Kenneth Kaunda Hospitalized as Zambia Experiences Virus Surge

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It has been almost two years since the World Health Organization reported its first coronavirus case in Wuhan, China, on 31^st December 2019. Since then, COVID has been advancing, destroying every country in the world. Recently, India has reported new insane coronavirus cases and deaths. Here in Africa, several states are reporting new cases of coronavirus disease. Zambia is one of the countries experiencing an increase in Covid-19 cases. This occurred coincidentally after the country’s first President, Kenneth Kaunda, became ill and was hospitalized. Kenneth Kaunda went to Maina Soko Medical Center.

Who is Kenneth Kaunda?

Kenneth David Kaunda, popularly known as KK, is a former Zambian politician who served as Zambia’s first President from 1964 until 1991. Kaunda is the youngest of 8 children born to a Malawian immigrant who is a Church of Scotland missionary and teacher. He was a leading figure in the fight for independence from British domination. He formed the Zambian African National Congress (ZANC) after becoming dissatisfied with Harry Nkumbula’s leadership of the Northern Rhodesian African National Congress (NRANC).

He eventually became the head of the UNIP (United National Independence Party). In 1991, Frederick Chiluba, the leader of the Movement for Multiparty Democracy, defeated Kenneth Kaunda in multi-party elections. In 1999, authorities momentarily revoked Kaunda’s Zambian citizenship, but the court reversed the judgment the following year. He is the oldest living former president of Zambia, at the age of 97.

Rodrick Ngolo’s Statement

Rodrick Ngolo is Kaunda’s administrative assistant. According to the statement, Kenneth Kaunda is urging all Zambians and the international community at large to pray for him. He also said that the medical team was doing everything it could to help him recover quickly. The short statement that Ngolo issued didn’t specify the cause of Kenneth’s illness.

Covid-19 in Zambia

Over the last two weeks, Zambia’s 7-day rolling average of daily new cases has climbed drastically, from 1.44 new cases per 100,000 people on May 30^th to 8.91 new cases per 100,000 people on June 13^th. According to numbers issued on Monday by the Africa Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Zambia, which has a population of over 15 million people, has approximately 108,000 confirmed cases of COVID-19, with 1,348 fatalities.

Just like other African states, Zambia should find ways of mitigating the effects of Covid-19. It should also ensure that it has created strategies to help reduce the spread of the virus. The administration of a vaccine is a common method used by several countries around the world to reduce the spread of the virus.

Zambia is praying and hoping that their founding father, Kaunda, will recover quickly. Zambians remember KK for several things. Zambians remember Kenneth Kaunda for making the state a center for anti-colonial groups and guerilla organizations that fought to end the white minority rule in the South African states. Some of these countries are South Africa, Zimbabwe, and Namibia. We can relate Kenneth Kaunda to great men such as Nelson Mandela, who also fought for his country.