GOVERNMENT is in the process of retrieving the skull of Broken Hill man from the British Government.
Deputy Chiefs and Traditional Affairs minister Susan Kawandami told parliament that her ministry was working in collaboration with the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) to retrieve the Broken Hill skull which was discovered in Kabwe, Zambia in 1981 but was taken to England.
She was responding to a question from PF Kabwe central MP James Kapyanga who wanted to find out whether the Government was considering retrieving the skull of Broken Hill man in parliament yesterday.
Several attempts had been made in the past to retrieve the skull but the British Government was reluctant to give back the skull saying it did not interfere with the museum board in England where it was being kept.
The Zambian Government was using the diplomatic approach and was working with the Inter-Governmental organisation of UNESCO to retrieve the skull from England.
The skull would be kept at the mining museum in Kabwe, along with other artifacts. The museum would be built at a cost of US$2m or K13bn which would be raised through fundraising.
Earlier opposition MPs quizzed Government on what progress had been made in redesigning of the 1958 chiefdom boundaries.
This followed a question for oral answer raised by Solwezi West MMD MP Humphrey Mwanza who wanted to find out what was hindering the redesignation of the chiefdom boundaries.
Ms Kawandami informed the House that her ministry was still consulting with the surveyor General’s office to implement the programme but was quick to say that the project would delay because of the huge budgetary costs involved.
But Mr Mwanza said it was unacceptable for Government to continue delaying the redesignation of the chiefdom boundaries despite having a map.
Ikelengi MMD MP Elijah Muchima wondered why Government was not prioritising the redesignation of chiefdom boundaries.
Chembe MMD MP Mwansa Mbulakulima said that it was sad that in the Copperbelt, ourt of 15 chiefdoms, more than 10 were involved in boundary disputes and urged Government to quickly address those problems.
Mwandi MMD MP Michael Kaingu said the 1958 map was there and so there should be no challenge in sorting out the disputes. He further called for a new map.
Leader of Government business Yamfwa Mukanga said Government had taken note of tyhe boundary disputes and would in the next one year work at sorting them out.
The House also heard that Government had set aside US$2.5m to build a university at King Lewanika university in western province.
This followed a question for oral answer posed to the Ministry of Education by Sikongo MMD MP Mundia Ndalamei who wanted to find out when the construction of the said University would commence.
Education, Science, Vocational Training and Early Childhood Training Minister John Phiri said a contractor had since been identified and K160m released for the project.
While you’re at it go to Paris and retrive the stolen Zambian artifacts i found in a Paris Museum!!
I’m going back to bed now bakolwe!!
The PF like disturb the dead. I hope they will not claim Sata’s skull too.
And also retrieve THE HORSE AND RIDER statue from Zimbabwe which used to be at the High Court roundabout in Lusaka. It was emotionally sent to Rhodesia by Kaunda in the 1960s.
The classic statue is a replica of those in Cape Town & Bloemfontein in South Africa. The three depict Cecil John Rhodes ambitions of building the British empire from Cape to Cairo [that is why the main street in Lusaka is called CAIRO ROAD].
Up to a few months after Zimbabwe’s independence, the Zambian statue was freely standing in the gardens of Harare City Council Revenue Hall on Samora Machel Avenue opposite Harare Polytechnic (or next to Sheraton Hotel, or ZANU-PF hqs).
I am told this statue is hidden in the National Archives in Harare. Get back this historic statue.
@Nostradamus MDB2014 (Most Demented Blogger)
Your skull has a big crack in it. You need to be “retrieved” from sane society.
Kikikikikikiki that Yamfwa Mukanga chipuba. How can he say PF plan to redraw chiefdom maps next year. Why is dreaming there will be a PF next year?
please retrieve it and dont call it broken hill man once we get it. lets call it the kabwe man. enough of using these white peoples terminologies and enough of giving them our historical relics.
I say let the skull remain in Britain, at least we know IT IS there. If it is brought back, I can guarantee you that it will disappear and resurface somewhere in China, with Chinese claiming that it is their ancestor. In the meantime someone will be smiling with his pockets full of Chinese crispy dollars….just saying
It is a world of possibilities, I agree with you, it does not add any value whichever way you look at it. No more demons please.
