By Elias Munshya wa Munshya
At independence in 1964 Zambia’s first president naively thought that Zambia had entered a new era of post-tribal politics. Kaunda had managed to convince the Litunga to have Barotseland proceed to independence with the rest of Zambia as one nation. He had also managed to bring the churches together to form the UCZ which he inaugurated barely four months into power. His United National Independence Party was the principal brand of unity. The national motto was quickly hoisted to be “One Zambia One Nation.” For Kaunda, he had achieved his dream; a united Zambia had been formed.
However, just three years into power, Kaunda realised that the Zambian tribes were not as united as he had thought. The first post independence UNIP convention saw a very bitter tribal fight. The Bemba—Tonga pact had at the UNIP convention bitterly defeated the Lozi—Nyanja alliance. Kapwepwe was elected UNIP’s vice-President to the consternation of Kaunda and Kamanga an easterner had been defeated In fact, it was during this time, that some UNIP members started doubting Kaunda’s loyalty to the Bemba tribe since he had Malawian parentage. Kaunda knew very well that he needed to do something more to overcome this new era of tribalism that had started to engulf the nation.
To overcome this, Kaunda retraced and reemphasized his loyalty as a Bemba subject of Chief Nkula in Chinsali. He also made a point to try and persuade Kapwepwe to step aside since two Bembas could not possibly hold two top positions in both UNIP and the government. Kapwepwe reluctantly obliged and Kaunda quickly brought in Mainza Chona, a Southerner to replace Kapwepwe. But this deeply displeased Kapwepwe and several other Bemba hegemonists, who latter proceeded to found the UPP, a party mainly popular in Luapula and Copperbelt provinces.
[pullquote]I do not just see how a president can manage to appoint all the 73 tribes to Cabinet and Foreign Service all at once. Additionally, accusations that Banda has appointed more people on tribal grounds do not stand to empirical scrutiny. We said this slightest to Chiluba who actually appointed more Luapulans to cabinet and parastatals than any other president has done for his tribe. As such, accusations that Banda is tribalistic may actually be a reflection of our own tribalism.[/pullquote]
To cure the issue of tribalism Kaunda started what he called Tribal Balancing. In this new arrangement he made sure that the provinces were well represented in government. It was so intentional that you could actually predict who would be in Cabinet and who would not. However, the position of Prime Minister was almost exclusively reserved for Barotseland. Out of six Premiers, from 1973—1991, four were Lozis and the other two were Tonga. This was KK’s tribal balancing at its best. It was mostly dictated by province more than it was dictated by specific tribes.
When Chiluba came into power, the intentional and deliberate tribal balancing was effectively overruled. Chiluba would appoint people on “merit.” However, it still remains to be answered why under Chiluba almost all parastatal chiefs had akin names—Chungu, Musenge, Musonda, Mwansa, e.t.c. From just this it may be clear that appointment on merit may have meant tribal merit as well. But even if this is the reality with Chiluba, he was never accused of playing tribal politics. I guess if it were a Lenje doing the same thing, some vocal quarters could have condemned the practice. This assumption among some Zambians that only non-Bemba speaking peoples are more capable of tribalism is erroneous. Comparing all the past presidents on tribal appointments Chiluba appointed more people in his cabinet and parastatal companies that were Bemba more than any other president, and yet the tribalistic label has not stuck with Chiluba. As such, we as Zambians should seriously address this predisposition.
However, when leaving power in 2001 Chiluba wanted to have a minority tribe to take over. This honour obviously fell on Mwanawasa—of both Lamba and Lenje heritage. Even without objective evidence, Mwanawasa was quickly accused of appointing a family tree in his cabinet. But once objectively assessed you will see that Mwanawasa’s cabinet was more tribally balanced than Chiluba’s at any given time. Mwanawasa also brought in some tribal diversity in parastatal companies. However, when he appointed Sisala as ZESCO Managing Director, more tribalistic accusations were levelled against him. This again plays to my thesis that several Zambians believe, erroneously, that only non-Bembas are more capable of tribalism. Mwanawasa tried to please the Bembas by appointing them to the Vice-Presidency. He only revolted when he lost the Bemba vote in 2006.
