By Henry Kanyanta Sosala

1. Analysis of the cat and mouse relationship between Bemba politicians and Bemba chiefs Part 1
2. Analysis of the cat and mouse relationship between Bemba politicians and Bemba chiefs Part 2
3. Analysis of the cat and mouse relationship between Bemba politicians and Bemba chiefs Part 3

The Power of Unpaid Soldiers.

But why has the Bemba chieftaincy survived all the onslaughts beginning from the colonialists to-date. It’s because of the power of the people who strongly believe in the institution of Bemba chieftainship. Andrew Roberts in ‘’A History of the Bemba’’ wrote:

‘’The most important social institution among the Bemba, other than the family, is chieftainship. .Besides, no other chiefly clan in the region has gained such power for its tribe as the Bena Ng’andu. It is above all this institution which generates and perpetuates historical traditions. The social basis of oral traditions among the Bemba is primarily to be sought in the institution of chieftainship. The affairs regarding which the Bemba look upon in history for guidance and inspiration are the affairs of chiefs. Bemba history, then, is above all the history of the Bemba chieftainship and the doings of the royal clan, (the bena Ng’andu). Yet although such history serves to affirm and reinforce the power and prestige of the ruling group, it is nevertheless accepted by the Bemba at large as being in an important sense their own history. The glory of the Bena Ng’andu is something in which all Bemba can share and derive a sense of communal pride.’’

A vital question was asked in the book, African Political systems which gives us a clue as why the three Bemba-speaking Republican Presidents equipped with dictatorial powers as enshrined in the Zambian constitution and state machinery at their disposal lamentably failed to disintegrate Bemba chieftaincy:

‘’It may be asked how the power of the Bena Ng’andu survived at all up to now!…besides these new authorities introduced into the political arena, the power of the Bemba chief is inevitably reduced by his economic position, which must have grown increasingly bad since the first days of European occupation. The Bemba rulers were never rich compared to a number of African potentates. Theirs is a poor country. They possess no cattle which could be converted to money under modern conditions. Their power is in many ways surprising, in view of their poverty, their lack of means to enforce any decisions taken and the presence in their territories of other authorities in command of their subjects and in particular of large numbers of Christians bound by codes that are not recognized by Bemba traditions.
‘’Partly because of their closely knit kinship structure, but also, because of the strength of the traditional beliefs on which their authority was largely based…..for much the same reasons, the chiefs’ courts continued to function alongside of the District Commissioner’s courts in spite of non-recognition. The people took there the cases they believed the European magistrates did not understand, i.e., ritual matters, affairs with their roots in past history, and certain civil actions. Thus there were still some functions which the people believed the Bemba chief could perform better than all the new white authorities in the territory, besides the great historic tradition behind his authority.’’ (Edited by M. fortes and E.E. Evans-Pritchard).

Thus the Bemba chieftaincy survives on the bases of the strong subject-ruler relationships, which consequently makes every Bemba a very active unpaid soldier jealously guarding the institution; dearly upholding Bemba values and consciousness and he is ever-ready to stand on guard for Bemba sovereignty which is sacrosanct.

It is very clear that our Mwinelubemba has been greatly accepted by the entire Bemba community as you can see that his subjects have even bought him three vehicles when the government withdrew their vehicle. This was the time when the paramilitary had occupied the official residency and Mwinelubemba was marooned in a grass-thatched hut for two years.

P. Lloyd in Political Structure thus predicates a basis antithesis between an all-powerful ‘’ruling class’’ and a ‘’dominated subject class’’ which may even reject the ideology of its rulers. For when the stakeholders are subjects, the integrity of the kingdom is promoted i.e., subjects are given a particular interest in the kingship, for they can arbitrate and manipulate the rivalries of different royals. Their very lack of executive power enhances their political influence, in that it increases their capacity for disinterested judgement.

