President Edgar Lungu has today honored and awarded First Republican President Kenneth Kaunda as Zambia’s Founding Father along with his first ever Cabinet.President Lungu made the honors during the investiture ceremony at State House in Lusaka today to mark the commemorations of the Africa Freedom Day.
This year’s Africa Freedom Day is being celebrated under the theme “Celebrating 50 years of our existence and laying a foundation for social economic transformation”.
During the citation for Zambia’s first President for the 50th independence anniversary first ever special single class golden jubilee, it was disclosed that Dr. Kenneth Kaunda made outstanding and selfless contribution to the freedom struggle for mother Zambia.The Citation was presented during the investiture ceremony by President Lungu’s Principal Private Secretary, Francis Chalabesa.
Mr. Chalabesa further cited that President Kaunda vigorously advocated for the Northern Rhodesia African National Congress motto of non-violence as they spoke on behalf of Africans in rural and urban areas.He further quoted that President Kaunda contributed to the submission of petitions of Rhodesia and Nyasaland and resisted the European settler’s ambition for federation of Rhodesia.
Mr. Chalabesa added that the unwavering contribution to the freedom struggle saw Dr. Kaunda elected as Northern Rhodesia African National Congress Secretary General, a move which saw the emergence of young radicals under his leadership stir the Northern Rhodesia African National Congress.He added that Dr. Kaunda led the radical militants that reacted to the Northern Rhodesia government’s draconian measures, by splitting from the Northern Rhodesia African National Congress.
Those honored and awarded are Reuben Kamanga who served as Vice President, Arthur Wina who served as Minister of Finance, Dingiswayo Banda as Minister of Housing and Social Development, Elijah Mudenda, as Minister of Agriculture.
Others are Grey Zulu as Transport and Works, John Mwanakatwe as Minister of Education, Mainza Chona served as Minister of Home Affairs, Munukayumbwa Sipalo as Minister of Health and Nalumino Mundia as Minister of Commerce and Industry.
Others are Mr. Peter Matoka as Information and Postal Services, Sikota Wina, as Minister for Local government and housing, Simon Kapwepwe as Minister of Home Affairs and Simon Kalulu as Minister of Lands and Works.
Only Dr. Kenneth Kaunda, Grey Zulu and Sikota Wina are alive and were present to receive their awards while the rest were honored posthumously and their respective family representatives received the awards.
Honouring is happening just in the mouth while the honoured are languishing in abject poverty to the exclusion of Kenneth Kaunda who even has certain structures named after him while he’s still alive.Govt must find a better way of honouring those old folks who struggled for the lives that the sitting leadership is enjoying. Not just praise-singing. Are they going to eat your songs? Ba-swine!
Lewanika, the unsung founding Father.
UNIP was created out of frustrations on ANC’s support, but history is there for all to see, 27 years of DICTATORSHIP by KK.
The unsung Father, Lewanika.
The Skeleton Key
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drunkenmaster wasting time what after honouring the tired old men hipping them like siweto cadres
Any mention of James Skinner – first Minister for Justice?
Lewis Changufu – first Minister of State for Defence; and Aaron Milner – first Minister of State for the Civil Service – both of whom sat in the first cabinet? KK was also President and Minister for Defence and the Civil Service, hence Changufu and Milner, as Ministers of State for Defence and the Civil Service, also sat in cabinet.
Please honour Skinner, Changufu and Milner as well.
How man times are you going to keep on honoring for feeding us Roller Meal followed by his smelly cooking oil. This so called KK treated Simon Mwansa Kapwepwe like trash. KK, I wish you can go very soon to the grave.
Mainza Chona served as Minister of Home Affairs, then Simon Mwansa Kapwepwe served as Minister of Home Affairs, oohhh my God ba lusaka times.
Look at the cabinet and see the unit right there and not was has been transpiring in the last few years, where with closed eyes one can tell the cabinet will be full of on region. Unit is not talked about but practiced.
Honour them by doing a better job than they did by not stealing from the people with a shameless old fart Rupiah Banda. You buy useless helicopters for the police from Russia through Rupiah Banda’s criminal connections in Turkey and you think the Zambia people are stupid?
Good to see most of them still alive and well. God has indeed blessed them with length of days.
As someone has already pointed out, the best way to honour them is to do better than they did. Though they tried their best in their capacity at that time to achieve good for Zambia, the sad truth is that they did not do enough to resist external control by colonial powers after independence.