However, under Banda the issue of tribalism has taken on a new shape all together. In the past it was sufficient that provinces should be represented in the Cabinet. As such, Eastern Province would not normally complain if a Chewa, Tumbuka, Ngoni, or Kunda is appointed to Cabinet. However, with the utterances of Paramount Chief Mpezeni, there is a demand in some quarters that tribal balancing should not just be provincial balancing but rather should be about tribes. As such, His Majesty the Mpezeni is complaining that among the five cabinet ministers from Eastern Province in this current cabinet none of them are Ngonis. Without Ngonis in Cabinet, Mpezeni feels left out of national development. This intra—provincial tribal conflict is the greatest danger to Zambia’s future development. Similarly in Luapula Province, there were complaints that the MMD had started to sideline Southern Luapulans (mostly Ushis) in preference of the Northern Luapulans (Lundas, Bwiles, etc). Northern Province is even more dynamic, Hon GB Mwamba recently said while campaigning that Northern Province belonged to Bembas, ignoring its multi-ethnicity.
One Zambia One Nation will only work, if the provinces stop intra-province tribalism and begin to look at themselves as one people. Otherwise, if we continued on this path, we may just end up being one Zambia and no Nation. I do not just see how a president can manage to appoint all the 73 tribes to Cabinet and Foreign Service all at once. Additionally, accusations that Banda has appointed more people on tribal grounds do not stand to empirical scrutiny. We said this slightest to Chiluba who actually appointed more Luapulans to cabinet and parastatals than any other president has done for his tribe. As such, accusations that Banda is tribalistic may actually be a reflection of our own tribalism.
Quite true, it is that the truth hurts and it does.This issue of tribal balancing will never work so we may just as well face it.I don`t blame the president`s who normally will give favours to their own kind because to me, it is just human.Through out history humans have been known to associate and feel more comfortable with people of their own kind.So whn this happens what creeps in first is the natural inclination but the good thing is that environment and experience help mold this kind of thinking pattern and hence can help pipo learn how to avoid doing it.So it should not be surprising that mwanawasa brought the mpombo,shikapwasha and chiluba the kateles of this world.The thing is, tho it is almost impossible achieve this, let us try by all means to emblace each other as one zedians.
Good History lecture Mr Elias Munshya wa Munshya.Tribalism in Zed is so deep-rooted and we all just pretend that all is well.I know some folks who are ardent supporters of PF,NOT cos Sata is capable of doing “miracles” but he is Bemba.I wont say anything about HH and UPND cos everybody knows the truth.I feel those who look at the tribe when there is an appointment as opposed to qualifications and competence are the worst tribalists and dragging us behind cos all Zambians have equal opportunities irrespective of the tribe.
I personally do not see any sense in saying that a person from any given tribe should be vice President or any cabinet postion we are all Zambians, that is my opinion any one have the right to say how the feel about this.
Its not possible to have a tribally balanced cabinet,but it is possible to have a provincially one.In every province i think there is someone capable of being a minister,CEO of parastatal comp.,perm sec etc…and this should be encouraged.
Great piece of writing Elias, keep it up!!!
I don’t give it a damn even if a President appointed an ALL TONGA, ALL CHOKWE, ALL NGONI cabinet as long as they are able to deliver. If I may ask, how did Luapula benefit from the multitude of those appointments, absolutely no benefit except few individuals who enriched themselves with ill-gotten wealth which didn’t even trickle down to an ordinary villager; not even in Musangu village. Today that’s when he has realised that Luapula needs development and as I am blogging he is in Mansa. The problem we have is that we think we can only generate wealth by going to Parliament, or by being appointed Minister. Let’s genuinely work for our wealth rather than wait for such appointments,this mentality is what has brought about bootlickers in the…
You know I did not understand why people hated Bembas so much. Now I fully understand thank you for the history lesson. I believe we are all hypocrites who can never speak out ON TRIBALISM as long as it benefits their own tribe. There was once a North-South alliance and Northerners came out tops. It is time for Bembas to repay the Southerners and let them lead PACT, in any case they have the better man.
To assume that a cabinet be occupied with only one tribe based on merit is a recipe for civil unrest. You see in our african context tribe is our identity first th is just how society works. Tribal or regional balancing is important for national unity.
Elias Munshya wa Munshya,
Again, this is an excellent work! This is why in the western world, those who choose to study political science at undergraduate or in Graduate school, and they have no exception but to take Research Methods and Comparative politics courses which are mandatory to earn a degree. The tribal insinuations we are hearing from tribalists themselves are nothing but unsubstantiated chibuku tarven gossip. When we look at RB’s administration from cabinet, Diplomatic corp., defense and security brass to line ministry controlling officers you see character of a true nationalist driven with merit and national interest. I challenge tribalists to do a comparative study what they would data-mine on all Zambian Government administrations since independence.
