter of the anti-apartheid movement and opposed Ian Smith'sIan Smith
Ian Douglas Smith GCLM ID was a politician active in the government of Southern Rhodesia, the Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland, Rhodesia, Zimbabwe Rhodesia and Zimbabwe from 1948 to 1987, most notably serving as Prime Minister of Rhodesia from 13 April 1964 to 1 June 1979...
white minority rule in Rhodesia. Kaunda allowed several African liberation fronts such as ZAPU and ZANU of Rhodesia and African National Congress
African National Congress
The African National Congress is South Africa's governing Africanist political party, supported by its tripartite alliance with the Congress of South African Trade Unions and the South African Communist Party , since the establishment of non-racial democracy in April 1994. It defines itself as a...
to set headquarters in Zambia. Former ANC president Oliver Tambo
Oliver Tambo
Oliver Reginald Tambo was a South African anti-apartheid politician and a central figure in the African National Congress .-Biography:Oliver Tambo was born in Bizana in eastern Pondoland in what is now Eastern Cape...
spent a significant proportion of his 30 year exile living and working in Zambia. Joshua Nkomo
Joshua Nkomo
Joshua Mqabuko Nyongolo Nkomo was the leader and founder of the Zimbabwe African People's Union and a member of the Kalanga tribe...
the leader of ZAPU also stationed a military base in Zambia. In retaliation the white minority governments of Rhodesia
Rhodesia
Rhodesia , officially the Republic of Rhodesia from 1970, was an unrecognised state located in southern Africa that existed between 1965 and 1979 following its Unilateral Declaration of Independence from the United Kingdom on 11 November 1965...
and South Africa
South Africa
The Republic of South Africa is a country in southern Africa. Located at the southern tip of Africa, it is divided into nine provinces, with of coastline on the Atlantic and Indian oceans...
carried out espionage and frequently executed bombing attacks in Zambia. Herbert Chitepo
Herbert Chitepo
Herbert Wiltshire Chitepo led the Zimbabwe African National Union until he was assassinated on March 1975. Although his murderer remains unidentified, the Rhodesian author Peter Stiff says that a former British SAS soldier, Hugh Hind was responsible.Chitepo became the first black citizen of...
, prominent ZANU leader, was killed with a car bomb in Lusaka
Lusaka
Lusaka is the capital and largest city of Zambia. It is located in the southern part of the central plateau, at an elevation of about 1,300 metres . It has a population of about 1.7 million . It is a commercial centre as well as the centre of government, and the four main highways of Zambia head...
in 1975. The struggle in both Rhodesia and South Africa and its offshoot wars in Namibia
Namibia
Namibia, officially the Republic of Namibia , is a country in southern Africa whose western border is the Atlantic Ocean. It shares land borders with Angola and Zambia to the north, Botswana to the east and South Africa to the south and east. It gained independence from South Africa on 21 March...
, Angola
Angola
Angola, officially the Republic of Angola , is a country in south-central Africa bordered by Namibia on the south, the Democratic Republic of the Congo on the north, and Zambia on the east; its west coast is on the Atlantic Ocean with Luanda as its capital city...
and Mozambique
Mozambique
Mozambique, officially the Republic of Mozambique , is a country in southeastern Africa bordered by the Indian Ocean to the east, Tanzania to the north, Malawi and Zambia to the northwest, Zimbabwe to the west and Swaziland and South Africa to the southwest...
placed a huge economic burden on Zambia as these were the country's main trading partners. As a response, Kaunda negotiated the TAZARA Railway (Tanzam) linking Kapiri Mposhi
Kapiri Mposhi
Kapiri Mposhi is a small town in Zambia. Located north of Lusaka, it stands on the Great North Road and is significant for the railway connection between Zambia Railways line from Kitwe to Lusaka and Livingstone and western terminal of the Tanzania-Zambia Railway Authority from Dar-es-Salaam since...
on the Zambian Copperbelt with Tanzania
Tanzania
The United Republic of Tanzania is a country in East Africa bordered by Kenya and Uganda to the north, Rwanda, Burundi, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo to the west, and Zambia, Malawi, and Mozambique to the south. The country's eastern borders lie on the Indian Ocean.Tanzania is a state...
's port of Dar-es-Salaam on the Indian Ocean
Indian Ocean
The Indian Ocean is the third largest of the world's oceanic divisions, covering approximately 20% of the water on the Earth's surface. It is bounded on the north by the Indian Subcontinent and Arabian Peninsula ; on the west by eastern Africa; on the east by Indochina, the Sunda Islands, and...
