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Harry Mwaanga Nkumbula (15 January 1916 – 8 October 1983)Harry Mwaanga Nkumbula's bio from daughter's narrative
''
Zambia Daily Mail The ''Zambia Daily Mail'' is an English-language daily broadsheet newspaper published in Zambia. It is one of two state-owned papers of the Zambian government. History and operations The newspaper arose from the ''Central African Mail'', which ...
'', 23 December 2016
''Southern African Political History: A Chronology of Key Political Events from Independence to Mid-1997''
Greenwood Publishing Group, Jacqueline Audrey Kalley, Elna Schoeman, Lydia Eve Andor, page 687 was a
Zambia Zambia (), officially the Republic of Zambia, is a landlocked country at the crossroads of Central Africa, Central, Southern Africa, Southern and East Africa, although it is typically referred to as being in Southern Africa at its most cent ...
n nationalist leader involved in the movement for the independence of
Northern Rhodesia Northern Rhodesia was a British protectorate in southern Africa, south central Africa, now the independent country of Zambia. It was formed in 1911 by Amalgamation (politics), amalgamating the two earlier protectorates of Barotziland-North-West ...
, as Zambia was known until the end of British rule in 1964. He was born in the village of Maala in the Namwala district of Zambia's southern province. He was the youngest of three children and the only son.


Educational background

Nkumbula received his early formal education at Methodist mission schools and in 1934 completed Standard VI at the Kafue Training Institute. He then taught in
Namwala District Namwala District is a district of Zambia, located in Southern Province. The capital lies at Namwala. As of the 2000 Zambian Census, the district had a population of 82,810 people. Geography Namwala covers an area of approximately 10,000 square ki ...
for several years. In 1938 Nkumbula joined the Northern Rhodesian government's teaching service and later worked in Kitwe and Mufulira on the Copperbelt. During World War II he became involved in African nationalist politics, like many other educated Africans of the day. For example, he held the position of Secretary of the Mufulira Welfare Association and co-founded the Kitwe African Society. In 1946, from Chalimbana Teacher Training School, Nkumbula went to Kampala's
Makerere University Makerere University, Kampala (; Mak) is Uganda's largest and oldest institution of higher learning, first established as a technical school in 1922. It became an independent national university in 1970. Today, Makerere University is composed of ni ...
College in Uganda. This was made possible by the support of Sir
Stewart Gore-Browne Lieutenant Colonel Sir Stewart Gore-Browne (3 May 1883 – 4 August 1967), called Chipembele by Zambians, was a soldier, pioneer white settler, builder, politician and supporter of independence in Northern Rhodesia (now Zambia). Early life ...
, a pro-black British settler politician. From Makerere, Nkumbula went on to study for and received a diploma from the
Institute of Education IOE, UCL's Faculty of Education and Society (IOE) is the education school of University College London (UCL). It specialises in postgraduate study and research in the field of education and is one of UCL's 11 constituent faculties. Prior to m ...
,
University of London The University of London (UoL; abbreviated as Lond or more rarely Londin in post-nominals) is a federal public research university located in London, England, United Kingdom. The university was established by royal charter in 1836 as a degree ...
. In London, Nkumbula had the opportunity to meet other African nationalists who were galvanized after attending the 1945
Pan-African Congress The Pan-African Congress was a series of eight meetings, held in 1919 in Paris (1st Pan-African Congress), 1921 in London, Brussels and Paris (2nd Pan-African Congress), 1923 in London (3rd Pan-African Congress), 1927 in New York City (4th Pan-Afr ...
in Manchester, England. In 1949 he worked with Nyasaland's
Hastings Kamuzu Banda Hastings Kamuzu Banda (1898 – 25 November 1997) was the prime minister and later president of Malawi from 1964 to 1994 (from 1964 to 1966, Malawi was an independent Dominion / Commonwealth realm). In 1966, the country became a republic and ...
in drafting a document that expressed African opposition to the proposed white-dominated
Central African Federation Central is an adjective usually referring to being in the center of some place or (mathematical) object. Central may also refer to: Directions and generalised locations * Central Africa, a region in the centre of Africa continent, also known as ...
. This collaboration prepared the two men for their subsequent struggles with the colonialists in their home countries. After his diploma, Nkumbula enrolled to study economics at the
London School of Economics , mottoeng = To understand the causes of things , established = , type = Public research university , endowment = £240.8 million (2021) , budget = £391.1 millio ...
but he failed his examinations and returned to Northern Rhodesia without a degree early in 1950.