We have cadres and street politicians whose fantasy has been that a family tree has naturally given the entitlement to the republican VP portfolio. They rant without researching.
So Mushya, are you telling us the only president thus far that was voted in a non tribal election(1991) actually became the most tribal president? From the history above, it is clear that tribalism was vigorously re introduced between 1991 & 2001. For this reason I do not understand how Mazoka was labeled a tribalist by Mr. Sata. Was Mr. Sata aware of Chiluba’s tribalism & therefore feared that since it had become a political culture, Zambia will go he ha ha? Very sad reading.
Research, compare and blog based on substantiatable data. Put data on the thread then we can debate.
It is shameful in this day and age we are trapped in this tribalism thing. Measures must be taken urgently to eradicate it.
GRZ should abolish provinces, tribes, chiefdoms, etc these are just meant to segregate the peoples. Let the country have regions namely East, West, South, Central, and North as management areas. There should be no Provincial Ministers, administration should be decentralized up to individual districts. Everybody should be known as a Zambian. It should be out-lawed to call somebody by tribe.
The writer is facked in that in all his rantings he seems to suggest Bembas are tribalists.No Bemba has ever been president of Zambia.You mother fackers need to be reminded that Kaunda is a Tumbuka from Malawi and not Bemba, Chiluba a Lunda or Tubulu from Luapula and the contender Sata is Bisa. Bembas come from Kasama,Chinsali,Mporokoso and some parts of Luwingu.Luapula has no Bemba people period.Bemba just happens to be Zambia’s most popular language as 25% speak it as there first language and 42% as their second language all due to migration. For your information without the Northern-Southern Alliance Zambia was still going to be a colony.Even now to free Zambia from this MMD cancer PF-UPND must work together after all Kapwepwe gave way for Mainza Chona for the sake of 1 Zambia 1…
As long as we keep these recycled sacks, tribal politics will continue. Look at this Mulenga from new castle not only insulting but just talking tribes. These are failures we don’t want. How does someone live in castle and still be primitive to the core? We don’t want to know who is what tribe & we don’t want the repetition of Chiluba’s tribal inclination period.
Elias Munshya wa Munshya: correct analysis, let us not pretend but face facts if we are to build a solid Republic of Zambia for the benefit of our children and future generation. There is nothing more painfull than the feeling that, the top most office of the land does not value some citizenry; based on tribalism. Chiluba’s actions contributed to the Lozis feeling Zambia does not recorgnize the role Barotseland played to the independence of Zambia. Remember: Barotseland had already established governmental structures even before the arrival of colonialists and a potential to self-government. As for President Banda: he has been fought tooth and nail since he came into office, mainly by those who think they can use tribal influence to govern and making every day campaign day. Sorry Zambians
We start the rotating presidendency.Like Nigeria,come from North or South.This time around the president should come from Southern HH(2011),2016(Western,North Western,Copperbelt,Lusaka)
Mulenga from New Castle coming out naturally as what he is..lol No further comment
Sata is in his late hour of life.Forget about him,let us usher in new blood(HH).U.S(Obama),U.K(Cameron).
Peter mulenga,i agree with you.
Let us look at this topic seriously today and what the future holds for us.Let us not be myopic,scrutinze every happenings,politictly.
This tribal tag has been there ever since,but logically speaking no president will appoint his cabnet fromthe 72 tribes.By the way how many cabnet positions are there to accomodate 72 tribes?
Peter we all agree with you.mulenga i guess its your turn to return the favour to your alliance partner.
One would think “Broken Hill man” is more or less History, but alas, we seem rooted to just getting back into our caves!! So much for world advancement, it hasn’t gone amiss that all the cavemen on the blog, in spite of their internet literacy, can’t just leave the tribalistic bug!! The reason it’s so hard to leave, is the fact, that in some dark corner of the mind, there is a but small distant light of hope, that perhaps one of our tribes-mate will appoint us to something or drop us some bread-crumbs following this simple fact!! Boy Oh Boy!! This is 2011 for God’s sake!! Grow up!! For once can you exhibit the traits that have made you educable & be content that you have been emancipated from cave-like habits & thinking!!