. Completed in 1975, this was the only route for bulk trade which did not have to transit white-controlled territories. This precarious situation lasted more than 20 years, until the end of apartheid in South Africa. When Nelson Mandela
Nelson Mandela
Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela served as President of South Africa from 1994 to 1999, and was the first South African president to be elected in a fully representative democratic election. Before his presidency, Mandela was an anti-apartheid activist, and the leader of Umkhonto we Sizwe, the armed wing...
was released from prison in 1990, the first country he visited was Zambia on 27 February.
During the Cold War
Cold War
The Cold War was the continuing state from roughly 1946 to 1991 of political conflict, military tension, proxy wars, and economic competition between the Communist World—primarily the Soviet Union and its satellite states and allies—and the powers of the Western world, primarily the United States...
, Kaunda was a strong supporter of the Non-Aligned Movement
Non-Aligned Movement
The Non-Aligned Movement is a group of states considering themselves not aligned formally with or against any major power bloc. As of 2011, the movement had 120 members and 17 observer countries...
. He hosted a NAM summit in Lusaka in 1970 and served as the movement’s chairman from 1970 to 1973. He maintained a close friendship with Yugoslavia
Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia
The Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia was the Yugoslav state that existed from the abolition of the Yugoslav monarchy until it was dissolved in 1992 amid the Yugoslav Wars. It was a socialist state and a federation made up of six socialist republics: Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia,...
's long-time leader Josip Broz Tito
Josip Broz Tito
Marshal Josip Broz Tito – 4 May 1980) was a Yugoslav revolutionary and statesman. While his presidency has been criticized as authoritarian, Tito was a popular public figure both in Yugoslavia and abroad, viewed as a unifying symbol for the nations of the Yugoslav federation...
and is remembered by many former citizens of Yugoslavia for weeping openly over his casket in 1980. He even had a house built in Lusaka for Tito's visits to the country. Kaunda had frequent but cordial differences with US President Ronald Reagan
Ronald Reagan
Ronald Wilson Reagan was the 40th President of the United States , the 33rd Governor of California and, prior to that, a radio, film and television actor....
whom he met 1983 and Margaret Thatcher
Margaret Thatcher
Margaret Hilda Thatcher, Baroness Thatcher, was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1979 to 1990...
mainly over what he saw as the West's blind eye to apartheid. He always maintained warm relations with the People's Republic of China
People's Republic of China
China , officially the People's Republic of China , is the most populous country in the world, with over 1.3 billion citizens. Located in East Asia, the country covers approximately 9.6 million square kilometres...
who had provided assistance on many projects in Zambia including the TAZARA Railway.
In the late 1980s prior to the first Gulf War
Gulf War
The Persian Gulf War , commonly referred to as simply the Gulf War, was a war waged by a U.N.-authorized coalition force from 34 nations led by the United States, against Iraq in response to Iraq's invasion and annexation of Kuwait.The war is also known under other names, such as the First Gulf...
Kaunda developed a friendship with Saddam Hussein
Saddam Hussein
Saddam Hussein Abd al-Majid al-Tikriti was the fifth President of Iraq, serving in this capacity from 16 July 1979 until 9 April 2003...
with whom he struck various agreements to supply oil to Zambia. He named streets in Saddam's honour (Saddam Hussein blvd., now Los Angeles blvd.)
In August 1989 Farzad Bazoft
Farzad Bazoft
Farzad Bazoft was an Iranian-born journalist who settled in the United Kingdom in the mid-1970s. He worked as a freelance reporter for The Observer. He was arrested by Iraqi authorities and executed in 1990 after being convicted of spying for Israel while working in Iraq.Bazoft relocated to the...
was arrested in Iraq
Iraq
Iraq ; officially the Republic of Iraq is a country in Western Asia spanning most of the northwestern end of the Zagros mountain range, the eastern part of the Syrian Desert and the northern part of the Arabian Desert....
for alleged espionage. He was accompanied by a British nurse, Daphne Parish who was arrested as well. Bazoft was an Iranian born British freelance journalist who was about to expose Saddam's gassing of the Kurds. Bazoft was later tried, sentenced to death and executed. Parish was sentenced to 15 years in prison. But in 1990 just as the Gulf War was about to break out Kaunda successfully managed to negotiate the release of Parish with Saddam. Kaunda served as chairman of the Organization of African Unity (OAU) from 1970 to 1973.