How do you know if what is desplayed in Britain is the original? After so many years overseas, it would not surprise me we are handed a counterfeit while the authentic skull remains in England.
Just Google the fate of The Ark of The Covenant and you will see what I mean. There are at least 3 seperate organisations in 3 different countries claiming possession of the “real” ark!
Moral: if you welcome the wrong man in your house, even your children may end up his.
@PFLeader
No wonder you chaps are losing the election landslide. With that kind of thinking you are helping us realize that we have wrong chaps in govt. We have many other relics in our museums, how come they are not in China?
Broken Hill Man needs to be handled with more universality than national fervor. It is recurrent issue that requires professional handling. It is quite possible for BHM to make tours around the world, especially Zambia the home country. However, keeping BHM in the country permanently is likely to result in a rotten artifact that will lose value. The conditions that BHM needs to survive include uninterrupted power supply, air conditioning, dust free environment, constant care by professional curators, steady stream of viewers at maximum numbers to generate enough interest and revenue, etc. Please, take time to reach Develoed Country levels of museology before moving the BHM back home.
@Dr. Makasa Kasonde (Private Citizen)
I always admire your levelheadedness in most of your posts but I disagree with you on this one. Even if we hung that skull in some primitive tree in an abandoned building it will not rot and it will not lose value. As you may be aware, bones do not rot. If you dig up the grave of King Herod you will still find his bones, so forget about advanced “museology” to preserve a bony artifact!
Don’t be daft.
UK has freezing weather, and sometimes power cuts. Rain, rain and rain. That sort of weather can rot those bones you know!
PF is indeed an out going government. People don’t have food, they are looking for seed and fertilizer and these chaps are talking about skulls. No wonder they are senselessly fighting among themselves when Zambians are not even voting for them.
Leave broken hill issue to the in coming government, start packing wee. Come on PF, kuyabebele
We need that skull back!
Let it stay in Britain cos it may bring bad luck to my beautiful country. Why did they get it? We give them it’s theirs, we ve our problems to solve.
This is great news. The skull returns to Zambia, full-stop. Only the capable government of the Patriotic Front can bring back this long lost piece of our history. Kudos!
Manje ife tizadya skull yamene iyo? Vioneni ……!
A good reason to bring it back is so you know it’s history.
This skull was discovered in 1921 and it’s kept because it is considered the first evidence of Charles Darwin’s ‘intuition’ about evolution.
I worry about us when we can’t even get the reason why it got called Broken Hill. 1981!!!
Push hard for its return from the Natural History Museum. Even the Greeks suffer to get their marbles back from the British History Museum which is full of Egyptian, Greek and African artefacts. Hardly anything British to be found. Own your history. All of it. Embrace the reality. If we don’t care who will ever research the hidden truth?
Why don’t we get George Clooney’s wife to help us out. She’s doing the Elgin Marbles for Greece, from the same UK. Maybe she can arrange a swap for us and UK? WE GIVE ……Guy Scott back to them for our Kabwe man!! We will be richer for it!
We want our man back or we break diplomatic relations with UK.
We highly Commend Hon Kuomintang and her Deputy for their retrieval efforts of our national treasures.
Thank you!
That was supposed to be Hon Luo, not Hon KuomintangWhat on earth is going on with Auto cue in this updated version of LT.
It’s all deliberate coding to make us look unlearned!!
Broken Hill man was discovered in 1981?!!! Thats a lie
ba Umwina,
easy big fella. Ni ma typo chabe aya. It’s not a lie, just bad typing. You know how it is here @ LT. Lots of typos day in and day out. They meant to write 1921 but transposed the 2 with an 8, that’s all.
I will not be an áss and pretend I knew something I did not. I did not know that our colonial masters had stolen our Broken Hill man before they bolted and ran back to England in 1964. What a bunch of thieves ka. If they can steal our skeleton what else did they steal?