The 97-year-old, who served as president from 1964 to 1991, was admitted to hospital last Tuesday with a minor chest infection, and was actually due to be discharged today. But his condition changed overnight and became worrying this morning. Both Zambia’s President Edgar Lungu and South Africa’s President Cyril Ramaphosa have urged people to pray for Mr Kaunda. He is one of the last surviving members of a group who struggled against colonialism in Africa in the aftermath of the Second World War. During his rule, Kaunda made Zambia a centre for anticolonial groups fighting to end white minority rule in Southern African countries, including Namibia, South Africa and Zimbabwe. Kaunda allowed the armed organisations to maintain military bases, training camps, refugee centres and administrative offices. Later in life, he regained stature as one of Africa’s political giants, helping to mediate crises in Zimbabwe and Kenya.

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