VERY few mortals clock it to the 90s to earn that enviable tag of nonagenarian – that is a person who is between 90 and 99 years.
However, Kenneth Buchizya Kaunda is no ordinary mortal.

.KAUNDA

The first Republican President yesterday celebrated his 91st birthday quietly at his house in State Lodge area in Lusaka and repeatedly joked about his age before cutting his birthday cake.
His great grandchildren Guguletu Bwalya and Tiyezye Kaunda assisted their grandfather cut the cake amid jubilation among family members.
His son Kaweche Kaunda said their family is grateful to God that Dr Kaunda has turned 91 years old.
Zambians should join the Dr Kaunda family in being grateful to God for giving us such a political icon who has emerged victorious in almost all his fights.
We are talking about his struggle for black rule that saw the lanky man from Lubwa come out as the best among equals to lead this country to freedom.
We are talking about a man who united Zambia’s myriad of tribes under the slogan of One Zambia, One Nation, a slogan that the incumbent president Edgar Chagwa Lungu has encouraged on our national broadcaster ZNBC.
We are talking about a man who despite being jailed by his enemies came out of prison to continue with the HIV/AIDS crusade against
several odds.
The man has outlived many of his enemies to prove to them that he is not in their league both physically and spiritually.
Both locally and internationally, he is an enigma who defies time and his critics, each time they claim to know and understand him.
One remembers how he shone at his erstwhile friend the late Nelson Mandela’s funeral when Dr Kaunda stole the limelight by giving a
mother of all speeches in honour of Madiba.
The whole world watched a bent but determined Dr Kaunda deliver a speech that would shame many speech writers since it captured what
Mandela stood for.
Is not William Shakespeare who once wrote that some are born great, some achieve greatness, and some have greatness thrust upon them.
Dr Kaunda encompasses all the three aspects since he was born great, achieved greatness and had greatness thrust upon him.
We can also quote Albert Einstein who once said great spirits have always encountered violent opposition from mediocre minds.
This aptly applies to Dr Kaunda who triumphed over colonialists (both locally and regionally) and later emerged victorious against his
jailers.
Among the first crop of nationalists, Dr Kaunda is among the few living political idols after the passing of his contemporaries like
Julius Nyerere of Tanzania, Jomo Kenyatta of Kenya and Kamuzu Banda of Malawi.
What manner of man is Dr Kaunda? Unlike other leaders Dr Kaunda is a spiritual man who as a teetotaller and non-smoker lives a simple lifestyle of a vegetarian refraining from all the trappings that come with the power and prestige he has.
Traditionally and biblically, the one defining characteristic people shared were the unique and profound element of the names they were given.
It signified what tribe one came from and represented the language and dialect they spoke since it made others aware of someone’s origin.
It was the mark that identified each person because it was the signature that was utterly more powerful and significant than simply
the characters that represent it.
Dr Kaunda’s middle name Buchizya which means the unexpected one has proven that the great man is not a predictable mortal.
We hope and pray that Dr Kaunda will celebrate many more birthdays and continue to be a source of inspiration to this generation.