Kaunda, Saddam Hussein brotherhood

Remembering KK's peace-building role in war-torn Middle East

A rare shot: Kaunda confers with his Iraqi president friend, Saddam Hussein, circa 2002.

By VICTOR KALALANDA, Lusaka, June 28, 2021*

A Washington Times press clipping of January 10, 1991 bears a crisp headline that says “Zambian president to go to Baghdad.”

That president was the late indefatigable peace-broker, Dr Kenneth Kaunda, who had flown to the Iraqi capital that year to make a passionate entreaty to Saddam Hussein, who had ordered the invasion of Kuwait—much to the consternation of the global community.

While other presidents such as Nigeria’s Ibrahim Babangida and Zimbabwe’s Robert Mugabe appealed for peace through communiques, Dr Kaunda, more than many of his peers, seemed to realise the urgency of the moment and elected to visit his close friend—as he described the Iraqi leader—in an imperative bid to find a lasting solution to the Iraqi-Kuwait conflict.

It was the second time Dr Kaunda would be speaking to Saddam in a high-profile peace talk, having earlier succeeded in securing the release of a 53-year-old British nurse, Daphne Parish, who had been sentenced to 15 years in an Iraqi prison as punishment for being involved in a spy case.

At Dr Kaunda’s request, Daphne’s freedom was restored and Saddam put her on a plane to Lusaka, Zambia, in a jaw-dropping, remarkable instance that demonstrates that the affection and brotherhood shared by the two leaders ran deeper than detractors would have one believe.

As a pacifist, there was a charm about Dr Kaunda that softened the hearts of dreaded and arrogant leaders, even though the media hardly herald how this special quality managed to endear an African leader to Saddam and help to nearly bring peace in the Middle East.

In fact, as I was researching for this article, I was surprised to note the low profile of Dr Kaunda’s relationship with Saddam, which goes completely unmentioned in the latter’s popular biographies and tends to leave Dr Kaunda with little or no claim as a conflict mediator who clearly deserves the Nobel Peace Prize.

When Dr Kaunda arrived on his peace-building mission in Iraq in 1991, massive bombardment led by the USA was in the offing, to put an end to Iraq’s annexation of Kuwait as a result of oil pricing and production disputes.

Since this Middle East conflict was coming to a flashpoint, Kaunda’s goal was straightforward: to de-escalate the issue by prevailing upon Saddam, his friend of two years then, to abandon his plans of invading and holding on to Kuwait.

In three days, Dr Kaunda spent more than seven hours pleading with Saddam to change his mind and withdraw his forces in the interest of peace.

A 2003 report by feature writer David Zizzo conjures up a romantic image of the event and says “Saddam Hussein grabbed Dr Kenneth Kaunda's right hand with his left, entwined their fingers and raised their hands together. The crowd in Baghdad cheered as international media broadcast the scene to the world.”

Sadly, however, Saddam did not heed Dr Kaunda’s plea, just as the long-time UNIP leader would later recall: “I still could not convince him that attacking Kuwait was wrong.”

Indeed, on January 17, 1991, shortly after Dr Kaunda’s visit, Iraqi troops were forcefully expelled from Kuwait in a powerful and petrifying aerial and naval bombardment that is historically known as the Gulf War, waged by coalition forces from 35 nations and led by the United States.

After the airstrikes exploded, newspapers in Europe like the Daily Telegraph quoted unidentified diplomatic sources and reported that Saddam‘s wife (Sajida) and family had fled Baghdad and were evacuated to Zambia, where they were in President Kaunda’s house—the famous Shambalakale farm. These reports, of course, were denied by the Zambian government, which called them a “pure lie” in that Zambia had taken a neutral stand in the so-called Persian Gulf War.

In a very real sense, Saddam first heard about Dr Kaunda after the independence patriarch took a swipe at Middle Eastern countries that were spending their abundant oil revenues in Europe and America instead of ploughing it back in their own countries.

"What about your own people?" said KK, as Dr Kaunda was known, up to his death as a nonagenarian on June 17, 2021 after losing a battle to pneumonia.

When Saddam heard this, his curiosity was piqued, so he decided to invite Kaunda over to Iraq in 1988 to see what the government there was doing with oil money.

"I was impressed by the development that was taking place in Iraq using the oil money," Kaunda would later say of his visit, which flagged off a camaraderie that ultimately saw him try to broker peace agreements in Iraq.

As a man of peace, it is clear Dr Kaunda wanted Saddam to live, but it seems like the Zambian leader was trying to solve a complex geopolitical issue.

Having hobnobbed with Saddam himself, KK believed that America itself waged the war against Iraq because it had vested interest in the oil in Kuwait.

The war was executed, Dr Kaunda believed, "to remove Iraq and get oil companies to take over. Who cannot conclude it was a matter of oil?"

And that was typical of KK, always ready to differ with the rest of the world whenever it involved matters of principle, as was recorded by the New York Times concerning his 1975 visit to the United States.

“Last year (1975),” the newspaper wrote, “Kaunda upset President Ford when, instead of making the usual kind of formal speech expected at White House state receptions, he delivered some stinging remarks on the role of the United States and other Western nations in dealing with the Rhodesian crisis. ‘Southern Africa is poised for a dangerous armed conflict,’ he warned. ‘Urgent action is required’.”

Kaunda’s relationship with Saddam had its own exhilarating highs, besides the lows it must have suffered when the Zambian leader could not successfully persuade his Iraqi counterpart to do something for purposes of promoting understanding and corporation between nations.

And probably consistent with personalities, while Kaunda’s middle name, Buchizya, means “the unexpected one,” in Arabic, the Saddam name means “the stubborn one.”

However, though it is hard to ascertain details of the KK, Saddam brotherhood—given the fact that KK never wrote an autobiography—it is alleged that not only did Zambia receive aid from Iraq, but Saddam once sent his Zambian friend a Boeing 747 awash with gifts like television sets, fruits, vegetables and carpets, including three bulletproof Mercedes Benz S-Class cars.

Though both leaders were born into poverty and obscurity but later rose to prominence, Dr Kaunda, unlike an extravagant Saddam, was never known for personal aggrandisement or avarice, but as a benign autocrat who lived selflessly in service to mankind.

Before Saddam was hanged on December 30, 2006, following US allegations of potentially manufacturing weapons of mass destruction, KK visited him in 2002 for private talks, which saw them discuss Saddam’s ongoing wrangles with America.

When one views available footage, which shows the two leaders twice exchanging a warm, brotherly embrace, one thing is clear: Saddam truly loved KK and KK truly loved Saddam.

In fact, what is now known as Los Angeles Boulevard used to be Saddam Hussein Boulevard under Dr Kaunda’s reign.

And Saddam himself said of Dr Kaunda’s 2002 visit to Iraq: "Iraqis live with a leader they love and will not live with a leader they don't love."

Though the two men were different characters, they had bonded as brothers.

One can only imagine what misery KK went through when he heard that after his friend had eaten the last meal of chicken and rice, the trapdoor finally sprang and he was executed.

*This article was first published in the Zambia Daily Mail. Check dateline.