Today, April 28th marks a significant event in the History of my beloved Country Zambia. It is a day on which our founding President Dr Kenneth David Kaunda (KK) was born in 1924, it was declared a National Public Holiday by our Former President Edgar Chagwa Lungu (ECL) after KK Died in July of 2021.
Growing up I and many other Zambians thought Kaunda was the Title used
to refer to a President or Head of State of any Country e.g. we would ask who
is the Kaunda of the UK, Malawi or Uganda etc, this was because KK was President for Zambia from
1964 to 1991.He was at the forefront of the struggle for independence from
British rule, apart from helping to secure Zambia’s freedom, KK also
contributed to liberation movements across the region. He allowed Zambia to be
home to many asylum seekers. It is amazing that to this day, we have some
recently elected heads of states for Countries in the region who resided in
Zambia during their Country’s liberation struggles. He truly believed that; “The independence of
Zambia and other African countries is meaningless if it does not bring about
the total liberation of the African continent." — Dr. Kenneth David Kaunda
What Significantly stands out for me is that, despite KK
ruling Zambia for over 20 years, you can never hear of any alleged or proven accusations
of corruptly acquired personal or family wealth from his Presidency, cash in
Swiss or offshore accounts, properties or Investments in foreign Lands or shares
in the Big Zambian or International Companies. I may stand to be corrected if
anyone has facts otherwise. He may have had his own challenges but, KK
demonstrated service to the Country which I wish many leaders would emulate.
There are an estimated thirteen (13)
nationally recognized public holidays in Zambia. In addition, the President has
the power to declare further public holidays President ECL exercised this power
more often than any other President in the recent memory. In my opinion,
New Year’s Day is the most celebrated
Holiday as it that draws the participation of almost everyone in the Country. There
are no officially organized National or state Events just Individuals and a few
corporate and social festivities. After new year
I would rank the Christian religious Easter Holidays. Again, there are no official national or state Events just religious Institutions with
their members celebrating a significant event on their calendar, it is evidenced
by the multitudes that walk the streets on Palm Sunday and flock to
the various Christian churches on Good Friday, Holy Sabbath and the
Resurrection Sunday. I actually know a few friends whose only day(s) at church are either during Easter or Christmas.
On the other hand, the Government commemorated National Holidays such as Women’s, day, Youth
Day, Labour day, Independence Day, usually have an officially
organized State event or function. The Events like march pasts or laying of wreaths are open to the Public and the Functions are usually by invitation. Unfortunately, over the past couple of
years these events and functions have deteriorated into days when Political
Parties have to show their strength in the number of Marchers that they are able
to parade in their
Political regalia.
For most ordinary working Zambians,
a Public Holiday has become one of those days that they can catch up with Friends
and Family, an extra day to attend to some projects “Gardens, Farms
or Construction” or just a day to relax. For the Zambian Traders,
Public Holidays are days when they have the best opportunity to catch the
ordinary working Zambian that goes shopping for goods and services. If you
visit the Central Business District (CBD) and Markets on a Public Holiday you
would probably feel guilty that you missed work, because there is no Holiday
mood among the traders, they are all busy trying to make the next sale. The
Socialites on the other
hand are happy for any Holiday, they have
an extra day to consume their favourite cold or warm beverages with their favourite friends, at their
favourite chill Spot(s), this section of the Zambian Society seem to enjoy
the Public Holidays a lot more as evidenced by the lack of car parking spaces
in chill spots, parked cars extend to the road sides sometimes even causing a lot traffic.
I cannot recall the exact year but, there was a time when I used to
watch our National Television Station a lot more than I currently do. One of the
reporters went on the Streets during the Christmas Holiday to try and get some views
from the members of the Public on why and how they were celebrating Christmas. I
was more than surprised at some unrelated responses that were being given. At the
time, I didn’t pay
particular attention. however, it has got me thinking that we have a systemic problem when it comes to National Holidays.
Why do we have National Holiday? Why are citizens
Detached from these National Holidays?
I was very young when Kenneth Kaunda was President of Zambia. However, the
little I recall is in the lead up to a National Day like Independence Day,
those of us in Primary School would prepare some sketches, songs etc. to
celebrate Zambia’s Independence, the School, Streets and town in general would
be extra clean especially if KK was celebrating Independence in your District. All
kinds of people would actually line up the streets just to catch a glimpse of
the President. This sense has been lost overtime. Currently National Holidays feels
like days for National Leaders and their close or paid followers who if they had
an option would in fact choose to attend to their personal matters if not for duty. It is about speeches that no one
really pays attention to.
A quick Google search
reminds us that national holidays serve critical purposes:
- Commemoration of
Historical Events – Celebrating pivotal moments in a nation’s journey.
- Building National
Identity – Strengthening unity
and shared values.
- Public Holidays and
Leisure – Offering citizens
time off to rejuvenate.
- Social and Cultural
Significance – Encouraging
community and cultural bonding.
- Reinforcement of
Nationhood – Promoting
patriotism and civic pride.
National holidays like KK day are not mere days off — they shape national consciousness.
Celebrating national holidays could be the difference between citizens
fleeing in times of crisis or standing firm to defend their land and identity
Happy KK day
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— Pritchard C. Bweupe
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