Zambia's Founding President Kenneth Kaunda Died

On Thuesday, Zambia's founding president Kenneth Kaunda, who led his country for 27 years and championed Africa's struggles against apartheid and HIV / AIDS, died at 97.

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He was being treated for pneumonia at the Maina Soko Medical Center, a military hospital in Lusaka.
As the leader of the first country in the region to break with its European colonizers, Kaunda worked hard to encourage other African peoples to break with colonial rule.
Nicknamed the "African Gandhi" for his non-violent activism, he also stood up to white minority-ruled South Africa.

Like thousands of African families, Kaunda lost a son to AIDS in 1986. He then began a personal crusade against the disease.

“We fought colonialism. We must now use the same zeal to fight AIDS, which threatens to wipe out Africa", Kaunda sentenced in 2002.

During his administration (1964-1991), he made great strides to improve the Zambian people's living conditions, especially by promoting health and education services. After his retirement from political life, he worked in the fight against HIV/AIDS through his charity foundation Kenneth Kaunda Children of Africa.