Chieftainess Chiawa of the Goba people in Kafue district has called for recognition of her people as true Zambians.
Chieftainess Chiawa wondered why Goba people are sometimes treated as foreigners from Zimbabwe simply because of the similarity of the Goba language spoken in Chiawa with that spoken in Zimbabwe.
She said her subjects have been facing difficulties in obtaining Zambian passports because they are viewed as foreigners from neighbouring Zimbabwe.
The traditional ruler was speaking when Lusaka province permanent secretary Stardy Mwale paid a courtesy call on her in Chiawa yesterday.
Chieftainess Chiawa said her people deserve to be treated as Zambians and that there is no other country other than Zambia to which they belong to.
And Lusaka Province Permanent Secretary Stardy Mwale assured Chieftainess Chiawa that Chiawa area is part of Zambia and that the people in the area are bonafide Zambians.
Mr Mwale said government is currently promoting the One Zambia One Nation motto aimed at addressing the upsurge of tribalism in the country.
The Permanent Secretary thanked the chieftainess for working closely with government in taking development to her chiefdom.
Mr. Mwale said government appreciates the traditional ruler’s wise counsel and contribution to national affairs such as promoting unity and fighting tribalism.
i read about this Mozambican that was attacked yesterday and was bashed seriously and he was later stabbed in the heart and he died few minutes later… That is cruel, inhumane and sad….. i remember when i was watching the movie called long way to freedom, i felt so sad about all that happened to my fellow blacks, i didn’t know they are animals…. we stood together to fight racism, we stood together to fight for our continent and yet the so called motherfúcking south Africans believe that the presence of the other blacks in there S A makes there livelihood difficult…
Ilyashi iyi lya ku Chiawa in Zambia not about South Africa.
Soon most of them will be writhing in spasms and claiming that the devil made them do what they did. Ignorance is NOT bliss, people. It is time we acknowledge that humans are inherently evil and we need to bring them out into the light so they can realize that they can actually curb that hatred. Being xenophobic is just one of those behaviors you can easily trace to lower animal behavior… there is absolutely no excuse for someone who has abandoned the animal way of expression to do things this dastard!
As if removing Cecil Rhodes was not enough, they turned on fellow Africans. Very soon if we don’t act they may turn on White South Africans. Mandela must be turning in his grave.
What has this do with Chiawa that’s why you fail in school follow the topic in question nothing to do with xenophobia
Iwe ni zoona ka? I ve never thought about it but it is true. Snakes never ever are seen moving with their kids.
Truly speaking, the Gobas are Zambians. Chief Sikoongo of Siavonga is Goba, Remember Peter Suze and Frederick Hapunda? These are all Gobas. These truly Zambians. We have Tongas across the Kariba Lake. They are considered Zimbabweans.
@Mop any social problem should have a platform anywhere. Let the chap vent
This chief must first correct her name to CHIYABA of the Soli people.The Goba settled in chirundu and are welcome as part of us,they multiply like rabbits that soli and tonga are minority and the chief says she is of the Goba!
@sparks.even emanuel chenda is Goba,the problem is the dialect similarity and majority of Gobas are originally from eastern prov who married the shona women due to their respect and hardwork.chiawa is the correct spelling.
Back to the topic – ahem – let us for a moment stop looking too closely at borders and who is on the other side. If we truly are Africans as we claim this issue of considering citizens should not be a big deal. Almost all progressive nations on earth have celebrated and embraced diversity and uniqueness. In Africa we think it is a bad sign from the devil. What a bunch of losers. Soon you will all be like the xenophobes you are lamenting across the border. Give those Gobas their IDs and passports!
It has been widely acepted in zambia that we have Gobas but Goba means valley ,these people speak kolekoles a soli-shona dialect .
On the Goba:
Narrative of an Expedition to the Zambesi and Its Tributaries: And of the …
By David Livingstone, Charles Livingstone, page 232, published 1857
“We slept on the night of the 6th of July on the left bank
of the Chongwe, which comes through a gap in the hills on our right, and is twenty yards wide. A small tribe of the Bazizulu, from the south, under Dadanga, have recently settled here and built a village. Some of their houses are square, and they seem to be on friendly terms with the Bakoa, who own the country. They, like the other natives, cultivate cotton, but of a different species from any we have yet seen in Africa, the staple being very long, and the boll larger than what is usually met with”
Gobas can help themselves by coming out in the open. Most of them want to behalf as if they are Tongas, Nsengas, Chikundas and Solis. Does anyone know of any prominent Gobas apart from Hapunda, the Communications Director of PF? Who are the prominent Gobas in Zambia? C’mon Gobas come out and be counted! Who are the tribal cousins of Gobas?