Dr Kaunda died on June 17th 2021, aged 97. He had been admitted to Maina Soko Military Hospital in Lusaka and was being treated for pneumonia. He is scheduled to be buried Thursday. 

Dr Kaunda was born on April 28th 1924 at Lubwa Mission, Chinsali District in the then Northern Rhodesia (current Zambia) to a reverend father and teacher mother who had migrated from neighbouring Nyasaland (current day Malawi). 

He ruled from 1964 – after the nation gained independence from British rule – until he lost an election in 1991. 

Kaunda was famous for always having a white handkerchief with him. 

When asked about the meaning of that white handkerchief, he said it symbolizes love and peace. “I started carrying the white handkerchief whilst in prison during the struggle for independence when I and my freedom fighters were arrested by the British colonial authorities,” he said. 

Another sartorial habit of Kaunda was always to wear a safari suit. The safari suit is still commonly referred to as a “Kaunda suit” throughout sub-Saharan Africa.