…elderly statesman and crooner
WINDHOEK – Former Zambian president Dr Kenneth David Kaunda nearly reduced guest diners to tears with a repetoir of songs, which he composed for his late wife Mama Betty Kaunda who passed away in September of 2012.
“I remember in your arms underneath a beacon moon, dreaming away on the pillow…. underneath the… moon,” or so went the song that the octogenerian crooned above the sounds from the strings of his guitar. He was performing for about 150 invited guests at a local hotel during a dinner in his honour on Monday evening. Besides the Founding Father Dr Sam Nujoma, the guest list for the 89-year-old Kaunda’s dinner party included a mix of African heads of missions, prominent business figures, politicians, friends and relatives. The Zambian High Commission organised the event.
Dinner guests were treated to music from Vocal Motion Six from the Kavango regions, which included four gentlemen and one lady from the south who performed songs in the Lozi vernacular. Nujoma, in his remark, said Namibia “could not have gained independence were it not for the Zambian people under the guidance of ‘Founding Father of the Southern Africa Developing Countries (SADC),’ Dr Kenneth David Kaunda. You are the Founding Father of all SADC countries,” he said, thanking Kaunda for standing firm during the years of the liberation struggle.
By Kuzeeko Tjitemisa