BAROTSE INQUIRY RECOMMENDATIONS – A DISCOURSE BY WINTER KABIMBA

Kudos to Mr Frank Mutubila for his professionalism exhibited during the ZNBC TV live show on Monday, 27th February 2012 with Lawyer Winter Kabimba, Secretary General of the PF. Frankly speaking, that was classic, Frank. You helped the Lawyer to expose his ignorance over the Barotseland Agreement (BA) 1964. He failed to answer very elementary but frank questions such as “why would eminent Lawyers like Dr. Rodger Chongwe and Willa Mung’omba go outside their Terms of Reference?” “Does the restoration of the BA 64 threaten national unity?” “Why did the PF promise restoration of the BA 64 during campaigns?” Thanks to ZNBC for providing Kabimba the air time which he used as a “rope to hang himself.”

What kind of a Lawyer is this man? Am not a lawyer myself but I do know that Lawyers do not throw ridicule at each other the way Kabimba did to a point where he started doubting as to whether his learned colleagues and other honourable people who sat on the Rodger Chongwe Commission did understand development – or imagining that perhaps they had a hidden agenda !! That is unheard of. Bo Lawyer, a mu be seliyasi hanyinyani.

To say the least, he said a number of wrong things about the BA 64 and how Barotseland became part of the present Zambia:

1. He referred to the BA 64 as the “so-called” Agreement. My check for the meaning of adjective so-called in the Encarta Dictionary has the following meanings: suggested, alleged, ostensible, purported, self-styled, professed and pretended. The BA 64 does not fall within any of these meanings.

2. He said Cecil John Rhodes signed many treaties with many different authorities including the Litunga. But he lamentably failed to render examples of other authorities within his “many.”

3. He insinuated that the BA 64 existed before 1962 when this is a blatant lie.

4. His attempt to explain the Lancaster House story about negotiations can only be described as “fishing” as Lawyers like to say.

5. His understanding of the systems that prevail in the UK and the USA versus the Zambian scenario is very ill conceived. He was trying to compare what is beyond comparison!

6. Lozi being minority as compared to Nkoya – mawee!!. Sir, Nkoya is one of the tribes within the Lozi ethnic grouping; there are several others. As for figures, go the Central Statistical Office.

Kabinda should be told in no uncertain terms that he has no moral right to insult the intelligence of people of Barotseland and her fallen heroes; Arthur Wina, Mundia Nalumino, Mubiana Nalilungwe, etc. Even if he would like to blame the dead, (whose names he was reading from his script) for their role in the abrogation of the BA 64 by the Parliament of Zambia, surely he is not justified to imagine that because a mistake was made over 40 years ago, then we, who are living today should just keep quite. Nay! God forbid.

Let me conclude by stating that one point that was interesting and came out so very vividly from his ‘discourse’ was his acknowledgement of the fact that when Cecil John Rhodes came to this part of our mother earth “he discovered that the art of administration was advanced in Barotseland as compared to other areas.” What also came out was the fact that the PF were waiting from Dr. Chongwe, to tell them that which would please them. But I also understood, by listening to the interview why even the Cobra has not appointed him to government position. BRAVO DR. CHONGWE and you team, your tried your best though we are from there.

All in all Malozi should be happy, that Kabinda, a Lawyer, is so ignorant about the BA 64.

KI NAKO.

Charles Nyambe – kwa Mungu.