June 21, 2021
SGI President Sends Condolence Message Upon the Passing of Dr. Kenneth D. Kaunda, First Zambian President
Upon learning of the passing on June 17, 2021, of His Excellency
Dr. Kenneth D. Kaunda (97), first president of Zambia, SGI President Daisaku
Ikeda sent a condolence message on behalf of the worldwide Soka Gakkai
membership. His message expressed his profound sadness and his sympathies to
Dr. Kaunda’s family and friends. Describing Dr. Kaunda as the father of Zambia,
Mr. Ikeda praised him for his dedication to Zambian citizens and stated that
his noble life epitomized the history of struggle for freedom and independence.
The message expressed his conviction that Dr. Kaunda’s integrity will live on
in the hearts of all the African people as a beacon of hope and a guidepost
into the future.
When he was president of Zambia, Dr. Kaunda and Mr. Ikeda met in Tokyo in November 1990, discussing such topics as colonialism and the Gandhian philosophy of nonviolence.
[Adapted from an article in the June 21, 2021,
issue of the Seikyo Shimbun, Soka
Gakkai, Japan]
