Thursday, March 28, 2024

Gvernment urged to Permanently Resolve the Lunda, Luvale Dispute

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SACCORD executive director Boniface Cheembe
SACCORD executive director Boniface Cheembe

The Southern African Centre for the Constructive Resolution of Disputes (SACCORD) has urged the government to intervene in the land wrangles between Senior Chief Ndungu of the Luvale people and Senior Chief Ishindi of the Lunda people of North Western Province

SACCORD executive director Boniface Chembe says there can be no meaningful development in North Western province if infighting is the order of the day.

Mr. Chembe says North Western Province is one of the areas in the country with numerous mineral resources that will be difficult to exploit if boundary conflicts continue.

He says the boundary conflict between Senior Chief Ndungu and Senior Chief Ishindi can only be resolved with the installation of a new Chief in Luweji area of Chavuma District.

Mr. Chembe told ZNBC news that this is the only way harmony will be restored in the area for the benefit of the people.

Senior Chiefs Ndungu and Ishindi have been embroiled in conflict over the ownership of Luweji area of Chavuma District.

Meanwhile, Mr. Chembe has urged parliamentarians to support the constitutional Amendment bill number ten of 2019 which supports the creation of new constituencies so that boundary conflicts can be avoided in future.

And Chiefs and Traditional Affairs Minister Lawrence Sichalwe says the office of the Surveyor General is redoing the Maps for Chiefdoms with a view to resolving boundary disputes.

Mr. Sichalwe told ZNBC news that once the Maps are ready, they will be presented to all Chiefs as major stakeholders in the exercise.

11 COMMENTS

  1. The only people that can end the Lunda-Luvale conflict are the 2 warring groups. The Lunda must not think they’re superior while Luvale must act with self-restraint. If anyone thinks they will benefit from this conflict let them show us how they’ve gained from this long standing conflict. Both peoples need development which can only be achieved when there’s peace and coexistence

    • Thank you Ayatollah for speaking sense. However I wont agree when you say the only people that can end the conflict are Lundas and Luvales. This is a modern world and we should draw parallels from other similar conflicts so if the two parties want they can invite anyone with similar experiences to help them. If they notice a master negotiator somewhere else just invite him. When Desmond Tutu was healthy I would have recommended him

    • This thing endures because the only thing that Africans know and hv known is belonging to a tribe and not being a citizen of a country. Citizenship in Zambia at present doesn’t count for much as a form of identity. Whn u add the blatant discrimination based on tribe which the govt is practising if u are to get a job in the public sector, then u hv the current nightmare. Sadly even religious organisations are failing to see the dangers.

    • @Tinka Tinka, KK made so many attempts to reconcile these people, he even changed some names of districts on demand but nothing was achieved. You can only reconcile parties that are willing to compromise. This is an old conflict that even spread to churches. They even fought about which Bible to use in church!

    • Ayatollah has said many good points. The conflict between Vales and Ndas is indeed old. Around 1968/69 before many on this blog were born, these two groups and their close links in what we now call NWP were the only ones in young Zambia to protest against using ki-Kaonde as one language for the region for radio and television as was and has been the case in other parts of the country.

      The Vales and Ndas walked in anger to Lusaka to make their points that their respective languages should also be included. The authorities yielded and as it is NWP is the only province that has three languages on the national airwaves. That episode did not do anything to end the long standing conflict but instead emboldened it …

    • Nsimbi: Wht u don’t say is whether the native speakers of the chosen languages began to respect the native speakers of the languages that were marginalised in the other provinces. The truth is they did not and I hope u know it. I therefore commend the Vales and Ndas for their bravery. I want to thank u for this bit of history which I was not aware of.

  2. The government should intervene in bringing the two together however the government should show good example too because they are none the wiser. This government has brought too many tribal divisions in Zambia by way of discrimination and divisive language.
    The colonial scramble for Africa brought about unnecessary boundaries and conflict. I do not think the idea of boundaries will achieve anything. It will just bring more disharmony rather than a celebration of one Zambia one nation.

  3. Strong tribal feelings have always threatened to destroy our unity since the birth of our nation.

    We must thank God that our founding father KK came from outside Zambia. Because he was ethnically neutral he was a trusted advocate of national unity through the One Zambia One Nation campaign. God gifted us his leadership which held us together for three decades regardless of economic malaise that dogged his later years. Left to ourselves at independence a sad story would have resulted

  4. The only solution is for the Luvales to join their brothers on the Eastern Bank and close off the Western Bank or give it to the Angolans.

  5. These things will soon be history. Slowly the idea of tribe is ebbing away especially if you observe on the ground. It is the politicians and chiefs who still cling to slow burn things like witchcraft, delimitation for votes and divide-and-conquer when vying for cadres. Other than that like most belief systems in a few years this will be a historical joke. Patience people. Patience.

  6. These tribes belongs to the Lozi people. Now why government solving this problem. THESE TRIBES BELONGS TO THE LOZI PEOPLE,PERIOD

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