Lusaka, Zambia - Zambia’s new President Michael Sata has renamed three international airports after veteran politicians who played a key role in the country'S liberation struggle.

Sata said at the State House Tuesday that Lusaka International Airport will now be called Kenneth Kaunda International Airport, renamed after Zambia’s first Republican President who ruled the country from independence in 1964 to 1991.

The President also renamed Livingstone International Airport, situated in the tourist capital town of Livingstone in the southern part of Zambia after Harry Mwaanga Nkumbula, a nationalist.

Ndola International Airport, in the northern Copperbelt, will now be called Simon Mwansa Kapwepwe, after one of the country's most respected politicians, he announced.

In renaming the airports, President Sata said it was important for Zambians to reconcile with the past.

Pana 28/09/2011