“Sharp shooter”, NCC don’t think that we are all equal…
Good article Mr Elias Munshya wa Munshya. I hope it will help open up some peoples eyes. It’s time we chose leaders on merit not tribal affiliations.
Peter Mulenga, I also agree with you.
Forget Tribal balancing, it indeed did work for it’s time, & more than anthing, didn’t have any suitable alternative. Lets leave it upon its shelf for its well deserved place in history. This is a new epoch, it’s all about new ideas & new approaches, & not forgeting, young guns. First & foremost, is how to dislodged our grandpa’s & those that have acquired their traits, from the helm of power. That is to say, none of the three main party leaders are fit for purpose – we have to understand that majority of voters will be illiterate, & rely on word of mouth to help them cast a vote – usually this word of mouth has a dangling carrot (Remember, Tubers were favourite foods in the “cave-days”!!). What we have to try to impart is a bit of analytical thinking (NB: this is not rocket…
…make people understand that a few weeks of free beer & full stomachs every 4 to 5 years has never been a winning formula, & it is time they tried something else – but not just for the sake of it. They shud sort the “chaff from the meal”, look to ideas that will help their children & their grand children to become emancipated – & only then will their long investment pay off, as their kids will uplift them, more than any of these “leap-year” apparitions tend to promise – there is still hope for Z!!
Why can’t we put a clause in the constitution which states: the Head of State shall be elected by political party presidents from among themselves. We can lock all the RBs, Kaundas, HH, Sata, Milupi, Nawakwi, Miyandas etc in one room and ask them to come up with one name from among themslves.
Can Munshya wa Munshya tell us who the 4 Lozi Prime Ministers were? Osati kunama boza ba mudala imwe ka! Zambia has never had 4 Lozi Prime Ministers!
Zambia should establish a union of sovereign states under a federal system. Each province (state) would elect its own government and manage its own affairs. Central government would deal with matters of security and foreign relations. Zambian citizens would be free to roam the union in search of marriage, education, jobs etcetera. The union eliminates, at once, the tricky matter of provincial balancing as well as expunging corruption inherent in centralised systems.
The union will also reduce the power distance between the masses and the government. Unions also favour hard working states over thieving, lazy jurisdictions. The immediate bonus derived from a federation is that Banda would be localised in the Eastern Province, along with his incompetence and ineptitude.
# 28,your suggestion is ok,but the problem is we would end up having some pocket political parties sponsored by one big party in order for the Big party’s president to have many votes.
So what are going to with me I am the waste tribelist, I have 73 wifes each from every tribe. That is good tribal balancing. Now I am planing to marry an Indian, a chinese and white. Then everything will be ya balansa
Name Term start Term end Political Party
Kenneth Kaunda 22 January 1964 24 October 1964 United National Independence Party
Post Abolished (24 October 1964-25 August 1973)
Mainza Chona (1st time) 25 August 1973 27 May 1975 United National Independence Party
Elijah Mudenda 27 May 1975 20 July 1977 United National Independence Party
Mainza Chona (2nd time) 20 July 1977 15 June 1978 United National Independence Party
Daniel Lisulo 15 June 1978 18 February 1981 United National Independence Party
Nalumino Mundia 18 February 1981 24 April 1985 United National Independence Party
Kebby Musokotwane 24 April 1985 15 March 1989 United National Independence Party
Malimba Masheke 15 March 1989 31 August 1991 United National Independence Party
Post Abolished (31…
29 Princess, your answer above number 33. Zambia has never had 4 lozis as prime minister but only three Mundia, Lisulo and Masheke. Tongas are Chona, Mudenda, Musokotwane and Bembas are Kaunda (though Malawian)
6### which pipo hate Bembas apart from you primitive guy?
Munshya wa Munshya Levy was more tribalist than FTJ
It is very sad that when we look at government and politicians all we see is tribe or province. Are we supposed to have gone past that with KK? Or are we moving in circles. Me for one, I dont care we is president or minister. All I care about is service delivery. This thing of looking at tribes of our leaders just makes lose focus and end up worse off than we were when we first began. So all you tribalists out there, quit this this thing and look for good in people. There is alot to be found and mined you know.
My dear brother or sister are you new to the blog. For a very long time there has been Bemba bashing going on on this blog and I for one did not understand why. But now we all know where it was coming from. But look at you civilised guy instead of outrightly condemning tribalism there you are comparing two wrongs and trying hard to justify Chiluba, I must say shame on you.
