Mainza Mathias Chona (21 January 1930 – 11 December 2001) 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 politician and founder of
UNIP
The United National Independence Party (UNIP) is a political party in Zambia. It governed the country from 1964 to 1991 under the socialist President (government title), presidency of Kenneth Kaunda, and was the sole legal party in the country ...
who served as the third
vice-president of Zambia
The vice-president of Zambia is the second highest position in the executive branch of the Republic of Zambia. The vice-president was previously appointed by the president before the amendment of the Constitution in 2016. Under the amended Cons ...
from 1970 to 1973 and Prime Minister on two occasions: from 25 August 1973 to 27 May 1975 and from 20 July 1977 to 15 June 1978.
He was Secretary General of 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), the ruling party, from 1978 to 1981. This position was the ''de facto'' second in command in the hierarchy of Zambian politics during the period of the One Party Participatory State (1973–1991).
He also held various government positions, including Justice Minister (1964–1968), Home Affairs Minister (1968–1969) and Minister of Legal Affairs and
Attorney-General
In most common law jurisdictions, the attorney general or attorney-general (sometimes abbreviated AG or Atty.-Gen) is the main legal advisor to the government. The plural is attorneys general.
In some jurisdictions, attorneys general also have exec ...
(1975–1978). He was Secretary-General of UNIP from 1978 to 1981 and Ambassador to the
People's Republic of China
China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...
from 1984 to 1989. He later served as Ambassador to France until
Early life and education background
Chona was born Sikaye Chingula Namukamba on 21 January 1930 at Nampeyo, near Monze in the Batoka Province of the British colony 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 ...
(which later became Southern Province,
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 ...
). His father was Hameja Chilala (also known as Chief Chona). His mother, Nhandu (Chinyama), was one of his father's five wives.
Chona received his primary education at Chona out-school in Nampeyo (established by the
Jesuit
, image = Ihs-logo.svg
, image_size = 175px
, caption = ChristogramOfficial seal of the Jesuits
, abbreviation = SJ
, nickname = Jesuits
, formation =
, founders ...
mission at his father's request), and at Chikuni (the Jesuit headquarters). It was at Chikuni that Chona converted to
Catholicism
The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...
. He completed his secondary education at
Munali Secondary School in Lusaka in 1951 and then worked as an interpreter at the High Court in Livingstone. However, his ambition was to become a lawyer.
In pursuit of his goal, Chona secured a scholarship that took him to
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 1955, where he studied at
Gray's Inn
The Honourable Society of Gray's Inn, commonly known as Gray's Inn, is one of the four Inns of Court (professional associations for barristers and judges) in London. To be called to the bar in order to practise as a barrister in England and Wale ...
. He was
called to the bar
The call to the bar is a legal term of art in most common law jurisdictions where persons must be qualified to be allowed to argue in court on behalf of another party and are then said to have been "called to the bar" or to have received "call to ...
in 1958. While in England, he met other African nationalists, including
Harry Nkumbula
Harry Mwaanga Nkumbula (15 January 1916 – 8 October 1983)[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 ...]
. He also made contact with London-based White supporters of the nationalist cause, such as
Simon Zukas and
Doris Lessing
Doris May Lessing (; 22 October 1919 – 17 November 2013) was a British-Zimbabwean novelist. She was born to British parents in Iran, where she lived until 1925. Her family then moved to Southern Rhodesia (now Zimbabwe), where she remain ...
. This was also when he adopted the name Mathias Mainza Chona by
deed poll
A deed poll (plural: deeds poll) is a legal document binding on a single person or several persons acting jointly to express an intention or create an obligation. It is a deed, and not a contract because it binds only one party (law), party.
Et ...
.
Independence struggle
Chona returned to Northern Rhodesia in December 1958. During his absence from Northern Rhodesia, politics had moved forward on several fronts. The 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 ...
