One Zambia, Many Nations?
By Jedidiah Manengu.
Nationhood is a convergence of several different ideas. Among these we have ethnicity, class, philosophy, and aspiration. Less convoluted, “nationhood” may be described as a large group of people self-organising around a common language, culture, and economic life.
One interesting but rarely discussed feature of Zambia’s journey to nationhood is multiracialism within our politics. To date, it has succeeded best as an abstraction, the practice of which has faced several problems.
To probe this is to invite oneself to a study of history – the understanding of which underpins any ongoing construction of nationhood.
For the purpose of this write-up, Zambia’s birth as a nation will be traced back to 1964, which is not to ignore the union preceding Independence – then called Northern Rhodesia.
The success of the Northern Rhodesian liberation effort against minority British rule, culminating in Independence in October 1964, inadvertently brought several, hitherto, moot considerations into sharp relief, among them race relations in the new order. Prior to 1964, these relations were configured around the master-servant hierarchy, inviting little if any ambiguity. With Independence, that hierarchy was ripe for reconstruction.
As the euphoria surrounding the end of minority British rule subsided, reality began to dawn on the newly-independent political leadership – there was a country to run. With it, a human resource requirement that Zambia, at the time, was at pains to produce. Recognising this predicament, Republican President Kenneth Kaunda invited willing non-blacks to stay and lend themselves to the nation-building project. His invitation may be seen to have been motivated by two key considerations: the lack of formally-educated and trained black Zambians, and an attempt at fashioning a post-racial society.
A few figures answered the President’s call, among them notables such as Simon Zukas (of Lithuanian Jewish heritage), Andrew Sardanis (a Greek-Cypriot), and James Skinner (of British descent) – all of whom went on to serve in different capacities in government, including as Members of Parliament representing different constituencies. Sardanis went on to become chairman of the Industrial Development Company (INDECO), a state development company, Zukas became MP for Sikongo in Western Province and later Minister of Agriculture as well as Works and Supply. James Skinner became MP for Lusaka East as well as Chief Justice of the Judiciary, a position from which he later resigned. A few others later emerged as Zambia reverted to multi-party democracy under the MMD government in 1991. During this period, individuals such as Dipak Patel, MP for Lusaka Central, and Suresh Desai, MP for Monze (both of Indian descent) became quite prominent. But that’s not the case today.
To understand the social significance of this symbolism, it becomes necessary to situate the following in some context. Kenneth Kaunda’s UNIP government’s multiracial practise would appear to have been informed by practical concerns. However, buttressing them was an ideological undercurrent with far-reaching implications – Zambia was to be built to become a post-racial society.
This effort seemed to have found wider acceptance within the Zambian body politic – all of the named individuals won competitive elections as candidates from a minority ethnicity, some of whom went on to serve more than a term each in their respective constituencies. This largely remain the case up until Guy Scott (a Zambian of British heritage) served as MP for Lusaka Central as well as Vice President of the ruling Patriotic Front and subsequently, the Republic following President Michael Sata’s death in 2014.
Scott acted as Republican President for 90 days, a development bucking common practice so much it attracted international media headlines. Scott was the first non-mixed-race head of state on the African continent since the successful struggles for independence that reached their apex in the ‘50s and ‘60s. Ghana’s Jerry Rawlings and Botswana’s Ian Khama – both of mixed heritage – had one black African parent respectively.
However, Scott’s unique circumstance was also the last of a continued tradition – he was the last white Zambian in parliament. His wife Charlotte, also of British heritage, unsuccessfully ran for MP for Lusaka Central, arguably Zambia’s most cosmopolitan constituency. She later successfully challenged the election result won by the ruling Patriotic Front’s Margaret Mwanakatwe. Charlotte’s petition grounds included divisive ethnic remarks made against her during a campaign broadcast which she argued contravened the electoral code of conduct. With Guy’s retirement from active politics and Charlotte’s electoral defeat, there are no more Zambians of foreign descent in parliament or in any high-level public portfolio.
Given this reality, it’s worth asking why we are where we are in our nation’s development. In my view, these circumstances may rest on a few possibilities; a growing aversion to participation in active politics by non-black minorities, a political landscape that’s so bent on fostering hostilities against said minorities, or both. Guy Scott encountered open resistance from some of his fellow legislators in parliament based on his race, as did Dipak Patel – who rarely thought such remarks were worthy of a response.
Several observations may be drawn from all of this, key among them the challenges of building a truly post (and multi) racial society. Whatever the merit of this, it may be a microcosm of an even bigger evolution that is also worth considering. Within the black Zambian population, the polarisation of political persuasion along tribal lines has found prominence in recent years. Any ongoing effort at nation-building would require a confrontation of this reality, and a strong appreciation of the things fuelling it.
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