Walter Kamba

Who was Walter Kamba?

Walter Kamba was a Zimbabwean lawyer and academic. One of the few black lawyers practising in the then British colony of Rhodesia, he fled following the Unilateral Declaration of Independence by Prime Minister Ian Smith. He joined the Faculty of Law at the University of Dundee, Scotland, where he taught Jurisprudence and Comparative Law. He also served for some years as Dean of the Faculty.

He served as a legal advisor to the ZANU-PF and PF-ZAPU delegations at the Lancaster House Conference. After independence, he served as principal and vice-chancellor of the University of Zimbabwe from 1981 to 1992. Under his tenure, the University expanded its overal size, its intake of black Zimbabwean and the range of academic disciplines offered. He resigned in a controversial speech at the 1992 graduation, citing government interference and threats to academic freedom.