Senior Chieftainess Nkomeshya Mukamambo II (Elizabeth Mulenje) is the

chieftainship A tribal chief or chieftain is the leader of a tribal society or chiefdom. Tribe The concept of tribe is a broadly applied concept, based on tribal concepts of societies of western Afroeurasia. Tribal societies are sometimes categorized as ...

of the Soli people of Chongwe District in

Lusaka Lusaka (; ) is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Zambia. It is one of the fastest-developing cities in southern Africa. Lusaka is in the southern part of the central plateau at an elevation of about . , the city's population was ab ...

Province. She has been a chieftainess in the area since 1976. She is the second female Nkomeshya since 19th century Mukamambo I who is mythologized as having spiritual powers that allowed her to change her physical form and veil her people to protect them from enemies.

Traditional roles

As Chieftainess, Nkomeshya plays the role of primary rainmaker during the annual Chakwela Makumba traditional ceremony held annually in October. During the Chakwela Makumbi, literally translating to "pulling down the clouds", Chieftainess Makumbi pleads with the ancestral spirits to bless her people with rain. Among her many tasks during the event, Chieftainess Nkomeshya kicks off the farming season by being the first to plant a seed.

Political life

Shortly after Chieftainess Nkomeshya ascended to the throne, she took up leadership roles in politics as a member 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). During her time in the party, she was a member of the Central Committee and the UNIP Women's League. She also served as Minister of State of Home Affairs from 1979 to 1986. In 2013 she was elected as the chairperson of the

House of Chiefs A House of Chiefs (or ''House of Traditional Leaders'') is a post-colonial assembly, either legislative or advisory, that is recognised by either a national or regional government as consisting of and providing a collective, public voice for an eth ...

, taking over from Chief Madzimawe of the Ngoni people of

Chipata The city of Chipata is the administrative centre of the Eastern Province of Zambia and Chipata District. It was declared the 5th city of the country, after Lusaka, Ndola, Kitwe and Livingstone, by President Edgar Lungu on 24 February 2017. The c ...

District in Eastern Province. This made her the first woman elected to serve as chairperson since the position was created in 1965.

Areas of work

Chieftainess Nkomeshya has been commended for her work in the fight to end

child marriage Child marriage is a marriage or similar union, formal or informal, between a child under a certain age – typically 18 years – and an adult or another child. * * * * The vast majority of child marriages are between a female child and a ma ...

s in her area.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Mukamambo, Nkomeshya II Living people 20th-century Zambian women politicians 20th-century Zambian politicians People from Chongwe District Year of birth missing (living people)