The African Union (AU) on Thursday, described the first president of the Republic of Zambia, late Kenneth Kaunda as “one of Africa’s finest sons. ”
The Chairperson of the African Union Commission, Moussa Faki Mahamat disclosed this in a statement from Addis Ababa on the passing of Kaunda.
Kaunda, 97, died on Thursday after being admitted to the Military Maina Soko Hospital in the capital, Lusaka, where he was receiving medical treatment.
Mahamat said that Kaunda, one of the Founding Fathers of the old Organisation of African Unity (OAU) embodied the true sense of Pan-Africanism.
“He placed his own country Zambia at grave risk in order to provide safe harbour for the liberation movements of Southern Africa as well as its peoples.
“His championing of the Frontline States to defeat Apartheid and white minority rule in Southern Africa laid the foundation for what we call regional integration today.
“The AU stands in solidarity with the Kaunda family, the people and the Government of the Republic of Zambia as we mourn and honour the life of a freedom fighter, statesman, visionary and liberation struggle icon,” Mahamat said.
Kaunda served as the first President of Zambia from 1964 to 1991 and was at the forefront of the struggle for independence from British rule.
