By The Rt. Rev. Dr. Musonda Trevor Selwyn Mwamba; President of the United National Independence Party (UNIP).
At an ANC rally to celebrate his 90th birthday on August 5, 2008, President Nelson Mandela described his life as nothing without the ANC.
He thanked the ANC for having given meaning to him and then made this profound declaration:
“And I ask you today: do not celebrate an individual.
But…celebrate the promotion of unity in the nation at large and amongst all our people.
Celebrate our tradition of open debate, criticism, discussion and respect for democracy. We fought hard and sacrificed much for this democracy. Protect, defend, consolidate and advance democracy.
Celebrate and reaffirm our fundamental commitment to creating a better life for all, particularly the poor and marginalised.
Poverty and deprivation in our midst demean all of us. Let us mobilise in one great co-operative national effort the enormous energy of our society in order to overcome and eliminate poverty.
Today we are challenged to end poverty and all its attendant suffering.”
President Kenneth David Kaunda, like Nelson Mandela, saw his life as nothing without UNIP. It was UNIP which gave meaning to his life. And in commemorating his birthday on Monday 28th April, 2025, now designated as Kenneth Kaunda National Day; in his humility would draw our attention away from himself to celebrate the motto of One Zambia One Nation. What does this mean?
Zambia at independence was blessed with leaders from all the provinces and races endowed with vision and a spirit of service and dedication to the nation.
The leaders cognisant of the challenges Zambia faced had the intelligence to understand that she could not develop without peace and unity.
Accordingly the chief cornestone of Zambia became One Zambia One Nation which was reflected in the first cabinet.
The motto One Zambia One Nation originates in the UNIP Constitution under the Fundamental Principles and Objectives:
Article 2(1) says:
The motto of the Party shall be, ‘One Zambia One Nation’.
The motto of UNIP then became the motto of the nation. This motto is a prayer, a vow, a mantra, a vision of uniting the different ethnic groups, races, creed, religions, as one people in Zambia. It’s about an inclusive not exclusive Zambia where nobody should ever feel left out because we are all one.
The UNIP government made this motto a reality by abhorring tribalism. President Kaunda had a carefully crafted tribal balancing system in the cabinet, in the civil service, in the parastatals, and in all the appointments he made across the country so that not one ethnic group was left out or dominated.
Educationally, a system was created where students were moved from their provinces of origin to other provinces as part of the plan to create a nation that was One Zambia One Nation.
Economically, the promotion of One Zambia One Nation was done by ensuring that each of the provinces in Zambia had an industry to propel its development. For example, the pineapple industry in Mwinilunga , the Battery factory in Mansa, the car assembly plant in Livingstone, and the glass factory in Kapiri Mposhi.
One Zambia One Nation was the challenge and responsibility of every Zambian to build a wholistic united nation where everybody felt significant and included.
The seed of One Zambia One Nation planted by UNIP focuses on the inclusivity of every Zambian to pursue a life of love, equality, truth, justice, fairness, liberty, solidarity, peace, political, economic and social development for all.
Today we fear the spirit of One Zambia One Nation our founders bequeathed is being abrogated. We are failing to live up to the motto. And President Kenneth Kaunda would not be proud of us given the polarization and division on ethnic lines that Zambia is facing now
We are dangerously close to the cliff and need to get back quickly on track to the noble values enshrined in the motto One Zambia One Nation.
The visionary leaders of Independence understand well that peace and unity was indispensable to the development of Zambia. This wisdom is for all times to inspire and guide present and future leaders.
Reflecting on the life of President Kaunda the challenge for those in leadership and aspiring to lead should be to conduct themselves in the spirit of servant leadership.
An apt example of servant leadership very pertinent for us now as a nation was his respect for constitutionalism and the rule of law.
President Kaunda will be remembered for facilitating a peaceful and democratic transition of power in 1991. He did so by shortening the process to return to multiparty democracy which we cherish today, and which some of us have taken for granted.
He shortened it by skipping a referendum to change the constitution and instead signed an executive order for constitutional amendment of article 4 that led to the reintroduction of a multiparty political dispensation.
He did so because he listened to the demands of the Zambian people for a return to multipartyism. He did so because he respected the will of the Zambian people.
President Kaunda listened and gave Zambians what they wanted. And against all odds he also shortened his stay in power by two years in calling for an early election.
After his defeat in the 1991 polls he was magnanimous and humbly accepted the people’s will and retired thereby setting an example for all future Zambian leaders to emulate.
He became the father of democracy in Zambia and Africa by creating the democratic space and accepting it’s results thereafter.
President Kaunda set a high bar for the presidency – a bar that we all ought to emulate, a bar that recognises the Zambian people as the centre of authority.
Today, the people are looking for servant leadership in the mold of President Kaunda, to return good governance and a strong moral society.
President Kaunda demonstrated wisdom in these actions. He demonstrated wisdom by subordinating himself to the Constitution.
He demonstrated wisdom by subordinating himself to the people of Zambia as their servant.
These are noble attributes of authentic leadership. This is what servant leadership is.
In celebrating Kenneth Kaunda National Day we celebrate wise, caring, listening, and authentic leadership.
A leadership that teaches us that true leadership and progress lies in marrying principles with action. That true leadership is having a moral compass that uplifts others, unites people, affirms justice, indeed strives for the realisation of our nation motto of One Zambia One Nation.
His leadership was inspired by what he called Zambian Humanism, a philosophy rooted in compassion, unity, and unwavering belief in human dignity made in the image of God.
This was spirit of Kenneth Kaunda both as president and the guiding force of his political party, UNIP.
In celebrating such authentic leadership we pray, and we hope, that our present leaders can emulate him during this time of a ranging unnecessary constitutional debate that is blind and deaf to the reality and cries of the Zambian peoples abject poverty.
For ultimately true leadership is about listening to the people; this is an important legacy of President Kaunda which we celebrate on his National Day.
In Antoine de Saint-Exupéry’s The Little Prince there is part where the fox says that what’s essential is invisible. And so it is when we pause and reflect on President Kaunda’s life to a very large extent it is invisible.
His character was rooted in his belief in God. In moral values. As he never tired of reminding us:
“Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind’ and, ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’”
On these two commandments are the essential invisibles of life.
Zambia can enter a new future only by reconnecting with the values that laid the foundation of her birth that is our connection with God and one another. Our connection with integrity and service.
Inspired in moral values we are always driven to do the right things and enobled we become better a people and nation.
Dr. Kaunda was a worthy leader of our great country. Throughout his life he kindled a sense of unity and shared purpose among Zambians. At every public gathering, he led people in the chant, “ One Zambia, One Nation.” Throughout his leadership, Zambia never experienced ethnic hatred and divisions thanks largely to his farsighted policies.
So President Kenneth David Kaunda would say to us: “And I ask you today: do not celebrate an individual. But celebrate the spirit and values of building One Zambia One Nation.”
Let’s build a Zambia where his ideals of unity, service, the nurturing of democracy, justice, equity, peace, and love for one another light our path forward.