(CAF) had been established on 1 August 1953, in spite of feeble opposition from the Black population through the African National Congress (ANC), led by Nkumbula and Kaunda. The two leaders drifted apart as Nkumbula became increasingly influenced by White liberals and was seen as being willing to compromise on the issue of Black
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 ...
. Eventually Kaunda broke from the ANC in October 1958 and formed the
Zambia African National Congress (ZANC), with Nkumbula remaining as leader of the ANC. Chona had been a member of ANC while in London and he had not made a choice between the two factions. Due to ZANC's militancy and its unwillingness to compromise on the issue of "independence now", Kaunda and other leaders of the new party were detained by the CAF authorities, and ZANC was banned in March 1959. Chona decided to take active part in the operations of the still-legal ANC, but his challenge to Nkumbula's cautious leadership of the party resulted in a further split.
Chona and other nationalists broke away from the ANC and, in October 1959, Chona became the first president of 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), the successor to ZANC. However, he did not see himself as the party's main founder and he stepped down when Kaunda was released from prison in January 1960. As Kaunda's loyal lieutenant, Chona was elected deputy president of UNIP, but he had to leave Northern Rhodesia to avoid a charge of
sedition
Sedition is overt conduct, such as speech and organization, that tends toward rebellion against the established order. Sedition often includes subversion of a constitution and incitement of discontent toward, or insurrection against, estab ...
brought by the increasingly rattled CAF authorities. He remained in London as UNIP's overseas representative for more than a year. He also served as a UNIP delegate to the Federal Review Conference in London in December 1960 and returned home in February 1961.
In June 1961, Chona was elected National Secretary of UNIP and he remained in that post for eight years. He was instrumental in securing the short-lived coalition between UNIP and the ANC in January 1963. In January 1964, Kaunda formed Northern Rhodesia's first Black cabinet, and gave Chona the post of Minister of Justice in UNIP's pre-independence government.
After independence
At
independence in October 1964, Kaunda gave Chona the post of Minister of Home Affairs. Between 1966 and 1969, Chona held no less than five different ministerial appointments, including minister without portfolio. He was sent to the United States as ambassador in 1969. In November 1970, he was returned to Zambia and appointed as the country's Vice-President.
Chona's lasting contribution to Zambia's constitutional development was the famous Chona Commission, which was set up under his chairmanship in February 1972 to make recommendations for the constitution of a 'one-party participatory democracy' (i.e. 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 ...
). The Commission's terms of reference did not permit it to discuss the pros and cons of Kaunda's decision. The sole surviving opposition party, the ANC, boycotted the Commission and unsuccessfully challenged the constitutional change in the courts. The Chona report was based on four months of public hearings and was submitted in October 1972. It was widely regarded as a 'liberal' document.
The Second Republic
Although the Second Republic was inaugurated in December 1972, the National Assembly did not approve the new constitution until August 1973. The document was modelled on the
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen national ...
's one-party system. The constitution asserted the supremacy of the single party (UNIP), but did not include the Commission's more liberal recommendations, such as placing limits on detention without trial, restricting the President to serve only two five-year terms, and sharing the President's executive powers with a Prime Minister. The liberal recommendations would also have required electoral competition for the post of President, and prevented him from vetoing parliamentary candidates. Although many of the report's recommendations were ignored, it had a lasting influence: it was cited during the debate on the return to multi-party democracy in 1990–91, and again during the campaign to stop President
Frederick Chiluba
Frederick Jacob Titus Chiluba (30 April 1943 – 18 June 2011) was a Zambian politician who was the second president of Zambia from 1991 to 2002. Chiluba, a trade union leader, won the country's multi-party presidential election in 1991 as th ...
running for a third term in 2001.