#37 is meant for #35 polish presidor.
#34 Kalindawala Kebby Musokotwane was not Tonga.
Res ipsi loquitor! Well done Munshya.
Chiluba has a thunderous welcome- Mwamba
Second republican president, Dr. Fredric Chiluba press aide, Emmanuel Mwamba has dispelled claims that Dr. Chiluba has been rejected in Luapula as reported by some media houses in Lusaka today.Speaking in an interview with q fm, Mr. Mwamba revealed that there Dr.Chiluba was given a thunderous welcome when he arrived in the province ahead of the conference which has officially opened now.
Mr. Mwamba notes that all chief in Luapula inclusive of the Mwata Kazembe himself. are part of the developmental meeting which kicked off this morning. He has therefore charged that all the reports about Dr. Chiluba being reject as total lies and a mere fabrication of the facts.
He has also assured Zambians that peace and serenity is at the centre of the development meeting and no form of the anticipated violence has been recorded.
PF panicking over my Luapula visit — FJT
FORMER president Frederick Chiluba has accused the Patriotic Front (PF) leadership of panicking and resorting to a propaganda campaign against him after he pledged to support the ruling Movement for Multi-party Democracy (MMD).
Speaking through his spokesperson Emmanuel Mwamba, Dr Chiluba said he had a lot of goodwill from the people of Luapula and his freedom of movement and association would not be curtailed by anyone.
He said Dr Chiluba had been invited by chiefs, Members of Parliament and other stakeholders to be part of a meeting this weekend, which was aimed at seeking solutions to some development problems experienced in Luapula Province.
“The meeting which has made some members of PF worried is about development and not…
“The meeting which has made some members of PF worried is about development and not politics that is why even some opposition MPs will be part of it,” Mr Mwamba said.
He said Dr Chiluba was aware that the PF leadership had embarked on a propaganda campaign aimed at inciting the people of Luapula to rise against him.
He said the people of Luapula were aware that Dr Chiluba was president for all Zambians and not the people of Luapula alone.
“It is not true that Luapula Province was neglected during the rule of Dr Chiluba because development projects were evenly shared to all parts of the country and the people are fully aware that the president makes decisions in the interest of the nation while in office and not doing special favours to people from his home area,” he…
Whenever there is an issue the MMD and President Banda appear to lose on, the Lusaka Times issues and ‘opinion piece’ to counter it.
For instance, only a few days ago there appeared in The Post an article stating the Pres. Banda had surrounded himself with Easterners. Now LT does an article on tribalism.
Earlier, there was a challenge from Mr. Sata that the MMD politicians should release their health records, like he has. All of a sudden, there is an article in the LT that health shouldn’t be ‘politicized’, even though they had just printed an article stating that Mr. Sata had 4 diseases.
I think the LT should remind itself that it is *state owned*, not *ruling party owned*, and that the party in government may change very soon.
Oh my Gosh! Munshya, or what ever you are, you sound to be a well read MMD cadre. Just tell your boss that if former leaders were tribalistic, that does not allow him to be such. Two or three wrongs do not make a right. And mind you, everything is in constant change; change is the only constant thing. So if we never saw the past leaders as tribalistic, we have seen it now in RB. Do not misuse or misquote history to your advantage.
Thats why i always say we really need younger people in govt. coz as someone who was born After the 80’s I will gladly tell you that in secondary school in a class of 40 only 5 people came from parents of the same tribe and I mean Lozi-Bemba Tonga-Chewa all different mixes and to be honest I and most pipo did not have tribal alliance so i think this oldsku thinking is what needs to be erased I think older generation can learn more from younger generation personally I have 4 different roots and I don’t see anyone of them as superior to the other because that will be an insult to one or the other of my parents. The thing is most people classified Bemba are not really Bemba they just come from Luapula n I think its even tribalist to consider everyone Bemba just because of their native…
aya ndiye matuvi yazoona
great piece of work indeed…thanks for the data…umuntu ni data
This article is very correct to a large extent. When a Bemba appoints a Bemba, its on merit, when another person appoints a tribe’s mate, its tribal…..am happy a lot of people have seen through the Bemba tricks. When Mazoka threatened the Bemba empire, he was labeled tribal just like they will label Milupi, wait and see.
I agree with #30 that Zambia should establish a union of sovereign states under a federal system. Let those who think Sata can change the economy in 90 days govern themselves.
