BAROTSELAND EXISTS: IT IS CALLED KWA BULOZI
By Peter Sinkamba
When a child gets inherited by foster parents, that does not imply the biological parents cease to exist. That is the key issue that confronts the Barotseland question. Zambia is a foster parent of Barotseland. The fact that Barotseland was inherited by Zambia through the Barotseland Agreement 1964. The foster parenthood of Barotseland in that manner explained above does not imply Barotseland a.k.a Bulozi ceased to exist.
The country we all cherish and call Zambia is a product of three distinct territories. The constituent territories are: North Western Rhodesia, Barotseland, and North Eastern Rhodesia.
North-Western Rhodesia was a territory administered from 1891 until 1899 under charter by the British South Africa Company (BSAC). In 1890 the BSAC signed a treaty with King Lewanika of the Barotse, one of the most powerful traditional rulers in the territory at the time. The treaty did not confer protectorate status on the territory, as only the British government could confer that status. Nonetheless, the charter gave the territory protection.
The territory consisted of the western half of present-day Zambia up to the Kafue River, its border with North-Eastern Rhodesia. Later the border between the two chartered territories was moved east, but the distinction did not have any great implications.
In 1899 North-Western Rhodesia was amalgamated with Barotseland to form Barotzeland-North-Western Rhodesia, and at that point became the official British protectorate.
North-Eastern Rhodesia was a British protectorate in south central Africa formed in 1900. The protectorate was administered under charter by the BSAC. It was one of what were colloquially referred to as the three Rhodesian protectorates, the other two being Southern Rhodesia and Barotseland-North-Western Rhodesia.
In 1911 Barotziland-North-Western Rhodesia was amalgamated with North-Eastern Rhodesia to form Northern Rhodesia. Today this is the Republic of Zambia.
If you take a look at the map presented here, the pink area represents North-Western Rhodesia and the blue area North-Eastern Rhodesia from 1905 until 1911, when they were unified. The red line denotes the border between them from 1899 to 1905. The green area is Barotseland.
I was commissioner on the Mwanakatwe Consultation Review Commission constituted in 1993. The issue of Barotseland Agreement came out prominently. I understand fully the concerns of Batu Babulozi on the Barotseland Agreement. They hold two key positions: either the Barotseland Agreement is implemented or Barotseland separates from the amalgamation of Barotzeland-North-Western Rhodesia with North-Eastern Rhodesia.
I think that these political demands are legitimate. We need to sit down in an honest manner and settle the issues.
Fortunately, we have presidents of political parties from the three regions. I am from North-Eastern Rhodesia. And I am ready to meet presidents from the other territories. Hopefully others are ready to meet for the settlement of the issues.
After the political settlement, we can meet other key stakeholders to resolve social and economic issues arising from the dispute.
I submit.
But its not a country…full stop!
Ba Sinkamba, whether Barotseland exists or not is not the issue here. The issue at hand is that there is no country called Barotseland. Yes Barotseland exists but it does not exist as a country but a Province within the unitary state of Zambia. That’s what the President meant
As senior citizen, I can see ba Sinkamba just wants to create more confusion. How do you consider yourself a president? Who bestowed that title to you and for which country?
You just want to eat? Period.
Yes, Barotse Land exists…and Namwanga Land exists , which I assume is Peter Sinkamba’s heritage..and the Hallucinating Hypocrite’s land is there , my land, but these lands are not countries..
Peter Sinkamba you are very reasonable, and you contribute positives to our national discourse, but why misrepresent the President? Let us be objective as we look at national issues…
They lie that the Barotseland Agreement of 1964 is what made Barotseland a part of Zambia! Far from the truth. The Barotseland Agreement of 1964 was a last ditch effort by a Litunga who had been disappointed by his people because MaLozi people voted against his wishes. When it was apparent that Britain was granting Independence to Northern Rhodesia Litunga Mwanawina demanded to secede from Northern Rhodesia. The British said NO. Litunga and some white settlers who didn’t want Black rule sponsored a separatist party which was called Sicaba Party which was only active in Barotse Province! The Litunga and his ruling class unleashed violence on UNIP and ANC political activists and banned them from campaigning within Barotseland. The Litunga demanded that UNIP and ANC, the two Nationalistic Independence movement parties must not field candidates in Barotseland because they could never win against the Sicaba Party!
The Governor of Northern Rhodesia told the Litunga that since he was so sure that UNIP and ANC could not win he should let them contest the elections in preparation for Independence.
Litunga Mwanawina Lubosi told the Governor that if the Nationalist Movements would lose the Elections in Barotseland, then He would have the right to secede it from Northern Rhodesia before independence takes place.
