Search for Senior Chief Mweemba’s Successor reaches deadlock

Succession process for the installation of Senior Chief Mweemba in Sinazongwe district has reached a deadlock as four people have sprung up all claiming to be the rightful heir. 

The four people that include Fason Shamu, Lason Syasokwe, Joe Siakalonga, and Bishop Siatwiinda have written to Sinazongwe Council claiming that they were elected by their electoral college to succeed Senior Chief Mweemba who died in September this year. 

However, one aspirant to the throne of Senior Chief Mweemba Bishop Siatwiinda collapsed and died two weeks ago. 

Sinazongwe District Council Secretary Oliver Muuka confirmed at meeting held for groups claiming to succeed Senior Chief Mweemba that they all wrote to the local authority seeking to be recognised as the rightful successor.  

“My office received four submissions from you, and you all said to have been elected as chiefs by your Baleya clan and unfortunately one who wrote died,” Mr. Muuka said. 

He told the three groups that if they failed to come up with one rightful successor they risked delaying development in their earlier and it would also take time for the president to recognise the rightful chief. 

Mr. Muuka said it was the clan that was responsible for choosing the chief and then they forward one to the local authority to look at their minutes to scrutinise on how the process was conduct. Fason Shamu one of the aspirant successors told the meeting that they were not related with the other groups as they were trying to hijack the chiefdom. 

“You have done well to call us we are not related if we were related we should have worked as one family to choose one chief as it is these people are trying to confuse the process,” Mr. Shamu said.Mr. Shamu who also took the late Senior Mweemba to High Court for allegedly ascending to the throne illegally appealed for help to find the lasting solution to the problem. 

Mr. Siakalonga also said that they were not working as one and accused Lason Syasokwe to have hijacked the process claiming that while they were mourning the death of   Senior Chief Mweemba  Syasokwe organised head men to install him as the successor. 

He explained that during the last installation of the late Senior Chief Mweemba who died in September the High Court ruled in their favour and the chiefdom is still with them. 

Mr. Syasokwe said the family trees were there for the people to scrutinise and they would find that at this time he is the one who was supposed to ascend to the throne. 

“The only way to solve this problem was to look at the family tree, you can go to court or anywhere but you find that now am the one to succeed,” Syasokwe said. 

Sinazongwe District Commissioner Laven Apuleni, said at the moment there was no chief installed as far as government was concerned until the groups agree on one person to be successor.Mr. Apuleni said since the two groups have failed to come to the negotiating table the Council would write to the house of Chiefs to seek for the intervention of the Royal foundation to scrutinise the family trees to come up with the rightful Chief.