BRIEF POLITICAL HISTORY OF ZAMBIA

Part 1- 1912-1964

By Amb. Emmanuel Mwamba

1912- Donald Siwale and David Kaunda (father to former President Kenneth Kaunda) form the first welfare society; Mwenzo Welfare Association based in Mwenzo near Nakonde. Mwenzo was a protestant missionary station.

1929-1931- Welfare Association formed in Livingstone, Kitwe, Broken Hill(Kabwe), and Ndola.

The Welfare associations articulated African grievances such as poor housing, poor sanitation, lack of clean water, and sought for colonial authority to address an acute shortage of clinics and hospitals.

1937- the first political party formed in Kafue; The Northern Rhodesia African Congress. Colonial authority denied its registration.

1938- Native Authority Council Councils (African Urban Advisory Council) advisory bodies formed by colonial authority to involve educated Africsn elites in local government across the country. The advisory councils elected representatives to provincial councils.

1948- The Africa National Congress ( Northern Rhodesia Africa National Congress) was formed in Kitwe with Godwin Mbikusita Lewanika as its first leader. Welfare associations in Chinsali, Livingstone, Ndola and Broken Hill among others became branches of the new political party. Although working as a proletariat, Godwin Mbikusita Lewanika was the fourth son and heir of King Lubosi Lewanika, of Barotseland.

1949- Northern Rhodesian African Mineworkers’ Union formed with Lawrence Chola Katilungu as President.

1951- The Northern African National Congress elects Harry Mwaanga Nkumbula as President. 100 traditional authorities in attendance agreed to raise money to send a joint delegation to London in 1952 to protest against the proposed federation of Nyasaland, Northern and Southern Rhodesia.

The party is renamed African National Congress(ANC).

The Federation had its most prestigious project, the hydro-electric dam.

The ANC was banned in Gwembe Valley where the new hydro-electric dam was to be built which would create the world’s largest artificial dam and would displace over tens of thousands of people.

1953- Kenneth Kaunda becomes Secretary General of the ANC.

1953- The Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland (also known as the Central African Federation (CAF) comprising the colonies of Southern Rhodesia, Northern Rhidesia and Nyasaland.

1954- ANC organised first a boycot against European owned butchering that were serving africans on a separate window.

1955- Nkumbula and Kaunda were jailed for two months for distributing “subversive material”. After the prison experience, Nkumbula took a Liberal approach while Kaunda was radicalised.

1955- Simon Mwansa Kapwepwe acts as ANC President when the two leaders were in federal prison.
1958- the Zambian African Congress (ZANC) is formed as a split to the ANC by Kenneth Kaunda and others.

1959- ZANC was banned in March 1959 and Kaunda was in June imprisoned for eighteen months.

1959- while Kaunda was in prison, the United National Independence Party(UNIP) was formed by lawyer, Mainza Chona.

1960- Kaunda is released and takes the leadership of UNIP. He also takes a more militant approach and UNIP quickly becomes more organised and becomes the dominant party in Northern Rhodesia.

1960- Independence negotiations begin in earnest with Kaunda taking centre stage.

1962- the 1962 see UNIP sweep election but Harry Mwaanga Nkumbula holds the balance of power between the white United Federal Party(UFP) and UNIP.

Despite having a working relationship with the UFP, Mwaanga chooses a coalition with UNIP.

1964- UNIP wins a landslide with 55 seats out of 75.

1964-Kaunda becomes Prime Minister and leads the country to Independence.

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