Barotseland had two Parliament seats! UNIP and ANC political activists were banned from campaigning mwa Bulozi and they had to campaign at night to avoid being lynched by the Litunga”s sponsored thugs! The Sicaba Party on the other hand were bought a Land Rover and funded to the tune of £240, which was a lot of money back then for campaigns! Despite the fact that the Litunga”s preferred Sicaba Party was campaigning freely throughout Barotseland in a Land Rover and had money to bribe voters with, while UNIP and ANC were banned from holding any campaign meetings in the Barotse Province, the two UNIP candidates, Mubiana Nalilungwe and Arthur Ñututluti Wina won with massive landslide victories.
In 1963 demands were made that the Katengo should be made an elective body instead of having appointed representatives! Elections were organized and planned for January 1964. Again the Litunga and his ruling class at Namuso (Lyaaluyi) backed the Sicaba regionalist party and demanded that if it won those Katengo Élections, then Barotseland would march to independence as a separate country! Again the results were a disaster for the Litunga Mwanawina 3. UNIP which was banned from campaigning within Barotseland again scooped all the 25 Katengo seats!
That UNIP victory is what killed the Litunga Mwanawina’s secession wishes. The people of Bulozi had spoken through the Ballot that they wanted to be part of the Nation of Zambia. The people of Bulozi outright rejected their Litunga”s selfish motivés by voting against the Litunga’s wish. Because the Sicaba Party failed to win even a single seat in the Katengo Mwanawina had no moral standing to demand for Secession. Mwanawina was using those elections as a referendum for him to secede if the Nationalist Movements lost against his preferred Sicaba party! To his disappointment the United National Independence Party (UNIP) which was the party he hated the most won both the Katengo and Parliamentary Elections with landslides.
The Malozi had stabbed their Litunga in the back. Mwanawina was stranded because his desire was thwarted by his own people through the ballot. Following this disappointment, Mwanawina appealed to the Secretary for the Colonies on how to preserve his rights and privileges under the new Government! The newly elected near future Prime Minister of soon to be independent Northern Rhodesia, Kenneth Kaunda and Litunga Sir Mwanawina were invited to England where the Barotseland greement was signed.
Contrary to what the Secession propagandists tell you the Barotseland Agreement was not a marriage certificate between Barotseland and Zambia. Barotseland was already an integral part of Zambia (Former Northern Rhodesia). What the Barotseland Agreement did was to safeguard Mwanawina’s selfish interests which he failed to secure through his Sicaba Party. The Agreement gave Mwanawina powers to have his own taxation system, powers over management of forests, etc. The Agreement did not create Zambia. Zambia already existed as Northern Rhodesia – one entity that was governed by one Governor representing. Barotseland was simply a Protectorate within that Colony of Northern Rhodesia!
You may be wondering why the MaLozi voted against the wishes of their Litunga and chose to back one of the Nationalist Movements instead of the Sicaba Party! According to my late grandfather, The MaLozi people didn’t want to be indirectly colonized by the White Settlers from Southern Rhodesia (Now Zimbabwe) Those white settlers are the ones who bought the Land Rover and provided the £240 for the Sicaba Party. By voting for the Sicaba Party, the MaLozi people would have sold Barotseland to the financiers of that regionalist party who would obviously want to reap some benefits from the victory of the party they sponsored! The other reason was that the majority MaLozi never ascribed to Litunga Mwanawina’s desire to secede Barotseland from the rest of the country. Third, the Litunga received massive financial support from the UK government which benefited only the Litungas and their immediate families and dependants and not the majority MaLozi people! In short our Litungas have been selfish, self centered gluttonous manipulators who used those financial resources on themselves and those close to them. And this is the case to date. The educated MaLozi back then felt that if that selfish clique was given the opportunity to handle their affairs, the status quo would remain!
That is the History they don’t want you to know! The BA 1964 was not a marriage between Zambia and Bulozi! The BA 1964 was a desperate attempt by a Litunga who had lost the support of his people to salvage some economic authority!
You may be wondering why Kaunda signed it. UNIP was in a hurry to free this country from colonial rule. The Litunga’s manœuvres were delaying the march towards independence!
DON’T BE CHEATED.
Even those saying if they attained Political Power, they would restore the Agreement are liars! If you read that agreement you’d notice that it indirectly creates a “state within a state”, and no president will ever grant that, not even a Mulozi President will tolerate it
Correct Bo Lubosi…but the Chief of the Malozi, the Litunga and his indunas don’t want to face the truth..
They misrepresent and fraudlently peddle a faulty Barotse Land Agreement …I observed
the ignorance of some Ma Lozi in some place…he was saying the whole DRC and Namibia belongs to Malozi…
And when Hakainde loses elections in 2026, with the tribal Zealotry he resurrected,
I see a difficult Zambia ahead…
Wake up Lozis. The Litunga and his gang are not advocating for democracy, or for your freedom to choose your leaders or for you one day to become leaders of that province, they are advocating for a dictatorship where ONLY they rule you own you and own the ground you walk on. They are selfish greedy people who think they are better than you because of the womb they came from. Sickening and retrogressive and archaic. Everything they advocating a world of yesterday with zero plans but full of greed.
