A Close Look at Kenneth Kaunda’s Life: Interviews with those who knew him personally

Victoria Phiri Chitungu and her team conducted a remarkable series of interviews with people personally close to Kenneth Kaunda, along with Kaunda himself, and together these offer a different, more personal perspective on Kaunda’s life. The articles in this special issue primarily focus on Kaunda as a public and political figure and Kaunda as a real-life human being can sometimes disappear in this perspective. He was a symbol for many people, alternately revered and reviled. Chitungu’s interviews are different. Here, we glimpse into Kaunda’s personal life: the food he ate, the songs he sang, how he slept, and his family relationships. The lack of a biography or autobiography of Kaunda make the personal and intimate histories in these interviews an important source.