President Hakainde Hichilema has accorded an official funeral to former Cabinet Minister, Alexander Chikwanda, who died in Lusaka two days ago after an illness.
President Hichilema has also declared one day of national mourning in honour of the late Mr. Chikwanda and in recognition of his enormous contributions to Zambia.
The late Mr. Chikwanda will be buried on Saturday, May 7, 2022 at Leopards Hill Memorial Park in Lusaka.
According to the statement released to the media by Acting Secretary to Cabinet Patrick Kangwa yesterday, the late Mr. Chikwanda’s official funeral programme will begin with a requiem church service at the Catholic Cathedral of the Child Jesus at the Pope Square, Long Acres in Lusaka at 09:00 hours.
“Members of the public are requested to observe the one (1) day of national mourning from 06:00 hours to 18:00 hours on Saturday, 7th May 2022,” Mr. Kangwa said.
He further advised that during this period, entertainment activities must be postponed or cancelled while flags will fly at half-mast.
“The government also wishes to remind mourners attending the funeral gathering to observe the Covid-19 guidelines issued by the Ministry of Health to avoid the spread of the disease,” he said.
The late Mr. Chikwanda was one of the longest serving Cabinet Ministers in the Government of Zambia.
He was first appointed into government as Minister of State in the Office of the First President Kenneth Kaunda in 1970 and served until 1971 and later as Minister of State for Development Planning from 1971 to 1972.
His first appointment as full Cabinet Minister was in 1972 when he was promoted to the position of Minister of Health, a position he held until 1973.
From 1973 to 1976, the late Mr. Chikwanda served as Minister of Planning and Finance after which he was transferred to serve as Minister of Local Government and Housing from 1976 to 1977.
He was in 1977, transferred to the Ministry of Lands and Agriculture in the same capacity until 1978 and in 1979 and 1980, he worked as Minister of Agriculture and Water Development.
Under the Patriotic Front (PF) government, the late Mr. Chikwanda was nominated Member of Parliament in 2011 by the late fifth President of Zambia, Michael Sata, and subsequently appointed as Minister of Finance.
In 2015, President Sata died and Mr. Chikwanda continued to serve as Minister of Finance, this time under the sixth President of Zambia, Edgar Lungu until 2016.
The funeral gathering for the late Mr. Chikwanda is at his residence along Kanyanta Drive, State Lodge in Lusaka.
My mentor, my guide, my mbuya. You are no more but your legacy will live on forever. You achieved so much and sacrificed yourself to serve and you did so very diligently. I will miss our talks and your wise counsel.
We have had to blows in a short space: chile 1 and yourself sir.
We know that it is hh persecutions which led to your untimely death. You are son of royalty and your spirit won’t rest until hh is sorted out. Kaleza
Hypocrisy. If I were a family member I would turn this down. After the whole excercise is just a waste since it won’t change anything… the deceased will not come back to life or send them to heaven.
Let’s practice self-restraint as we conduct especially affairs of the State. The old man was being pursued like a common criminal even when he told the ACC that they could interview him from his home as he had a stroke but they were relentless. These matters look small but they’re blemishes on the New Damn Administration. Rest in peace Uncle Jimmy, aka ABC. The hypocrites are here to mourn with us
He was a notorious tribal bigot, let his own whose interests he served moan him.
It is not HH who has accorded ABC a state funeral. It the law!! It is not like HH has a choice!!! The family cannot decline the state funeral.
However, despite all, the man was a tribal bigot. He and the cabal of criminals like Kaiser Zulu ( the chap with a face only his mother would love) are forgettable. Nobody remembers losers.
In case you think HH ever persecuted ABC, to Kaizar Zulu and those blind followers: (1) ABC in a leaked recording in the Post Newspaper, over a glass of red wine stated “HH calls me Yama” (2) ABC was appointed Non-Executive Director prior to 2011 by Sanlam, a company partly owned by HH and his partners. Let us not listen to people that meet others in public and take photos and then claim to know them. HH knew ABC more than even ECL did. ABC’s daughter actually refuted claims of persecution not too long ago.
Ohh, finally the big man has passed on. May his soul rest in internal peace. Thanks Mr president for according the big man a state Funeral. You have silenced a lot of unreasonable critics.