UNIP and Kaunda's autocracy during the Second Republic
After promulgation of the Second Republic, following Mainza ChonaMainza Chona
Mainza Mathias Chona served as Prime Minister of Zambia on two occasions: 25 August 1973 to 27 May 1975 and 20 July 1977 to 15 June 1978. He also held various government positions, including Justice Minister , Home Affairs Minister and Minister of Legal Affairs and Attorney-General...
's recommendations for the constitution of a "one-party participatory democracy", Kaunda's leadership took on more autocratic characteristics, and he in fact became a "dictator
Dictator
A dictator is a ruler who assumes sole and absolute power but without hereditary ascension such as an absolute monarch. When other states call the head of state of a particular state a dictator, that state is called a dictatorship...
" in the purest sense of the definition of the word. He personally appointed the Central Committee of UNIP, although the process was given a veneer of legitimacy by being "approved" by a National Congress of the party. In theory, Kaunda's nominations could be discarded by Congress, but in practice they were always accepted without modification. The argument used was that "the President knows the people who can work well with him, so if we modify the nominations we will end up with a less effective team". In turn, the Central Committee nominated a sole candidate for the post of President of the party. Of course, since the members of the Central Committee had been nominated by him, Kaunda was always the sole presidential candidate.But constitutionally who ever was in good standing with the party was at liberty to challenge him but all opponents feared him because of his charisma and intolerance for dissention
After that charade, the rest of the Zambian population was given the opportunity to express approval or disapproval of the sole candidate's nomination by voting either "Yes" or "No". Since the presidential "election" was always accompanied by parliamentary elections, there was great pressure placed on parliamentary candidates to "campaign" for the president's "Yes" vote, in addition to their own campaigns. Parastatal companies (which were controlled through ZIMCO – Zambia Industrial and Mining Corporation) were also under pressure to "campaign" for Kaunda by buying advertising space in the two national newspapers (Times of Zambia and Zambia Daily Mail) exhorting the electorate to give the president a "massive 'Yes' vote".
The parliamentary elections were also controlled by Kaunda: the names of candidates had to be submitted to UNIP's Central Committee, which then selected three people to stand for any particular constituency. Anyone could be vetoed without the Central Committee giving any reason, since UNIP was supreme and its decisions were unchallengeable. Using these methods, Kaunda kept any enemies at bay by ensuring that they never got into political power.Unfortunately this practice has been mimicked by later Presidents of Zambia.
This was the tactic he used when he saw off Nkumbula and Kapwepwe's challenges to his sole candidacy for the 1978 UNIP elections. On that occasion, the UNIP's constitution was "amended" overnight to bring in rules that invalidated the two challengers' nominations: Kapwepwe was told he could not stand because only people who had been members for five years could be nominated to the presidency (he had only rejoined UNIP three years before); Nkumbula was outmaneuvered by introducing a new rule that said each candidate needed the signatures of 200 delegates from each province to back his candidacy. Less creative tactics were used on a third candidate called Chiluwe; he was just beaten up by the UNIP Youth Wing to within an inch of his life. This meant that he was in no state to submit his nomination. In 1996 the late Zambian President Levy Patrick Mwanawasa was to suffer the same fate at the hands of the Fredrick Chiluba led Movement of Multiparty Democracy party.
Fall from power
Eventually, however, economic troubles and increasing international pressure to bring more democracy to Africa forced Kaunda to change the rules that kept him in power. People who had been afraid to criticise him were now emboldened to challenge his competence. His close friend Julius NyerereJulius Nyerere
Julius Kambarage Nyerere was a Tanzanian politician who served as the first President of Tanzania and previously Tanganyika, from the country's founding in 1961 until his retirement in 1985....
had stepped down from the republican presidency in Tanzania in 1985 and was quietly encouraging Kaunda to follow suit. Pressure for a return to multiparty politics increased and Kaunda voluntarily yielded and called for multiparty elections in 1991, in which the Movement for Multiparty Democracy
Movement for Multiparty Democracy
The Movement for Multi-party Democracy is a political party in Zambia. Originally formed to oust the previous government, MMD controlled an absolute majority in parliament between 1991 and 2001, when its past leader, Frederick Chiluba was president of the country...
(MMD) won. One of the issues in the campaign was a plan by Kaunda to turn over one quarter of the nation's land to Maharishi Mahesh Yogi
Maharishi Mahesh Yogi
Maharishi Mahesh Yogi , born Mahesh Prasad Varma , developed the Transcendental Meditation technique and was the leader and guru of the TM movement, characterised as a new religious movement and also as non-religious...
