By Monica Kayombo, Zambia, Lusaka,
VETERAN Zambian politician and freedom fighter Dr Vernon J. Mwaanga has welcomed President Hakainde Hichilema’s move to develop a formal policy for the welfare of surviving independence freedom fighters, saying many of the veterans are living in deplorable conditions.
President Hichilema recently announced that Government is developing a policy framework to recognise and honour freedom fighters, with a dedicated office also established to provide a platform for veterans to engage Government.
Dr Mwaanga said the initiative was long overdue, given the sacrifices made by freedom fighters in securing Zambia’s independence in 1964.
“I have been interacting with surviving freedom fighters and can confirm that a great majority of them live in deplorable conditions,” Dr Mwaanga said in a statement issued on September 21, 2026.
He recalled that the welfare of freedom fighters had previously been taken up by the MMD Government under late President Rupiah Bwezani Banda.
Dr Mwaanga said President Banda appointed a committee in 2011, headed by then Vice-President George Kunda, to look into the welfare of freedom fighters.
However, he said the committee never got off the ground because the MMD lost power to the Patriotic Front in the 2011 general elections.
“Just as the Committee was about to start working, MMD lost power to PF and the Committee died a natural death,” he said.
Dr Mwaanga said freedom fighters he had spoken to were encouraged by President Hichilema’s decision to revisit the matter and remained hopeful that the initiative would result in tangible support.
“The freedom fighters I have talked to are happy that President Hichilema is taking up this matter. They regard him as a man of action and remain optimistic that he will come up with a solution,” he said.
Freedom fighters played a crucial role in the struggle against colonial rule in Northern Rhodesia through political mobilisation, community organisation, resistance to colonial policies and campaigns for self-rule. Their struggle laid the political foundations for Zambia’s independence on October 24, 1964.
But more than six decades later, many surviving veterans are now elderly and face challenges associated with old age, including inadequate income, healthcare and decent living conditions.
The issue is therefore not only about commemorating Zambia’s independence, but also about ensuring that those who participated in the struggle are able to live their remaining years with dignity.
With the number of surviving freedom fighters declining, the urgency is also to preserve their personal accounts of the liberation struggle before they are lost.
For Dr Mwaanga, President Hichilema’s announcement has reopened a matter that has remained unresolved for years and surviving freedom fighters are now waiting to see the policy translated into practical assistance.
Zambia celebrates her independence on October 24,2026.
