Nakatindi Yeta Nganga (1922–1972)Wim van Binsbergen (1987
Chiefs and the state in independent Zambia
Journal of Legal Pluralism was a Lozi aristocrat and

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. Jointly one of the first women elected to the

National Assembly In politics, a national assembly is either a unicameral legislature, the lower house of a bicameral legislature, or both houses of a bicameral legislature together. In the English language it generally means "an assembly composed of the repre ...

, she was also the country's first female junior minister.

Biography

Nakatindi was born in Lealui; her father was

Yeta III Yeta III was a king of Barotseland, of the Lozi people in what is now Western Zambia. Family The parents of Yeta were King Lewanika and Queen Ma-Litia. Yeta married a woman called Kumayo who became his consort at Sefula Church in 1892. They w ...

, the Litunga of Barotseland. She attended the

Tiger Kloof Educational Institute Tiger Kloof Combined School is a school near Vryburg, South Africa. Tiger Kloof had its origins in the Moffat Institute at Kuruman, part of the educational endeavours of the London Missionary Society in that part of South Africa. When the Moffa ...

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 ...

, and between 1952 and 1964 she served on the Mongu-Lealui District Education Authority. She was the first well-known woman in Barotseland to join

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 ...

, and was the first Director of the UNIP Women's Brigade, a position she held until losing to Maria Nankolongo in internal elections in 1967. She contested the 1962 Legislative Council elections in the Zambezi national constituency, but was defeated by Job Michello of the

Northern Rhodesian 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 ...

. In the 1964 general elections, Nakatindi ran in the

Nalikwanda Nalikwanda is a constituency of the National Assembly of Zambia. It covers part of Mongu District in Western Province Western Province or West Province may refer to: *Western Province, Cameroon *Western Province, Rwanda *Western Province (Kenya) ...

constituency and was elected to the Legislative Council, which became the National Assembly upon independence later in the year. Alongside Margret Mbeba and

Ester Banda Ester Banda was a Zambian politician. She served as a member of the National Assembly of Zambia, National Assembly for Roan (constituency), Roan from 1964 to 1968 and was jointly one of the first elected female MPs in Zambia. Biography A member ...

, she was a member of the first group of women to be elected to the legislature. She went on to become Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Labor and Social Development in 1966, the first woman to hold a junior ministerial position.Kamini Krishna & Friday E. Mulenga (2004
Contribution of Zambian Women and Indian Women to the Struggle for Freedom: A legend of Courage and Compassion
‘African Renewal, African Renaissance’: New Perspectives on Africa’s Past and Africa’s Present The following year she was appointed Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Mines and Co-operatives, before becoming Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Co-operatives, Youth and Social Development in 1967. Nakatindi remained a member of the National Assembly until losing her seat to

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 ...

in the 1968 elections. She then became a member of the House of Chiefs and governor of

Sesheke District Sesheke District is a district of Zambia, located in Western Province. The capital lies at Sesheke. As of the 2000 Zambian Census, the district had a population of 78,169 people. It contains Sioma Ngwezi National Park and contains part of the Zambe ...

, positions in which she served until her death in 1972. Her daughter

Nakatindi Wina Princess Naganda Nakatindi Wina (15 February 1945 – 5 April 2012) was a Zambian politician and a member of the royal family of Barotseland. Early life Princess Naganda Nakatindi Wina was born Mukwae Nakatindi into the royal family of Barotse ...

, one of 11 children, later also served as an MP and minister.Zambia: Women of substance: Their stories told
Times of Zambia, 10 June 1998

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Nakatindi Yeta Nganga 1922 births Lozi people Royalty of Barotseland 20th-century Zambian women politicians 20th-century Zambian politicians United National Independence Party politicians Members of the Legislative Council of Northern Rhodesia Members of the National Assembly of Zambia 1972 deaths