YOUTH DAY CHI M’POSA MABWE (STONE THROWER)
By Nkonkomalimba M Kapumpe
Do you know why we celebrate Youth day in Zambia on 12 March? Its not because of your age or UN.
This is the day UNIP youths lead by Alexander Chikwanda fought running battles with the imperialist police in 1962 in Kitwe. They had nothing but sticks and stones, a great number of them were killed and many gravely injured that day.
The spirit of Mundia Sipalo, Omello Mumba, Justin Kangwa, Chandwe Musonda and many others too numerous to mention continues in Economic Freedom Fighters today. Without them sacrificing including their lives, we wouldn’t be here today.
The plan was hatched in Ndola to attack the Kaundas’ who were housed at Mr Mutemba’s residence in Chimwemwe opposite Mindolo Police Station on the Kitwe Chingola road. As they hatched the plan, one of the native (Zambian) cleaners earsdropped on the plan and alerted the youth after knocking off at 17 hours.
The plan was to be implemented in the early hours of the following morning. So at 18 hrs, the youth led by abena Alexander Bwalya Chikwanda (ABC) and others walked from Ndola to Kitwe and arrived around midnight were they alerted and evacuated the UNIP leadership of KK and Co from the Mutemba residence.
And according to plan, the colonial forces besieged the Chimwemwe house at 03 hrs and petrol bombed it and sprayed bullets to ensure not a soul occupying the place lived. Luckily, the house was unoccupied as everyone was already evacuated by the youth.
Come day break, KK and Co were to hold a public rally in Chimwemwe where they were to among other things, expose the colonial masters.
Sensing embarrassment, the colonial regime decided to invoke the infamous POA and unleashed the entire Kamfinsa Para Military Mobile Unit to contain and disrupt the Chimwemwe rally which was to be…. The mother of all rallies.
Determined to protect their leadership and allow for the public rally to take place, the youth went into town and caused serious havoc; they disrupted normal business and put stones, rocks and dust bins onto the roads.
This diverted the attention of police from going to Chimwemwe and instead they went into the town centre where they ran battles with the youth.
Unfortunately, all our youth only had stones as weapons while the colonial police opened live ammunition killing youths in their numbers.
They killed them, but still in their numbers they kept fighting and dying.
Meanwhile, at the Chimwemwe rally, KK announced that the rally was taking place at the sacrifice of young people who were being killed in town just so they could hold the rally. KK announced and promised at the rally that, should independence come, that day, March 12 will be remembered and commemorated as YOUTH DAY.
Hence at the UNIP Central Committee meeting held at Kwacha House in 1966 (Two years after independence) it was decreed that March 12 be a public holiday and r emembered as Youth Day.
Further, a statue was erected in the middle of Kitwe CBD known as the “Chi M’posa Mabwe” (stone thrower) that remains so to date depicting the day the Youth fought with nothing but stones against gun bullets.
Today we remember, thank and salute the gallant youth of 1962.
So I ask, how dare you shun such an important day, how dare you take to drinking, insulting and engaging in acts of violence on such an important day, what do you think you are?
They played their part and fought for political independence, it is time for you the youth of 2020’s to play your part too and fight for Economic freedom.
Economic Freedom fighters