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FILE PHOTO: Zambia's former president Kenneth Kaunda attends the 40th anniversary of independence in Lusaka October 24, 2004, after the government publicly apologized for arresting and jailing him on trumped-up charges in 1997. Known as Northern Rhodesia under British rule, Zambia won independence from Britain following successful negotiations with freedom fighters led by Kenneth Kaunda, the founding president. REUTERS/Salim Henry RSS/GB/File Photo
Kenneth Kaunda, Zambia’s first president and a key figure in its independence struggle, has died at the age of 97, his family has confirmed.
Kaunda was admitted to a hospital in the capital Lusaka on Monday suffering from pneumonia. His aides said he did not have Covid-19.
In the 1950s, Kaunda was a key figure in what was then Northern Rhodesia’s independence movement from Britain.
He became president following independence in 1964.
As head of the left-leaning United National Independence Party (UNIP), Kaunda then led the country through decades of one-party rule.
He stepped down after losing multi-party elections in 1991.
Kaunda was a strong supporter of efforts to end apartheid in South Africa. He was also a leading supporter of liberation movements in Mozambique and what is now Zimbabwe.