It is the boldness of leaders like Lumumba, Nkhrumah, Biko and even Mugabe that made (and sill makes) the western imperialists panic.
Don’t be a typical Zambian who’s allergic to reading. Please read the story before you comment. Its useful.
The report says, ‘only 3 members of the first cabinet are still alive’.
The question is, how did some of the members of the first cabinet like the late Simon Kapwepwe, Nalumino Mundia and a few more meet their deaths?
Lungu mufana is showing leadership apa, jealous down! Uko ba under 5ish!!
What is leadership..please define it…even someone eating nsima on a table is leading to you people.
Wake up from your folly!!
I totally agree – simple souls will only condemn. The gentleman is mature and intelligent and respects our history as a nation. Bravo!
So was Fossil Chikwanda also honored as he is also a member of that selfsame cabinet?
Why honour the same old criminals for the offences of drug trafficking, rape, stealing from the national treasury, violence against the opposition, human rights abuse and so on? I am glad at least that no one is dreaming of honoring the brutal criminal, chi Maiko Sata, may his stinking corpse rest in pieces
Enyoko nuso wanyina pamusana.
Pf leadership is full of ceremonies.
MISUsing our taxes for ceremonies
Leadership ya mutundu bwanji kasi imwe bantu? Lungu has picked people who Sata told us were criminals like Rupiah and Dorah and made them his friends. Does it mean that if a criminal is from Chipata then Lungu will forgive them?
There were no two home affairs ministers in one cabinet, Mainza Chona may have started as Minister of Justice and yes Kapwepwe held the portifolio of home affairs for a short while before he became a very deserving veep.
Kapwepwe was the greatest tribalist Zambia has ever known. Kaunda got rid of Kapwepwe for two main reasons: 1. He was a terrible Bemba tribalist as already indicated. 2. He started sleeping with Betty when Kaunda was injail and made her pregnant. Please see a replica of Kapwepwe in one Kaunda’s boys. Not, Panji, late Masuzyo, and Francis (Dr). Take a guess between Kaweche, Kambatage, and the Unip president
HOW MANY TIMES ARE THEY GOING TO BE HONOURED? ARE THERE NO OTHER PEOPLE WHO HAVE CONTRIBUTED TO THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE COUNTRY?
Well done my president… you again have my vote…2016
Kaunda should be in the forefront to pick freedom fighters who assisted in the stragle in provinces those women who striped naked some even went to jail in kasama .the likes of mrs mee(damales kosamu),ba chikamoneka and all those mama regions should also be honoured not only the elite ,indipendence was not only by the peopke in lusaka but all zambia.what about mr Alex Shapi?
Palibe vamene achita uyu Lungu he is a criminal lover. Meaning he is also a criminal or just a kambwanga
Sometimes they say its better late than never. What these brave men and women went through for mother Zambia is indeed remarkable. They may not have been perfect but their vision and sacrifice were very noble. Zambians in general are very peaceful people and it all started from the founding father KK. Imagine if Zambians were intolerant of other africans like our friends down south. Refugees still flock to zambia and get fed by the Zambian people despite the current economic challenges. That says alot about zambia folks.
Truth be told, these are the people responsible for the poverty of Zambians through their poor leadership. While the founding fathers of Singapore such as Lee Kwen Yeu and team worked hard to move Singapore from the third world to the first world, Dr. Kaunda and his cabinet were busy entrenching Zambia in the third world and poverty. To date Zambia remains a poor country with the majority of its citizens living in abject poverty. So these people are being honored for what?
Yes the grass is always greener on the other side. These folks are like parents, gave us free education so its up to us to carry the torch and improve the country. As usual you never give specifics on where they went wrong given the resources they had then.
some of these comments are a total rubbish.
This is good PR Mr. President no one but you have done it God bless thee…..This is leadership people will remember this even years to come. Good to see Grey Zulu
(land Advocate) ‘Minister of State’ simply means deputy minister or junior Minister and is not a cabinet Minister.( ie Minister of state for defence is simply deputy minister of defence.)
Mr Daniel Simwaba – A few historical facts for you:
those 2 ministers of state sat in the first cabinet by virtue of deputising the head of state (President Kaunda) who was also minister for defence and civil affairs. In fact the official portrait of the first Zambian cabinet in 1964 has them as “members of the cabinet” – despite their “rank” being that of “deputy” minister. According to 1964 Cabinet guidelines, when a minister of state deputised the head of state, they were considered cabinet ministers.