Nahas Angula, former prime minister, described Kenneth Kaunda as a humanist – portraying the former Zambian president as someone who believed in people to bring the change needed during trying times of liberation struggles on the continent.

Angula explained how the Zambian government accepted the Namibia liberation fighters during their difficult times.

Providing support through education facilities and accommodation in parts of Zambia. Angula recounts how Kaunda had come all the way to celebrate a graduation ceremony with the students and rewarded them with trophies.

“He personally handed me my certification when I graduated from a university in Zambia. And I thought, why would the president of Zambia be here to hand me, a Namibian refugee, my trophy at the ceremony?”

“This tells you the level of humility of a leader to hand out trophies to students at a ceremony,” Angula said.

Kaunda’s Zambian government also assisted in setting up the Namibian United Nations centre that paved the way for Namibia’s independence.

On the front of the political realm, Angula explains that SWAPO also experienced turbulence, which according to him could have caused the total collapse of the party.

“One of those turbulent times was in 1975, when the party was faced with internal turbulence, when Kaunda decided that SWAPO would not be brought down by this internal chaos. And he corrected this action,” he added. This allowed the party to inject new vigour into its ranks.

Kaunda was also the chairman of the first instances of the southern African community’s liberation.

“His passing is not a loss to the Zambian people, but to Africa as a whole. We celebrate his determination, his humanism, his commitment towards the people of the continent!”