This Sinkamba was not yet born by 1964. He doesn’t know the History of this Land. Let him get history as it used to be in those days when we used to learn pure History then he will understand.
If we talk of Barotseland, we had Mankoyaland which stretched from western through Northwestern province, we could talk of Lengeland etc
Barotseland was not called so but Barotseland protectorate through an agreement between them and British which covered the parts you have mentioned.
Barotse protectrate covered vast land. Today I don’t hear any more like we do with Gawa Undi covering Mozambique, Malawi and Zambia. Today Bulozi is only heard covering Western Province and if to reclaim the title of full Barotseland, one has to think of Zimbabwe, Botswana, Namibia and Angola then majority land covering 5 provinces – Western, Northwestern, Copper belt, Central and Southern probably this will educate us all. If this is captured then I would say thanks a lot.
Period Ba Chisenga. Now these people want to engage in a debate about a land that extends beyond Zambia. Are they sure its a battle they want to start? Do they have they resources to fight that legal battle?
1. Some Association came out makng noise suggesting they were speaking for the Litunga on the issue. They were not.
2. The Litunga and his royal establishment have a set of rules as to who can speak on his behalf. Its is said they met and the Prime Minister of Lozi tribal council (BRE) gave us a statement as to what they resolved. So why were those noise makers making noise? Why didnt they go to BRE and raise their issue there? So the BRE are arranging to meet HH over his statement. And rightly there is NO COUNTRY called Barosteland. There is an area we refer to as Baroste and we know as Western Province which is part of Zambia but there is no country called Barosteland.
4. People want to bring in historical maps and those maps show that the said territory extends beyond national boundaries of Zambia. What happens then? The Litunga will go to Bostwana, Nambia and Angola to suggest land that extends beyond land that the whites defined before independence? Why didnt the Litunga raise this when the whites were setting out national boundaries?
Secondly, the Barosteland agreement was between the Zambian government on one part, the Litunga on the other and the British government. So what happens to the land beyond Zambia? Is that land a lost cause? Similarly other tribes that the Litunga suggests are his subjects will turn and say. How? We have our own chiefs. Then what? Does he have the capacity to compel them to be his subjects?
This whole debacle is like South Africa’s quest to get the ICJ to compel Isreal to stop a war HAMAS started. Isreal was invaded. They didnt go into Palestaine? And Isreal has just cause to wage that war. The people of Palestine are the ones that are suffering cause they allowed a terrorist organisation to rule them when they could have rebled against its dictatirial and terrorist traits.
Malians are being slaughter by the same folks they rose up to support against an elected government.
Whatever Judgement/ruling that the IJC made is 1. Just rubbling devoide of enforcability. 2. The said organ of the UN that they ask to enforce the judgement is the Security Council which has no army of its own and will ask member to subscribe people to enforce tge ruling. And this costs money. Who will pay? The US? Seriously?
So let wait and hear what the BRE representitives will discuss with HH and what will come out of that meeting, cause if I was HH I would ask them, you said I insulted you, please explain how?
Is telling you that there is no country called Barosteland and insult? There is Western Province, unless they advocating for the name of the Province to be changed, but what will that prove? The people there want development. And he is doing everything he can to do so. And not just the Western Province but Zambia as a whole. They had their fair last year to attract develepment. What happened? If it failed let them have a brain storming session to examing who what where went wrong why didnt investors show up? Than dreadging history and claims that wont bring development. Secondly, dont think people will change for you when you are the problem. Aka Atitude
What kind of dullness is this?yes it does exist but there is no country called Barotseland in this world.
HH looks educated but I have now doubted his wisdom. There was no need for him to have casually commented on this issue the way he did addressing a Permanent Secretary. His statement may be true but look at what it has raised. Unnecessary tension!
So what HH said is not factual? Tell us what country is called Barosteland?
Bo Lungwe we need to stop pretending and sugar coating things. HH dealt with the elephant in the room. Dark corner meetings can mumble things and think OP isnt hearing. They hear, record and document. Their role is not decide a course of action.
You the lozis made noise through your association claiming the Litunga sent them. Yet not. Lets not have hooligans misrepresent the Litunga. The Litunga only, later set up his kuta and they have reaolved to confornt HH. And He is going to ask them where a country called Barosteland is? If they have serious issues to raise believe me he will have a serious and productive conversation with them. A conversation that will help address the issues that they will raise. Bringing up issues about national boundaries are not an immediate concern that are faced by the people of the Western Province. Those are Zambians who live in Western Province as far as us Zambians are concerned. They are a part of us. This Barostelamd issue is just something some instigator wants to agitate to bring division among Zambians so that while you are fighting, they are looting. Period. HH ali che!