Will Chiluba for once ever learn to love a nation that once gave him a chance to be president? Is he proud that political parties are sending innocent youth to Luapula because of him? Those youth should be in school, educated and trained…but No, it is always about Chiluba. MMD can not seem to look beyond him despite having a good leader like Mwanawasa. Look at KK and Mandela, there is a reason why former heads of state wisely do not involve themselves in politics when they retire.
Anyway the trueth is Kaunda appointed many Tongas because he really wanted to please them considering that they were the ones who contributed money for transport to go to the queen and negotiate for independence.
Bembas we are so clever, even when you are caught stealing, you would rather point a finger at the one catching you in the act than to admit your theft. So bare with us apopene mwandi, atleast it has helped us get away with so many things.
#52 and 53 :d:d:d:d you are one crazy fellow :)):)):)) you have some sense of humour.
Lets just have federal states all this tribal crap will be over! Truth is some provinces contribute close to nothing to Zambia’s GDP while a few provices toil to sustain the rest.
53, the bemba meaning of the word ‘clever’ includes ukuchenjela(being deceitful), unfortunately in many languages thats not the case.In most languages clever has to do with being wise. So most Bembas believe they are clever but what they actually mean is they are deceitful (not necessarily wise).
We need all the 73 tribal to become representativity of their own. We have enough kwachas to pay them if the government didn’t misuse our taxes. Even if we didnt pay them at least ka transport to Lsk.
#5 Mossad-KGB _ I must say you are a true son of truth. Even as Chiluba goes to campain for MMD, we know that ther is nothing beneficial in this futile trip Luapula will gain. What is really needed is a new generation of leaders to push this country foward. The whites tried to devide us by giving specific jobs to specific tribes such as toilet cleaning to Luvales, Kitchen work to Lambas /Kaondes, office work to Lozis, Underground to Bembas, but failed. We all came together and won our indipendence. What has happened to that spirit? Right now you have an old man in State House whose only preoccupation is how he will secure the next election-at any cost.
True, there is more tribalism in zed than racism in countries that I have been to.
This Kaunda chap really indoctrinated Zambians with a lot of BS! To the best of my knowledge there are no 73 distinct so called tribes in Zambia. It is a lie that Kaunda promoted to entrench himself in power. And Zambians fell for it. Kaunda double counted people from one ethnic group as constituting a tribe with its own language. For example in Western province Kaunda enumerated the Totela, Subiya, Kwangwa, Nyengo, Kwamashu, Humbe, Kwangwa etc as constituting separate ‘tribes’. This is wrong since the totality of the 24 subgroups in Western province apart from Nkoyas and Luvales is what constitutes the Lozi ethnic group. It is like arguing that the Cornish are not English or the Catalans are separate from the Spanish. My point is the Bisa are Bemba they are not distinct from the Bemba!
Tribes: a group (ESPECAILLY PRIMITIVE) of families or communities linked by social, religious or blood ties and usually having a common culture and dialect and a recognised leader.
That modern Africans (with internet access) continue to refer themselves by such deragotory anthropological words continues to baffle me. People still refer to their kings as “paramount” chiefs, ethnic groups as tribes. the bible has no tribes but nations or ethnic groups.
I guess we are still primitives
60 anonymus zed,
Actually, the word tribe comes from the latin tribare (tree trunk), and it significies the branching off from that tree trunk. It is simply the designation of a related group of clans. Many people around the world, including in Europe and around the world, are affiliated to a clan, or have clan names. There is nothing ‘primitive’ about it. In fact, the word ‘primitive’ itself is archaeic, so your argument comes down to trying to do away with one archaeic concept in defense of another.
So stop your inferiority complex, or trying to confer it to other people.
If anything, more indigenous history should be taught in schools, instead of eurocentric history.
As long as we do not hit rock-bottom we will not sort out the problem of tribalism in Zambia. Most of the things that Munshya has talked about are true. But as usual Zambians are shy of facing the truth. Politics in Zambia has become so tribal. If we had good national leaders the current constitution making would have been good opprotunity to put measures that would help solve the tribalism problem that seem to be growing by the day. The major cause of tribalism in Zambia is that a number of politicians that seek office are not smart and confident. So they use the tribal card.