I have highlighted some clues as to why there have been constant conflicts between the powers-that-be and Bemba chiefs. The aim of political power is domination over others, but adding salt to injury, Dr. Audrey in Political System of the Bemba Tribe wrote:

Another alarming factor is the tribe’s dominating influence which makes politicians uneasy as Professor Mubanga Kashoki in The Factor of Language in Zambia wrote:

In the 1950s, A. L. Epstein wrote in Politics in an Urban African Community:

W.V. Brelsford in “The Tribes of Northern Rhodesia (Zambia)” wrote:

Let us look at it the other way round, within the African life and context, the only unchallengeable authority known is that of a chief. And the problem arises when the subject becomes the head of state! How is he going to relate to his semi-illiterate chief in the village? Is he going to bow and humble himself as traditional custom requires, when the entire state power and machinery are under his control? All his social status usually enables him to talk to his chief as an inferior. And consequently the President wants to be a chief of his chief. In fact President Bokassa of the Central African Republic solved this nightmare when he declared himself an emperor.

And here is the best example. In March 1975, President Kaunda appointed a one-man Commission of Inquiry headed by Mr. Davidson Nyambe Muttendengo. President Kaunda was at variance with Senior Chief Nkula (alias Dickson Mutale Chitabanta) of Chinsali District. Senior Chief Nkula grew up together with President Kaunda during their childhood at Chinsali. In the opinion of many people, Senior Chief Nkula stuck to traditional values which required President Kaunda to pay a courtesy call on him and not vice versa. Besides, the chief knew in detail the background of President Kaunda’s parents who came from Malawi. On the other hand, in an exhibition of power, President Kaunda suspended Senior Chief Nkula for being disloyal to him.

Let us look at another area of conflict. And this can be viewed as a conflict of generations. By and large, the tribal society has been gerontological and this means that the high status and political power have been the prerogative of the aged i.e., the knowledge of the soil; of the magic to protect oneself in high office against the manifestations of one’s rivals; of the esoteric mysteries of chieftaincy and of the village etc., came largely with advance of age. And so, this apparently means that the Institution of Chief is deemed by the sophiscatees to be monopolized by old-fashioned uneducated madalas totally immersed in the secrets and mysteries of their long-dead ancestors.

For example, when the Members of the House of Chiefs requested the government for car loans, a Zambia Daily Mail reporter, now the late Nigel Mulenga retorted:

Every aristocratic and authoritarian scheme of social action rests on the belief that the needed intelligence is confined to a superior few, who because of accumulated wealth or their high level of education are automatically endowed with the ability and the right to control the conduct of others; laying down principles and rules and directing the ways in which they are carried out.

Article 93 in the Muttendango Commission which probed the suspension of Senior Chief Nkula (Mr. Dickson Chitabanta) states:

Now what about if the chosen candidate for the Paramountcy was an ’’intellectual,’’ could it not bring friction since the powers-that-be would certainly need a docile, malleable and semi-illiterate candidate on the position that is politically considered to be ‘’sensitive.’’

And the choice of an intellectual would for sure not augur well with the powers-that-be because there is a distorted myth within the African political circles that equates politics with superior intelligence and therefore African politicians regard themselves to be ‘’geniuses’’ far above the collective intelligence of society. There is a firm conviction when a particular party becomes popular that the embodiment of wisdom, insight, intellect and knowledge including mega-talents and multi-gifts are specially confined within the party’s inner circle and never elsewhere.

Let us again look at this issue from another angle: Mwamba Peni, a free-thinker and one of very few genuine intellectuals with swollen heads, wrote in his paper, The Bemba Political System as a Basis for Sustainable Development in Zambia: ‘’Zambia’s political system is considerably centralized in the sense that decisions with regard to the welfare of the people and the country at large are made by the central government. Moreover, most of them are far distanced from reality prevailing on the ground. As a matter of fact, the constitution gives the President overwhelming power to abuse his office for personal gratification and glory. As a result, the entire past President’s tenure of office has been characterized with the pursuit and advancement of the interests of the few individuals and groups who are related or in good books with the powers-that-be. The President can hire and fire ministers at will and he even engineers the adoption process of aspiring Members of Parliament.