, an Indian guru who promised that he would use it for a network of utopian agricultural enclaves that proponents claimed would create "heaven of earth". Kaunda was forced in a television interview to deny practicing Transcendental Meditation
Transcendental Meditation
Transcendental Meditation refers to the Transcendental Meditation technique, a specific form of mantra meditation, and to the Transcendental Meditation movement, a spiritual movement...
. Kaunda left office with the inauguration of MMD leader Frederick Chiluba
Frederick Chiluba
Frederick Jacob Titus Chiluba was a Zambian politician who was the second President of Zambia from 1991 to 2002. Chiluba, a trade union leader, won the country's multi-party presidential election in 1991 as the candidate of the Movement for Multiparty Democracy , defeating long-time President...
as president on November 2, 1991. He was the second mainland African head of state to allow free multiparty elections and to have relinquished power when he lost: the first, Mathieu Kérékou
Mathieu Kérékou
Mathieu Kérékou, was President of Benin from 1972 to 1991 and again from 1996 to 2006. After seizing power in a military coup, he ruled the country for 17 years, for most of that time under an officially Marxist-Leninist ideology, before he was stripped of his powers by the National Conference of...
of Benin
Benin
Benin , officially the Republic of Benin, is a country in West Africa. It borders Togo to the west, Nigeria to the east and Burkina Faso and Niger to the north. Its small southern coastline on the Bight of Benin is where a majority of the population is located...
, had done so in March of that year.
Post presidency
Chiluba later attempted to deport Kaunda on the grounds that he was a MalawiMalawi
The Republic of Malawi is a landlocked country in southeast Africa that was formerly known as Nyasaland. It is bordered by Zambia to the northwest, Tanzania to the northeast, and Mozambique on the east, south and west. The country is separated from Tanzania and Mozambique by Lake Malawi. Its size...
an. The MMD dominated government under the leadership of Chiluba had the constitution amended, barring citizens with foreign parentage from standing for the presidency, to prevent Kaunda from contesting the next elections in 1996, and Kaunda retired from politics after he was accused of involvement in a failed 1997 coup attempt. In 1999 Kaunda was declared stateless by the Ndola High Court in a Judgment delivered by Mr. Justice Chalendo Sakala. A full transcript of the judgment was published in the Times of Zambia edition of 1 April 1999. Kaunda however successfully challenged this decision in the Supreme Court of Zambia, which declared him to be a Zambian citizen in the year 2000.
After retiring, he has been involved in various charitable organizations. His most notable contribution has been his zeal in the fight against the spread of HIV/AIDS. One of Kaunda's children was claimed by the pandemic in the 1980s.From 2002 to 2004, he was an African President-in-Residence at the African Presidential Archives and Research Center at Boston University
Boston University
Boston University is a private research university located in Boston, Massachusetts. With more than 4,000 faculty members and more than 31,000 students, Boston University is one of the largest private universities in the United States and one of Boston's largest employers...
.
Recently, he was seen in the attendance of an episode of Dancing With The Stars
Dancing with the Stars
Dancing with the Stars is the name of several international television series based on the format of the British TV series Strictly Come Dancing, which is distributed by BBC Worldwide – the commercial arm of the BBC. Currently the format has been licensed to over 35 countries...
as Kaunda is an avid ballroom dancer.
On 19 October 2007 Kaunda was the recipient of the 2007 Ubuntu Award.
The current President of Zambia Michael Sata, a protege of Kenneth Kaunda, has been making use of the former leader as a roving ambassador for Zambia.
See also
- Michael SataMichael SataMichael Chilufya Sata is a Zambian politician who has been the fifth President of Zambia since 23 September 2011. He leads the Patriotic Front , a major political party in Zambia. Under President Frederick Chiluba, Sata was a minister during the 1990s as part of the Movement for Multiparty...
- Harry NkumbulaHarry NkumbulaHarry Mwaanga Nkumbula was a Northern Rhodesian/Zambian nationalist leader who assisted in the struggle for the independence of Northern Rhodesia from British colonialism. He was born in the village of Maala in the Namwala district of Zambia's southern province...
- Simon KapwepweSimon KapwepweSimon Mwansa Kapwepwe was the first vice-president of Zambia from 1967 to 1970.- Early life :Simon Kapwepwe was born on 12 April 1922 in the Chinsali district of the Northern Province of Northern Rhodesia...
- History of Church activities in ZambiaHistory of Church activities in ZambiaChristianity has been very much at the heart of the narrative the Zambian region since the European colonial explorations into the interior of Africa in the mid 19th century...