DO NOT BE CHEATED ABOUT THE BAROTSELAND AGREEMENT

DO NOT BE CHEATED ABOUT THE BAROTSELAND AGREEMENT

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