Word: kaunda
(lookup in dictionary)
(lookup stats)
Dates: during 1970-1979
Sort By: most recent first
(reverse)
Godwin Lewanika, 65, who succeeded to the throne in 1968, is the ceremonial leader of Zambia's 300,000 Lozis. His predecessors struggled to preserve a degree of Lozi autonomy from the encroachments of Kenneth Kaunda's central government, but Lewanika is a realist and gave up the battle. A former mine clerk and union organizer, Lewanika twice a year leads one of Africa's most impressive ceremonies-the journey of the Lozis from the 4,000-sq.-mi. flood plain (where they farm and fish from July to March) to the higher lands at the forest...
Smith had hoped that by shutting the border and cutting road and rail links with Zambia (while leaving rail lines open for copper shipments) he could force the Zambian government to crack down on the rebels. The scheme backfired badly. Zambian President Kenneth Kaunda, who had previously given the guerrillas little encouragement, promptly stopped shipping copper through Rhodesia, a move that could mean financial disaster for the country's money-losing railroad. "History may prove it was the wrong decision," Smith conceded last week...
...presidential commission has already drawn up plans for a new constitution for what Kaunda calls the "Second Republic." There is no doubt that the proposals will pass; Kaunda's supporters hold 83 of the 105 seats in the National Assembly, well over the amount needed to bring the new system into effect...
...recent months, Kaunda has dealt with his opponents with increasing severity. Two weeks ago, his government arrested and jailed the organizers of a small dissident group that had been formed less than a month before to fight the introduction of a one-party system. More than 100 other opposition leaders, including Kaunda's former Vice President (and boyhood friend), Simon Kapwepwe, were detained without trial this year. Many were subsequently released, but not Kapwepwe. So far, the government has not interfered directly with the largest opposition group, the African National Congress, which holds 21 seats in the National Assembly...
...Some of Kaunda's own followers are disturbed that the President, who is one of Black Africa's most respected leaders, has abandoned his longstanding belief that opposition parties can be eliminated only by the voters. Kaunda, a missionary's son, has changed somewhat from the serene, mild-mannered man in the khaki bush jacket whose patience and persuasiveness overrode much of the anger and bitterness engendered by the long fight for independence from Britain. He has a shorter temper nowadays, and is sometimes given to emotional outbursts. He is known to have been disturbed...