From 1973 to 1975, Chona was given the position of Prime Minister, a new post that was clearly subordinate to that of President. He served for a second time from 1977 to 1978, after a spell as Minister of Legal Affairs and Attorney-General. Kaunda appointed Chona as Secretary-General of UNIP in 1978 and he remained in that position, which ranked second to that of President, until February 1981. Up to the end of the UNIP era Chona and Kaunda remained close associates
"Into the Cold" of exile
After he was removed from UNIP's Central Committee, Chona refused an appointment as ambassador to
China
China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...
and returned to private legal practice. In 1984, finally, he agreed to go to
Beijing
}
Beijing ( ; ; ), alternatively romanized as Peking ( ), is the capital of the People's Republic of China. It is the center of power and development of the country. Beijing is the world's most populous national capital city, with over 21 ...
and spent five years there in a period of exile. He wanted to return to Zambia at the end of his term in China, but Kaunda transferred him to Paris, where he served as ambassador for a further three years, from 1989 to 1992. When he was eventually allowed to return to Zambia, he again entered private legal practice. He was associated, as a lawyer, with the Oasis Forum which successfully opposed Chiluba's attempt to run for a third term as president.
Chona was widely respected in Zambia as a good administrator and as Kaunda's loyal lieutenant. He contributed immensely to the organization of UNIP and to Zambia's struggle for independence. Although his role in the establishment of a one-party state in Zambia was controversial, he shrewdly produced a report on the subject that, in some respects, stood the test of time. He seemed to lack personal ambition and did not enrich himself through political office. His deep interest in Tonga culture, language and history led him to make a small contribution to Tonga literature: his Chitonga novel, ''Kabuca Uleta Tunji'', was awarded the Margaret Wrong medal in 1956. His daughter
Elizabeth Muyovwe was a Justice of the Supreme Court of Zambia from 2010 to 2021.
His brother
Mark Chona also played a prominent part in Zambia's political and public life.
While undergoing dialysis at
Milpark Hospital
The Milpark Hospital is a private hospital in western Parktown, Johannesburg, in the area known as Milpark, and owned by Netcare Limited. It has a level 1 accredited trauma unit, and cardiology and cardio-thoracic services. It has 346 beds, of ...
in
Johannesburg
Johannesburg ( , , ; Zulu and xh, eGoli ), colloquially known as Jozi, Joburg, or "The City of Gold", is the largest city in South Africa, classified as a megacity, and is one of the 100 largest urban areas in the world. According to Demo ...
,
South Africa
South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the north by the neighbouring countri ...
, Mainza Chona died on 11 December 2001. He was buried on 16 December in Monze, Zambia.
References
* Hugh Macmillan, ''Chona, (Mathias) Mainza (1930–2001)'', Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, online edn, Oxford University Press, Jan 200
retrieved 18 May 2006* D. C. Mulford, ''Zambia: the politics of independence'', 1957–1964 (1967)
* C. Gertzel, C. Baylies, and M. Szeftel, ''The dynamics of the one-party state in Zambia'' (1984)
* E. Colson, ''The history of Nampeyo'' (Lusaka, 1991)
* J. J. Grotpeter, B. V. Siegel, and J. R. Pletcher, ''Historical dictionary of Zambia'', 2nd edn (1998)
* D. Lessing, ''Walking in the shade: volume two of my autobiography'', 1949–1962 (1997)
* S. Wina, ''The night without a president'' (1985)
* S. Zukas, ''Into exile and back'' (2002)
* K. Mlenga, ed., ''Who's who in Zambia'', 1967–68
968
Year 968 ( CMLXVIII) was a leap year starting on Wednesday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar.
Events
By place Byzantine Empire
* Emperor Nikephoros II receives a Bulgarian embassy led by Prince Boris (th ...
{{DEFAULTSORT:Chona, Mainza
1930 births
2001 deaths
People from Southern Province, Zambia
Prime Ministers of Zambia
Vice-presidents of Zambia
United National Independence Party politicians
Ambassadors of Zambia to France
Ambassadors of Zambia to China
20th-century Zambian lawyers
Deaths from kidney failure
Ambassadors of Zambia to the United States
Attorneys-General of Zambia
People from Monze District
Members of the National Assembly of Zambia
Members of the Legislative Council of Northern Rhodesia
Justice Ministers of Zambia
Home Affairs ministers of Zambia
Alumni of Munali Secondary School