Independence struggle

As a militant, articulate and uncompromising opponent of the Federation, Nkumbula was elected president of the Northern Rhodesian African Congress in 1951. The party was soon renamed the
African National Congress The African National Congress (ANC) is a Social democracy, social-democratic political party in Republic of South Africa, South Africa. A liberation movement known for its opposition to apartheid, it has governed the country since 1994, when ...
(ANC). In 1953,
Kenneth Kaunda Kenneth David Kaunda (28 April 1924 – 17 June 2021), also known as KK, was a Zambian politician who served as the first President of Zambia from 1964 to 1991. He was at the forefront of the struggle for independence from British rule. Dissat ...
became secretary general of the ANC. When Nkumbula called a national strike—disguised as a "national day of prayer" — in opposition to the Federation, the African population did not respond. This was due to the opposition of the president of the
African Mineworkers' Union The Northern Rhodesian African Mineworkers' Union (A.M.U.) was a trade union in Northern Rhodesia which represented black African miners in the Copperbelt. The AMU was formed in 1949, and campaigned actively to improve working conditions and wag ...
,
Lawrence Katilungu Lawrence Chola Katilungu (February 1914 - 9 November 1961) was a Northern Rhodesian trade union leader. Katilungu was the first President of the African Mineworkers' Union. Biography Katilungu was born in February 1914 in the Northern Provinc ...
, who campaigned against the strike on the Copperbelt. In October 1953, the white colonial settlers formed the
Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland The Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland, also known as the Central African Federation or CAF, was a colonial federation that consisted of three southern African territories: the Self-governing colony, self-governing British colony of Southe ...
, ignoring the black African majority's opposition. In the early months of 1954, Nkumbula and Kaunda organised a partially successful boycott of European-owned butcheries in Lusaka. However, Nkumbula, Kaunda, and the ANC found it difficult to mobilize their people against the Federation. In early 1955 Nkumbula and Kaunda were imprisoned together for two months (with hard labour) for distributing "subversive" literature. Such imprisonment and other forms of harassment were normal rites of passage for African nationalist leaders. The experience of imprisonment had a moderating influence on Nkumbula, but it had a radicalizing influence on Kaunda. Nkumbula became increasingly influenced by white liberals and was seen as willing to compromise on the fundamental issue of
majority rule Majority rule is a principle that means the decision-making power belongs to the group that has the most members. In politics, majority rule requires the deciding vote to have majority, that is, more than half the votes. It is the binary deci ...
. Opposition to Nkumbula's allegedly autocratic leadership of the ANC eventually resulted in a split with Kaunda, who went on to form the
Zambian African National Congress The Northern Rhodesia Congress was a political party in Zambia. History The Northern Rhodesia Congress party was formed in 1940, as the Northern Rhodesia Congress (NRC) or Northern Rhodesia African Congress (NRAC). Godwin Lewanika, a Barotseland ...
(ZANC) in October 1958. ZANC was banned in March 1959 and in June Kaunda was sentenced to nine months imprisonment. While Kaunda was still in prison, the
United National Independence Party The United National Independence Party (UNIP) is a political party in Zambia. It governed the country from 1964 to 1991 under the socialist presidency of Kenneth Kaunda, and was the sole legal party in the country between 1973 and 1990. On 4 A ...
(UNIP) was formed late in 1959. Once he came out of prison, Kaunda took over the presidency of UNIP, which became better organized and more militant than Nkumbula's ANC. Due to this, UNIP rapidly took the leading position in the struggle for
independence Independence is a condition of a person, nation, country, or state in which residents and population, or some portion thereof, exercise self-government, and usually sovereignty, over its territory. The opposite of independence is the statu ...
, eclipsing the ANC. During independence constitutional talks in
London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...
in 1960–61, Nkumbula played only a secondary role. He suffered a further setback when he disappeared from the political scene for nine months (April 1961 – January 1962), while serving a prison sentence for causing death by dangerous driving. In the run-up to elections in October 1962, Nkumbula made the mistake of accepting funding from
Moise Tshombe Moise is a given name and surname, with differing spellings in its French and Romanian origins, both of which originate from the name Moses: Moïse is the French spelling of Moses, while Moise is the Romanian spelling. As a surname, Moisè and Mo ...
's regime in Katanga. He also made an ill-advised secret electoral pact with the white-dominated
United Federal Party The United Federal Party (UFP) was a political party in the Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland. History The UFP was formed in November 1957 by a merger of the Federal Party, which had operated at the federal level, and the Southern Rhodesian ...
(UFP). He then found himself in a bind after the ANC won seven seats and held the balance of power between UNIP and the UFP. Eventually Nkumbula chose to form a coalition with UNIP and was given the post of minister of African education. The UNIP/ANC alliance lasted until the pre-independence elections of January 1964, when UNIP won fifty-five seats to the ANC's ten seats. Nkumbula became leader of the opposition.


After independence

During the last days of the Federation, the ANC had been largely confined to Nkumbula's regional base in the southern province. Although the party won seats in Western Province during the general elections of 1968, Nkumbula had little to offer the Zambian public. When Kaunda moved to convert Zambia into a
one-party state A one-party state, single-party state, one-party system, or single-party system is a type of sovereign state in which only one political party has the right to form the government, usually based on the existing constitution. All other parties ...
, Nkumbula capitulated. He signed a document called the Choma Declaration on 27 June 1973 and announced that he was joining UNIP. The ANC ceased to exist after the dissolution of parliament in October 1973. Some have alleged that Kaunda "bought off" Nkumbula by offering him an emerald mine. However, the fact that the emerald mine did not enter his possession until 1975 suggests that this allegation is false. Nkumbula's last prominent political action was an ill-fated attempt, together with
Simon Kapwepwe Simon Mwansa Kapwepwe (April 12, 1922 – January 26, 1980) was a Zambian politician, anti-colonialist and author who served as the second vice-president of Zambia from 1967 to 1970. Early life Simon Kapwepwe was born on 12 April 1922 in the C ...
, to stand against Kaunda for Zambia's one-party presidential nomination in 1978. Both Nkumbula and Kapwepwe were outmaneuvered by Kaunda, who secured the nomination while the two of them disappeared from Zambia's political scene. Nkumbula died on 8 October 1983, aged 67. His son
Baldwin Nkumbula Baldwin Mwanakumabu Nkumbula (died 27 August 1995) was a Zambian politician and a son of veteran politician Harry Nkumbula. He served in Frederick Chiluba's Movement for Multi-Party Democracy government as Minister of Sports from 1991 until Augu ...
was also a politician. He was widely tipped to become the next president of Zambia until his death in a road accident.


References


"Hugh Macmillan, Nkumbula, Harry Mwaanga (1917?–1983)"
''Oxford Dictionary of National Biography''. Oxford University Press. 2004. Retrieved 18 May 2006. * D. Mulford, ''Zambia: the politics of independence'' (1967) * G. Mwangilwa, ''Harry Mwaanga Nkumbula: a biography of the 'old lion' of Zambia'' (Lusaka, Zambia, 1982) * K. Macpherson, ''Kenneth Kaunda of Zambia: the times and the man'' (1974) * J. J. Grotpeter, B. V. Siegel, and J. R. Pletcher, ''Historical dictionary of Zambia'', 2nd ed. (1998)


External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Nkumbula, Harry 1916 births 1983 deaths Makerere University alumni Alumni of the UCL Institute of Education Zambian educators Zambian trade unionists 20th-century Zambian businesspeople Zambian African National Congress politicians Members of the Legislative Council of Northern Rhodesia Education ministers of Zambia United National Independence Party politicians Members of the National Assembly of Zambia Zambian farmers