BAROTSELAND ISSUE IS VERY SENSITIVE, HH MUST STICK TO WRITTEN TEXT – CHANGALA
By Thomas Ngala
THE Barotseland Agreement has been used by many politicians while in opposition to lure the Lozi vote by promising them to do
what others have not done, and Mr Hakainde Hichilema is no exception, says Brebner Changala.
Changala, the human rights defender, advised President Hichilema to always
learn to stick to the written text and not to digress into saying things off-the-cuff.
He warned that President Hichilema willone day plunge the country in chaos.
“The Barotseland issue is a very sensitive issue which has seen almost six presidents failing to make a clear statement or direction on how
that matter should be resolved. The reason is simple,” he told
The Mast. “Zambia is a unitary state and the Barotseland Agreement was abrogated
somewhere in 1965/69, when the Barotseland was turned into Western Province and they were meant to rejoin the local government system of the entire republic of Zambia without the full consultation of the participants in the agreement.”
He said the reason the matter lasted close to 60 years, without much acrimony, had been
because of steady statesmanship by those who were in power before President Hichilema.
Changala said President Hichilema has arrogantly forgotten those promises regarding the matter without considering the repercussions.
“Because he thinks and is fully convinced that he is wielding state power which can crush anybody…forgetting that the seat has enormous
responsibilities other than power and the responsibilities are to maintain peace, unity and national development in diversity,” he said. “As to
whether Mr Hakainde Hichilema must apologize, that is neither here nor there. And he is playing a mickey mouse
game.
The information I have is that he first sent the director general of intelligence to go and see the Litunga, but it failed. Then only last week, he sent a delegation headed by honourable Situmbeko Musokotwane and it failed. And it failed in a manner where it is
now very clear that they have no trust for him. They have asked the government, the new dawn administration, Mr Hakainde Hichilema, that all communications to the Barotseland must be written, not verbal.”
He added that “they (government) must put whatever they want to discuss
with the Indunas, with the Litunga and with the Kuta in writing because they want to keep their record because
verbal promises are always
broken as it were”.
“So, my advice to this new dawn administration is to take stock of what the President said and the reaction from Western
Province,” said Changala.
On Monday, former prime minister of Barotseland Clement Sinyinda resigned as a member of the Teaching Service Commission over the
President’s statement.
In a letter to President Hichilema, Sinyinda said he found the latter’s statement that
“there is no country called Barotseland” disrespectful to the Litunga, Kuta and the people of Barotseland.
“Following your statement which you issued when you were addressing the permanent secretaries for the republic of Zambia on the 18th January at Mulungushi Conference Centre in which you said and I quote, PS Akapelwa there is no country called Western
Province or Barotseland’ I had to ponder and wait to hear whether you would be remorseful enough to apologise to the Litunga, Kuta and indeed the people of Barotseland but alas I haven’t heard anything. To that effect I consider this as
being disrespectful to Litunga, Kuta and the people of Barotseland,” stated Sinyinda.
“As a result of this I have decided to resign from your government as a commissioner from the Teaching Service Commission and go back to my people and country Barotseland with Immediate effect. I, Clement W. Sinyinda would like to thank you for giving me the opportunity to serve as a member of the Teaching Service Commission.”
If you have read the agreement and understood it, it clearly indicates Barotseland becoming part of the new nation of Zambia.
It is misleaders like you who send people down the wrong path, down the wrong narrative simply because you want to eat.
Ba Changala, we have heard what the people would want to know and also what the Litunga and his clique would not want as to hear. Tell this nation Zambia, is there a country known as Barotseland?
The problem I have found with you Changala is that, what you know and say is right not what others say.
All about Barotseland, has been said and in my view these are games by PF and others Meembe inclusive trying trying to device the country.
Clearly this is treason HH is just being soft with his causins, but clear treason the way it has been done.
Yes we would love to be but the truth of the matter is do the Western Province people want to be cut off from the rest of big Zambia?
