The Zambian government is to give?former first lady, Betty Kaunda, a state funeral just as the country?declared a three-day national mourning in her honour from?Friday.
“Mama” Betty Kaunda who passed away on Wednesday, while visiting her daughter in Harare, Zimbabwe, was the wife of
the first Zambian president, Kenneth Kaunda, who ruled Zambia from 1964 to 1991.
Her body arrived Lusaka on Thursday on Air Zimbabwe, accompanied by former President, Dr Kenneth ?Kaunda and some
senior Zimbabwean government officials.
Mrs Kaunda, 84, will be buried on Sunday in Chinsali, in the Northern Province of Zambia, the home village of Kaunda.
Meanwhile, former President Kaunda on Tuesday night sang a love song dedicated to his wife Mama Betty when he received
the Mahatma Gandhi International (MAGI) Award for Peace and Reconciliation, a short while before he learnt of her
death.
Kaunda, who was in Durban, South Africa, to receive the Mahatma Gandhi International (MAGI) Award for Peace and Reconciliation, said he was unable to have?his wife by his side because she was still recovering from a stroke, but that he
would sing a love song he used to sing for her when they just met.
The emotional love song talked about how Dr Kaunda would never forget the first kiss he shared with late Mama Betty,
sounding as if saying goodbye to the person who had been his wife for 66 years.
This was a few hours before Mama Betty died in her sleep while visiting her daughter, Musata, in Harare, Zimbabwe.
According to a statement issued by the Zambian embassy in Pretoria, South Africa, during the gala-ceremony held at Durban
City Hall, Kaunda was presented with the award in recognition of his humility, courage, selflessness and conviction in the
struggle against the oppression of his own people in Zambia.
The award is also in appreciation of the support and assistance given to South Africa during the struggle against apartheid
and the negotiation process; and for continuing the work of building peace in the continent in true Gandhian tradition.
Receiving the award, Dr Kaunda said he accepted the award with humility, knowing that there were other luminaries who
were deserving of the award. (PANA/NAN)