By Mathias Haufiku
WINDHOEK – Former Zambian President Kenneth Kaunda, 90, was last week discharged from a hospital in Lusaka, Zambia, where he was admitted earlier in the week for a medical check-up on a ‘cough’, his Namibia-based daughter, Catherine Kaunda, has said.
His daughter told New Era when contacted last week that her father was only admitted for a check-up on a cough.
“He just went into hospital for check-up after complaining of a cough. But he has been discharged and he is back home,” she said.
Kaunda was in Namibia for the December holidays where he also attended the funeral of President-elect Dr Hage Geingob’s late former wife, Priscilla Charlene Geingos.
“When he came for the holiday, he attended the memorial service of the late and we thought he would be too tired to attend the burial but he insisted that he should complete the entire process, which included the burial,” said Catherine.
During Kaunda’s presidency, Zambia was home to several liberation struggle movements and people exiled from countries such as Angola, Namibia, Mozambique, South Africa and Zimbabwe.
Namibia’s ruling party, Swapo, did not forget the assistance it got from Kaunda and the Zambian nation that last year the Namibian government donated a house to Kaunda and renamed a second Windhoek street after him.
The house, valued at N$13 million, is situated behind St George’s Diocesan School in Windhoek and was donated to Kaunda as a token of appreciation for the role he played in Namibia’s struggle for independence.
While handing over the house, President Hifikepunye Pohamba at the time said Kaunda was a true pan-Africanist in deed and in spirit and the house was a token of “deep gratitude and appreciation for what he has done for Africa in general and for Namibia in particular”.
“This is simply to say to you, Your Excellency, that Namibia is your second home and you are always welcome,”
Pohamba said.