Not even a Western Province resident will say a Western Province is a Nation. We may ague in-between the lines but the truth is Zambia is one and Western Province is part of it.
Ba Changala, there’s nothing sensitive about stating the obvious. We know that some of the people including the so called King of the BRE are being used for politicking! Kanaka, PF and M’membe are part of the people. This is because they have nothing to offer in their politics. What they should know is that this can affect the whole country. Most of these people are failures in life, they think if they succeed then they can became leaders and start living on people’s labour. If you have nothing to contribute or offer, the wisest thing you can do is keep quiet.
The reason Zambia is in this predicament today is because most of us Zambians do not want accept the truth. Truth is truth whether we like it or not it still remains truth. It never yields no bends but it always remains truth. Abrogation of Barosteland Agreement had consequences, all the Presidents that ruled b4 HH where evasive over the matter.
The Barotse people have legitimate concerns which they will always emerge victorious in any competent còurt . The statement made by HH was insensitive to the people of Barosteland. Barotse people or Western province have avered that they can live without Zambia but on the other hand Zambia cant survive without the Barotse people. Zambia would fall apart, That is why this matter needs to be resolved with utmost wisdom.
Mr. Changala, we know you as an Activist but we shall now start calling you an Alarmist. Why should an agreement of 1964 still remain sensitive almost 60 years after it was signed? Are you not just alarming people for nothing? Moreover, this is not the first time for the President to differ with a Royal Establishment, I am sure you still remember how late Michael Sata had differed with the Bemba Royal Establishment (BRE), he never wanted the current Mwine Lubemba to be enthroned because he was in favour of a different person of whom I won’t go into details now. Those issues were equally sensitive if you want to call them that way, are they not the ones which made GBM to resign from government just the way Sinyinda has done? But we are happy that eventually they were resolved and everything was normalized. So it’s our prayer that the current differences between the President and the Barotseland Royal Establishment (BRE) will be amicably resolved. We just need mature and sincere leaders and not alarmists like you. I have said it before and I want to say it again, to anyone who has read the Barotseland Agreement, it’s written in plain English and clearly states its terms and conditions contained in it. For the sake of those who have not read it, this is what some parts say;
“This Agreement is made this eighteenth day of May, 1964 between KENNETH DAVID KAUNDA, Prime Minister of Northern Rhodesia of the one part and SIR MWANAWINA LEWANIKA THE THIRD, K.B.E., Litunga of Barotseland, acting on behalf of himself, his heirs and successors, his council, and the chiefs and people of Barotseland of the other party is signed by the Right Honorable Duncan Sandys, M.P Her Majesty’s principal secretary of state for common wealth relations and for the colonies, to signify the approval of her majesty’s government in the United Kingdom of the arrangements entered into between the parties to this agreement and recorded therein. Whereas it was proposed that the northern Rhodesia shall become an independent sovereign state to be known as the republic of Zambia. And whereas it is the wish of the government of northern Rhodesia and of the Litunga of Barotseland, his council and the chiefs and people of Barotseland that northern Rhodesia should proceed to independence as one country and that all its peoples should be one nation.”
And where, as having regard to the fact that all treaties and other agreements subsisting between her majesty the queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and The Litunga of Barotseland will terminate when Northern Rhodesia becomes an independent sovereign republic and her majesty’s government in the United Kingdom will there upon cease to have any responsibility for the government of Rhodesia including Barotseland. Itis the wish of the government of northern Rhodesia and of The Litunga of Barotseland to enter into arrangements concerning the position of Barotseland as part of the republic of Zambia to the place of the treaties and other agreements hitherto subsisting between Her Majesty the Queen and The Litunga of Barotseland:
“NOW THIS AGREEMENT WITNESSETH and it is hereby agreed between the said Kenneth David Kaunda, Prime Minister of Northern Rhodesia, on behalf of the government of Northern Rhodesia and the said Sir Mwanawina Lewanika the Third, K.B.E., Litunga of Barotseland on behalf of himself, his heirs and successors, his Council and the chiefs and the people of Barotseland as follows:
1. Citation and commencement
“This agreement may be cited as the Barotseland Agreement 1964 and shall come into force on the day on which Northern Rhodesia, including Barotseland, becomes the independent sovereign Republic of Zambia.”
