Family members, friends pay tribute to RB

Family and friends of the late fourth republican President Rupiah Banda have described him as a selfless man who fought for the development of Zambia and the entire African region.

Speaking during the state funeral service of the late Mr. Banda at the Anglican Cathedral of the Holy Cross in Lusaka yesterday, the widow, Thandiwe Banda said she was blessed to have shared her life with her late husband.

Mrs. Banda said she will remember her late husband as a kind, warm and friendly person who was a father to many.

The former first lady said this in a speech read on her behalf by her close friend Alice Banda.

Mrs. Banda stated that she shared an interesting and supportive life with her late husband who always protected his family and everyone close to him.

She disclosed that she shared many memories with the late Mr. Banda, among them travelling around the world, watching soccer and listening to music together and celebrating many birthdays together.

‘’You enjoyed sharing old memories with me as we created new ones together such as travelling the world and showing me so many places as we tried out many delicacies. You were my lover, protector and husband,’’ she said.

And late Mr. Banda’s son, Dingani, described his late father as a liberal man who was open to family and friends.

Dingani said his late father was the greatest cheer leader who always celebrated his family’s achievements.

He said the late former President shared a unique father and daughter in- law relationship with his in-laws and made sure they were free to talk to him and comfortable around him.

“My father destroyed the barriers of in-laws’ relationship, he made sure that his daughters in-law felt comfortable with him and shared a unique father-daughter in-laws relationship with them,’’ he said.

And in a special tribute, late Mr. Banda’s daughter, Duniya, broke down in a song dedicated to her father.

Duniya said during the days when her father was hospitalised, she and the late Mr. Banda would together sing a song called ‘Loliwe’ done by a South African singer Zahara.

This sent the majority of the mourners in the Cathedral of the Holy Congress into tears.

Meanwhile, the late Mr. Banda’s longest childhood friend, Jacob Mwanza, described the late fourth President as a generous and modest man who started serving humanity at a very young age.

Mr. Mwanza said the late fourth head of state was a generous man who contributed to empowering various small scale farmers by giving them farming inputs.

He said the late Mr. Banda also donated materials to various schools and hospitals, a gesture which he never wanted to publicise.

“Mr. Banda was a talented modest business man and a farmer who donated fertiliser and seeds to small scale farmers and never wanted to be praised for the good that he did for others, he has left a huge gap in his family and the whole country,’’ added Mr. Mwanza.

The late Mr. Banda was born on February 19, 1937 in Gwanda, Northern Rhodesia then but now called Zimbabwe. He received his secondary education at Munali secondary school in Zambia and later studies in various universities outside Zambia.

The late Mr. Banda joined politics at a young age and actively participated during the first republican president Kenneth Kaunda’s regime.

He served as the fourth President of Zambia from 2008 to 2011, taking over from late third President Levy Mwanawasa who died as the sitting President in 2008.

The late Mr. Banda died on March 11, 2022 after suffering from colon cancer.

He is survived by a widow, Thandiwe, children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren.