Zambia - Politics Under Kaunda
In 1953, against the wishes of most Africans in Northern Rhodesia, the Conservative Government of Britain agreed to increase the power of the white settlers in Central Africa by forming a federation of Northern Rhodesia, Southern Rhodesia and Nyasaland, known as the Central African Federation. Northern Rhodesian Africans had opposed any closer links with Southern Rhodesia because they saw clearly that such links would be used to establish settler control north of the Zambezi. In particular, they feared that land would be alienated on a large scale, as it had already been in the south. In the 1940s and early 1950s these fears provided Africans throughout Northern Rhodesia with a common political cause.
In 1948 the Federation of Welfare Societies (Africans had formed "welfare societies throughout the Copperbelt and most of the towns along the railway line in the 1940s) was transformed into an expressly political body, the Northern Rhodesia Congress. Between 1951 and 1953, under the leadership of Harry Nkurnbula, Congress campaigned vigorously against the Federation, and it had the support of most chiefs, even though these were agents of the colonial administration.
During the first few years of Federation, the Northern Rhodesia African National Congress (as it had been renamed in 1951) suffered from a temporary loss of popular support and from uncertainty as to its own goals, now that Federation was a facto In 1958 Nkurnbula's leadership was challenged by the secession from Congress of a group of young radicals led by a former school teacher, Kenneth Kaunda. They aimed at destroying the Federation and transforming Northern Rhodesia into an independent African state, to be called Zambia. Their new party was banned in 1959, and Kaunda himself was jailed; but on his release a few months later he at once took over the leadership of a new party, the United National Independence Party (UNIP).
In 1962, following a massive campaign of civil disobedience organized by UNIP, the British Government introduced a constitution for Northern Rhodesia which would create an African majority in the legislature. UNIP agreed to participate in the elections and later formed a coalition government with what remained of the old Congress, between them they won over two-third of the total votes. The Federation was thus doomed, and was formally dissolved at the end of 1963. Early in 1964 a new election, based on universal suffrage, was held and UNIP won 55 seats in the new member National Assembly. 10 seats were reserved for European representatives and the ANC won the remaining 10 seats. Thus KalU1da was able to form an all-UNIP government with substantial control of internal affairs, except for defence. Constitutionally, the way was now clear to full independence.
The new state of Zambia came into being on the 24 October: the date, which is United Nations Day, symbolized Zambia's commitrnent to the ideals of the lm charter. Zambia chose to become a Republic within the British Commonwealth: Kaunda became Head of state as well as chief executive. The only other head of state to attend the Independence celebrations was Julius Nyerere, President of Tanzania; his presence affirmed the two leaders' determination to pull Zambia away from white south and closer to the black north after years of colonial exploitation and neglect, The country could at last take a hand in shaping its own destiny. After years of humiliating subjection to the color bar,
Africans had successfully asserted their own dignity as human beings. Against so many expectations, they had achieved political emancipation, both from Britain and from the white supremacies. But this victory was only the beginning of a new struggle for self-reliance and socialism within a national philosophy of Humanism.
Zambia was still far from being one nation at Independence. The regional divisions in Zambia were deeply rooted in history, but by no means narrowly conceived "tribal" divisions. Of all the various pre-colonial political lU1its, only the Lozi kingdom continued to be an important focus for resistance to the central governance. Until the December 1968 general election, when UNIP won 81 out of 105 seats, the ruling party was tested less by external opposition from the A~C than by the division within its own ranks. These divisions carne to a head at the Central Committee elections at Mulungushi in August 1967: though expressed in the idiom of tribalism, with a 8emba-'Ibnga alliance pitted against a Nyanja-Lozi combination, the competition between these regional-linguistic groups was really over group access to political power, jobs and development money, i.e., they were interest groups competing for scarce economic resources. The Bemba speaking group triumphed in 1967 and in December of the next year rural Lozi voters expressed their discontent by turning against UNIP and voting predominantly with ANC. By 1970, however, the political pendulum had swung away from the Bemba in favor above all of the Easterners.
Simon Kapwepwe, the close associate of President Kaunda and a former Vice-President of UNIP and Zambia, broke with UNIP in 1971 and became leader of a new party - the United Progressive Party - dominated by Bemba from the Northern Province. Whatever the reason - perhaps alarm at the open eruption of factionalism represented by a UPP/ANC alliance at the next general election - UNIP over-reacted, detained most of the UPP leadership and, in February 1972, proscribed the new party.