From the paragraphs I have quoted above, and to my own understanding, there is nothing sensitive here, unless people like Mr. Changala and others don’t want to hear the facts about the Barotseland Agreement. In the same Barotseland Agreement, it is clearly stated that Northern Rhodesia should proceed to independence as one country and that all its peoples should be one nation. It was also agreed that the Barotseland Agreement would come into force on the day which Northern Rhodesia, including Barotseland becomes independent sovereign Republic of Zambia in this case, 24th October, 1964. If I may ask again, where is the sensitivity here? Where is the confusion coming from? Is it not just in some people’s heads who have chosen not to understand and accept the plain facts in the Barotseland Agreement. Perhaps the only mistake Kaunda and the Litunga made was to change the name Northern Rhodesia to Zambia and leave Western Province as Barotseland when it was already joined to the newly independent Zambia as one nation. The two names; Zambia and Western Province should have come at the same time and on the same day. The same minute Northern Rhodesia became Zambia, Barotseland also should have simultaneously changed to Western Province, that way, much of this confusion we have now could not have been there. Some people get confused because when they saw the name Barotseland unchanged in the independent Zambia, they felt that Barotseland had remained as a country within a country, a notion which was wrong. The other mistake Kaunda made was to change the name without consulting the other party, and instead of going back to the same agreement, he decided to use an act of Parliament which now appeared to be an abrogation of the Agreement in the eyes of the people of Barotseland. In my opinion, the changing of the name for the Province and other towns should have come through an addendum to the Agreement. However, the same Barotseland Agreement states that any question concerning the interpretation of this Agreement may be referred by the Government of the Republic of Zambia to the High Court of the Republic for consideration (in which case the opinion thereon of the Court shall be communicated to that Government and to the Litunga of Barotseland and his Council) and any such question.”
Lozi is one tribe which is very rich in terms of Lawyers and Judges, for example we have Situmbeko Chocho, Timothy Katenekwa, Kenneth Mulife, Sililo Siloka, Sakwiba Sikota, Nelly Muti and many others. All these people together with other Zambian Lawyers can help us to interpret this Barotseland Agreement and resolve it once and for all. A child of two years at the time of signing the Agreement could be the one resolving it after a 60-year impasse between the Zambian Government and the people of Barotseland.
There is no country on the world map called Barotseland!
Which map are you using?
It’s the Barotse Demigods who want to preoccupy us with dead issues!
Don’t you dare trying to outshine Gaza!
No piece of Zambia is on offer!
It’s One Zambia and One nation!
On this one, our Soldiers are ready to protect the territorial integrity of Zambia!
Barotse is only in the minds of a few ancients about to kick the bucket!
It won’t happen!
It remains a fool’s pipedream!
If you don’t want to co-exist with other tribes, yet you call yourselves Christians, you are worse than Lucifer!
Repent!
It is very sensitive to jobless men like you and the chatterers from the WP who know little or nothing at all about the BA which they misinterpret to mean an agreement to make another country. STUPID IDIOTS. Get a life bangwele.
So its sensitive? How? It seems this discussion of a Province is only being discussed with Zambia. Why are they not having the same conversation with Namibia, Bostwana and Angola? We dont here them having such a discussion.
To me we are dealing with a group of immature people that are not forthright.
As suggested here, there are people instigating this non issue. To what cause & benefit? I honestly doubt if some of the said tribes that the Lozis want to drag into this issue will agree to leave with them, the Lenje-Swakas through Shakafuswa have made that clear. And this maybe just be the tip of the iceburg.