DID YOU KNOW:
THAT AT THE DAWN OF ZAMBIA’S INDEPENDENCE, ONLY 800 ZAMBIANS HELD PASSPORTS? 🌍✈️
Imagine holding passport number 800!
That was the reality for Dennis Figov—a man whose life was deeply woven into the very fabric of the Copperbelt, and Luanshya in particular.
He was a Zambian of Jewish origin. His deep local roots began with his father, Harry Figov, who first arrived in Zambia in 1922 to establish trading stores and participate in the early, pioneering mining activities that shaped the region.
Before Dennis became a legendary philanthropist, a beloved auctioneer, and the final pillar of a once-thriving community of 300 Jewish families in Luanshya, he made history.
He served as the last mayor of Northern Rhodesia (1963-1964) and seamlessly transitioned to become the first Zambian mayor of Luanshya after independence, serving from 1964 to 1965.
From a childhood surrounded by mud-walled trading stores to receiving community service awards from founding President Dr. Kenneth Kaunda, Figov’s life was a masterclass in Zambian history, resilience, and deep-seated benevolence.
Dive into this exclusive and captivating excerpt from the newly released book: Conversations with Memorable Personalities, Part 2 (2026). By Amos Malupenga, Pages 297 – 308. 👇
Amos Malupenga: To begin with, who is Dennis Figov?
Dennis Figov: I don’t use it, but my first name is Alfred, then Dennis Figov. My parents liked the name Dennis, so everybody calls me Dennis. No one calls me Alfred.
I was born in February 1932. I was conceived in Bwana Mkubwa [in Ndola city] but my
mother went down and had me in Johannesburg because the doctors here were not that good in those days.
I was back here [in Zambia] when I was two weeks old.
This was the time when there was a depression at Bwana Mkubwa mine, so my parents
moved to Kitwe when Nkana [mine] was opened up.
My father, Harry, died when I was 13 but my mother died … in 1992. My father
was born in England. His father came to East London up to Bulawayo [in Zimbabwe].
He started working for his uncle as a cowboy, looking after his cattle in Matabeleland.
Then he heard that copper had been discovered in Luanshya and Bwana Mkubwa and he thought of coming up to open a trading store.
I saw the pictures of the trading store, but I don’t have them anymore. It was of mud walls and a thatched roof. My mother’s house was of mud walls and a thatched roof.
Malupenga: Which year was this?
Figov: My father came here in 1922, but I was born in 1932.
In 1935, my parents moved to Nkana because Bwana Mkubwa was not to be reopened. That year, the township of Kitwe was opened, and my father bought the first non-government house in Kitwe, which is now the Company Clinic in Kitwe. …
When my father moved to Kitwe, he applied to continue trading. There were only four
shops at the time, and only four traders were allowed to trade.
My father applied for a trading licence but didn’t get it. However, the man who worked for him received a licence. He went down to see somebody in Lusaka.
Malupenga: I hear that you were the first mayor of Luanshya?
Figov: I was the first Zambian mayor of Luanshya. There were four mayors before me.
Malupenga: When was this?
Figov: 1963, 64 before independence and after independence in 64 and 65. So I was the last mayor in Northern Rhodesia and the first Zambian mayor because I became a Zambian in 1964.
My first passport was number 800. Not many people had passports. Seven hundred and
ninety-nine Zambians had passports before I got mine. …”
***
Picture captions:
1. President Kenneth Kaunda greets Dennis Figov, circa 1968;
2. Dennis Figov and his wife Maureen standing beside the signage in Luanshya
on the road named in honor of his father, Harry Figov, who established the family’s roots in the Copperbelt in 1922.
***
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