Leaders mourn Kaunda as ‘Africa’s statesman’

By the time he quit politics in the year 2000, Kenneth Kaunda had lived more than four decades in public life, savouring political victories and enduring humiliations. Yet he styled himself as a soft-spoken, deep-thinking charismatic politician always waving a white handkerchief.

When he suddenly died on Thursday aged 97, leaders across Africa praised his role in encouraging the nascent roots of integration.