Then in response to what was claimed to be a demand from all sides, President Kaunda took steps to create a "one party participatory democracy". This was a significant departure from his previous assertions - that a one-party state would not be legislated into existence but would emerge through the ballot box. Though factional conflict did abate under the one-party state, it never disappeared entirely. It no longer represents as great a danger to national unity, for a disaffected linguistic group or province is prevented from using as a bargaining counter the threat of switching its electoral support from UNIP to another party. The most it could do is to express its disapproval of government performance by abstaining from voting. This is a lesser sanction than backing the opposition, but one not without its affect on a government concerned at the poor turnout (39.8%) in the first one-party election in December 1973. President Kaunda was re-elected for a third term of office in 1973, obtaining 80% of the votes.
The first Prime Minister under the one-party constitution was Mainza Chona, the last Vice-President under the old constitution. Grey Zulu became the Secretary General of UNIP, thereby replacing Mr. Chona in the line of succession of the presidency. Three cabinet ~ministers and six junior ministers lost their seats. Most of the new Members of Parliament were under 40 years of age. In the new one-party cabinet and Central Committee, several ANC officials were rewarded with senior posts. But the reconciliation between UNIP and the former opposition leaders from the Western Province was not complete until early 1976 Nalumino Mundia, once a leading opposition M.P. and detainee, won a by-election and was given a cabinet post. The breach with UPP, however, was only partly healed in September 1977, ~en Simon Kapwepwe and his colleagues joined UNIP. Kapwepwe's support was thought to be vital for Kaunda at a time of acute political and economic strain, since he was, until his death in January 1980, a recognized leader of numerous and volatile Bemba-speaking peoples.
Despite this act of reconciliation, there was growing argument within UNIP over the fundamental issue of national policy: several politicians favored reopening the Rhodesian border and extending opportunities for private businessmen at the same time, they were out of sympathy with the "leadership code" introduced under the 1973 constitution, which forbids MPs to receive government salaries as well as income from private sources. (This code aims to prevent the nation's leaders from using their positions to amass personal fortunes, but it was a measure of, its limited effectiveness, that no-one charged with breaching the code during its first decade of operation. Nevertheless, it has certainly helped to establish ethical standards.) Such argument was intensified by the country' s deePening economic crisis, and in october 1978 rail links via Rhodesia were restored and an agreement reached with South Africa for copper to be shipped from the port of East London, while fertilizer was imported from South Africa.
The December 1978 elections, like its predecessor, saw the defeat of many leaders, including four cabinet Ministers. The turnout in the presidential election, in which President Kaunda was the sole candidate, was a respectable 68% with 81 % of the popular vote in support of the President. In certain constituencies in Southern, Western and Northern provinces, however, President Kaunda fared poorly. political dissent grew towards the end of 1980 as the economic position of Zambia deteriorated still further. In October an alleged coup plot was discovered at a time when tension in the Copperbelt was rising . President Kaunda claimed that South Africa had promoted the plot, but it should not be overlooked that many of those arrested belonged to the Bemba ethnic group, particularly strong in the mining areas, which has traditionally opposed Kaunda. In 1983 several of the plotters were found guilty of treason and sentenced to death, including a former governor of the Central Bank and a former High Court registrar.
Zambia's rulers remained in a state of nervousness, not eased by the damaging strike and rioting in January 1981 following the suspension from UNIP of 17 officials of the Mine Worker's Union of Zambia and the Zambia Congress of Trade Unions (ZCTU). Major reshuffles of cabinet and UNIP officials took place in February 1981, with Nalumino Mundia replacing Daniel Lisulo as Prime Minister, and Humprey Mulemba succeeding Mainza Chona as Secretary General of UNIP.
Further strikes occurred in July in protest at the continuing poor economic situation. Frederick Chiluba, the chairman of ZCTU was arrested in July, along with several other trade union leaders, and was not released until October, when the High Court ruled that his detention had been illegal. The trade union movement was seen as the only real alternative power base to that of the government politicians.
In the October 1983 presidential election, despite the worsening economic crisis, President Kaunda gained ~le confidence of the Zambian people for the fifth time in succession. He obtained 93% of the popular vote in an election in which only one-third of the registered voters abstained from voting, either from apathy or protest. The margin of victory surprised many; there was no sign of any ballot rigging and practically no accusations or any serious dishonesty. In the Parliamentary elections no Cabinet Minister fell, but 7 junior ministers lost their seats. Thus, in the beginning of 1984 President Kaunda appeared to be firmly entrenched in power and Zambia has remained politically stable despite the detrimental effects of the financial stabilization program on the standards of living of the masses.
Despite its political monopoly, UNIP's leaders, ministers and backbenchers in Parliament (National Assembly) retained a healthy respect for their electorate, as did Kaunda himself, and this impelled the President to make frequent re-organizations of both party and government in order to show that remedial action was being taken. Thus the stresses and strains caused throughout the country by the economic decline contribute to domestic political conflict. Yet, since late 1981, Zambia had been relatively stable.
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