Share & more
Former Zambian president Kenneth Kaunda has stepped down as leader of his United National Independence Party, ending a political era that spanned more than four decades, Reuters reported on Monday.
“My father’s retirement is final. We expect UNIP supporters to respect that decision,” Kaunda’s eldest son, Waza, said in the capital, Lusaka. “We have a new generation of leaders in Africa and it is only fair that they be allowed to rule,” he said.
Kaunda, 75, is expected to seek the role of African peacemaker, following in the steps of his peer, former Tanzanian president Julius Nyerere, who died last year, and former South African president Nelson Mandela who took over from Nyerere as mediator in the Burundi conflict.
This article was produced by IRIN News while it was part of the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs. Please send queries on copyright or liability to the UN. For more information: https://shop.un.org/rights-permissions