On “The Bemba—Tonga pact had at the UNIP convention bitterly defeated the Lozi—Nyanja alliance. Kapwepwe was elected UNIP’s vice-President to the consternation of Kaunda and Kamanga an easterner had been defeated” I would to mention that this above history may repeat itself as the saying goes since the Lozi-Nyanja Alliance of Mr President RB Banda is now weaker than the Bemba-Tonga PACT of Mr PF/MC Sata and Hakainde Hichilema.
I just hope that this time around the Bemba-Tonga will field HH as 2011 PF-UPND PACT presidential candidate.
“… accusations that Banda has appointed more people on tribal grounds do not stand to empirical scrutiny… accusations that Banda is tribalistic may actually be a reflection of our own tribalism” is terrible analysis…
Facts remains that zambians will always have totems, clans,and tribes and tribes of zambia constitute the nation. The honour is to the person who get favoured to rule us to realise that, there is enough ingredient to separate us, hence have to do something reasonable to keep us together. Given a choice which may come if we continue on same path is to seek own governance based on tribal linkeage..we found ourselves in this messy because the british drew boundaries based on their interest forgetting that, our primitive arrangemnt are more tribal based. Am Tonga and i never thought tribal untill recently..I know alot of my tribesmen can agree with me..there is no zambia worth talking about without our huge sacrifices and inputs..like it or not we are on the move and serious, no tribal…
#6 KAPITA HAKAINDE , people hate bembas….I didn’t know that, have never noticed it and am decades old… WTF? Seriously. How did you come up with this conclusion? Is it because bembas are negro?
The best way to avoid tribal conflicts is to have a president whose born Zambian but with a foreign parent (or parents) e.g me:d
“When Chiluba came into power, the intentional and deliberate tribal balancing was effectively overruled. ….. it still remains to be answered why under Chiluba almost all parastatal chiefs had akin names—Chungu, Musenge, Musonda, Mwansa, e.t.c. From just this it may be clear that appointment on merit may have meant tribal merit as well. But even if this is the reality with Chiluba, he was never accused of playing tribal politics.”
Chiluba was a simple tribalist, an economic mismanager, a thief and muderer but he was never criticised on any of his evils for the simple reason that he was a popular President. Look how many opponents he had killed, how much he stole from Zambias etc
And these tribal Bembas, you think they will ever accept the tribal tag? Everywhere they go, they think Bemba is the better language so they are not willing to learn the tribe of the people they find where they find themselves.
Identify yourselves as Zambians and not by tribe. Most of the above contributions are only inciting tribal difference which would result in civil war. Zambia has been a very peaceful nation and we want it to remain the same – peaceful. Every person has a right to support whichever political party they identify themselves with be it MMD, PF-UPND etc but let it be on merit and not credit.
There is only one point. Tribalism in Zed is very highly emphasized among the elite(graduates, professors, etc. Education is meant to create an understanding of cultural diversity. It is not also right to label a specific tribe very tribal. I grew up in ANC camp going to school at Munali. I’m Lozi and my Aunt is married a Zulu man from Umlazi in Durban who was stationed at Lilanda camp. Young brother to my Zulu uncle called from Morroco wanting a woman to go with to RSA. Aunt organised a friend(Bemba) for marrige and today they are happy in East London. There is no tribal Bemba, Lozi, Tonga, Etc. It is individuals especially the educated guys. Let us stop this backwardness. The Bemba Aunt in East London now comunicates in Lozi bcos she speaks Sesotho which is the version of Lozi.
Interesting insights Elias! I agree with the notion that our sensitivities and gripes about other people’s supposed tribalistic tendencies is more often than not, merely a mirror of our own deep seated bigotry. I will not credit the psychological reasons pertaining to our natural social disposition to gravitate towards our own kind( i.e being same tribe in this case), because the truth is the reason we discredit and disengage from others is because of our own ‘invented’ sense of superiority. The pool of leaders to choose from has always been abominably small, and the tribal demographics must not usurp the need for these appointees to be absolutely performance driven and capable. The question of perception is important but not altogether paramount especially as far as our development…
#65, There has been very bad tribal blogging on LT. Just read through this thread, then you will understand how bad this tribal issue has become: Zambia: UPND-PF pact to elect president. Very disappointing to say the list.
What about us who have one Bemba and Lozi parents and we are proud of our heritage. our parents are not from one tribe either. So we have uncles from the copperbelt province and aunties from the North-western province. We also have inlaws who come from the Southern province. And wat about our children
How is possible for us to carry on a conversation of this nature in the presence of our relatives.
Believe it or not some of us find ourselves in this situation.