THIS DAY IN HISTORY: 30th April 1982

Kenneth Kaunda, President of Zambia met with P.W. Botha, the Prime Minister of the South African apartheid regime, in Botswana. Kaunda's stated aim was to advance the ending of apartheid, but the meeting did not yield any significant political results and Kaunda was heavily criticised in the African media for the meeting. Kaunda had met with a previous South African Prime Minister, John Vorster, in 1975.

Kaunda was a strong opponent of apartheid and supporter of the African National Congress (ANC), whose external headquarters were based in the capital Lusaka. Zambia was also one of several countries in southern Africa, known as the Frontline States, which came together to support the liberation movement in South Africa. Other countries included Angola, Botswana, Lesotho, Mozambique, Tanzania, and Zimbabwe. Because of this support the South African government launched many raids and cross border attacks during the apartheid era, in an attempt to disrupt the liberation struggle and destabilise the Frontline States.

In August 1989 Kaunda met with F.W. de Klerk in Zambia where plans for ending apartheid were discussed. De Klerk had been selected by the National Party to succeed P.W. Botha as South Africa's head of state later that year, but the planned meeting between Kaunda and de Klerk prompted Botha to resign early. Botha stated that he objected to the meeting because:

"The ANC is enjoying the protection of President Kaunda and is planning insurgency activities against South Africa from Lusaka."

There is no doubt that support from Zambia and the other Frontline States was crucial in the struggle against apartheid. Nelson Mandela acknowledged this when he visited Zambia in 1990 declaring:

"When on freedom day we count the heroes of our struggle, the city of Lusaka would count amongst our most gallant heroes."

The following video is of Mandela's visit to Zambia in 1990 when he meets Kenneth Kaunda and other African heads of state:

http://abcnews.go.com/Archives/video/feb-27-1990-nelson-mandela-visits-zambia-9394850

Amma Fosuah

"Always bear in mind that people are not fighting for ideas, for the things in anyone's head. They are fighting to win material benefits to live better and in peace, to see their lives go forward, to guarantee the future of their children." Amilcar Cabral