Kenneth and Betty Kaunda were married for 66 years. They wed in 1946, when he was a young teacher, and stayed together through prison, independence, 27 years of presidency and the election he lost.
A teacher’s wedding
Kenneth Kaunda was teaching in Northern Rhodesia when he married Betty Banda in 1946. He went on to lead the independence movement, was jailed by the colonial authorities, and on 24 October 1964 became the first president of independent Zambia.
Mama Kankasa
Zambians came to know Betty as Mama Kankasa. She raised a large household of biological and adopted children. Through the decades of one-party rule she stayed largely out of politics.
Defeat and devotion
In 1991 Kaunda lost the multiparty election to Frederick Chiluba and accepted the result. The couple stayed together in retirement until Betty died in September 2012, aged 84. Kenneth died in June 2021, aged 97.