‘’The President appoints the Chief Justice; army chiefs; the Inspector-General of Police; Permanent Secretaries; Directors of public companies etc. He also nominates the Auditor-General; Anti-corruption and the Drug- enforcement commissioners who are only automatically ratified by Parliament, yet they are just party’s adopted cadres and they are there only to serve the interests of the President. And since the ruling party has always had a two-third majority in Parliament, it has time and again passed laws in this own favour.’’

And if the President can make all such important national appointments, why can he not also appoint a mere insignificant village tribal chief? Then it was not surprising that President Sata asked his then Defence Minister, Honourable Geoffrey Bwalya Mwamba that Bashilubemba should submit two names for the proposed candidates for the Paramountcy so that the President could pick his own choice as the Chitimukulu. Bashilubemba automatically rejected because in fact what President Sata had overlooked in his enthusiasm to infiltrate and dominate the Bemba chieftaincy that he was trying to set up a precedence, which would mean even non-Bemba speaking Presidents would be making their own choices for the Chitimukulu.

Dr. Kaunda in his book A Letter to my Children wrote about the power invested in the President:

However, to my great amazement, Zambians boast of ‘’democracy,’’ to which I believe we live with a sense of ‘’dignified slavery’’ to the institution of our choice.

[pullquote]Zambians boast of ‘’democracy,’’ to which I believe we live with a sense of ‘’dignified slavery’’ to the institution of our choice[/pullquote]

Epilogue

At the end of the year 2015, which marked one year of my legally ascendancy to the most senior traditional seat of Bemba power, I decided two spent two days in reflection
on my position. What does the position mean? Is there something more beyond the throne? What am I expected to offer to the people and my subordinate chiefs? Is there any precedence from the past that can help me chart a way forward as to the responsibilities of Mwinelubemba? Is it safe to bury my head in the daily routine of trying to solve people’s minor issues like witchcraft? Am I to be a revolving door for politicians and their various issues? What is it that a Chitimukulu should really do?

And I eventually passed on my concerns to my dear young man with whom we share a lot of contradictory and thorny issues as free-thinkers. Sishuwa Sishuwa is currently studying at Oxford University and here is what he said:

What you ask is an authentic and fundamental question, especially for one who is at the centre of power such as yourself and a community leader who won a lot of national respect in a very noble way. It speaks to the tension within oneself, to kind of a big inner turmoil, which requires ontological security to create a new direction. How do you, for instance, reconcile your background as a free thinking, cerebral, broad-minded, conscious actor with cultivated tastes such as attempting the role of an academic historian seeking to clarify heritage, lineage, origin and evolution against your traditional part as a chief who is constrained by custom and regents? How do you navigate the tension between achieving self-sustenance status and the paternalistic relationship with the centre (or those that aspire to it) whose benefactors preserve laws that seek to permanently thwart your freedom and advance their (political) interests, and even come to you – be it in time of adversity or when the storm is over – precisely in furtherance of these essentially personal objectives? How does a traditional leader with your history navigate the relationship between politics and relationships?

Whatever is revealed to you in the end, I hope it is ultimately national in character because what is at stake is holding the country together. We are not yet a nation, Mwinelubemba. We are just a collection of ethnic groups lumped together by a limitation of colonialism and the accident of history. Our fundamental problem is that we have a state without a nation. In other words, our state building is contracted by the failure to create the core pillars of a national entity. How do you see your role here? It seems to me that the educated chief, placed in this context, is confronted with the question of whether to preserve the status quo or become a nationalist way above his traditional leadership role. If the chief chooses to become the latter, he or she may have to change custom or strengthen it and be prepared to ride against the possible consequences that result from the ire of a nation-less state that resists such changes. What’s your greatest regret so far? and what will you set out to achieve or change before you die?

Postscript
What has generally been haunting me is the answer to so many peoples’ question: Are you going to trust any Bemba President?

…..END…….