Sikota Wina (31 August 1931 – 15 June 2022) was a Zambian politician. He was a member of the Legislative Council and 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 ...

and the country's first

Minister of Health A health minister is the member of a country's government typically responsible for protecting and promoting public health and providing welfare and other social security services. Some governments have separate ministers for mental health. Coun ...

. He also held the posts of Minister for Local Government and Minister of Information, Broadcasting and Tourism.

Biography

Wina was born in

Mongu Mongu is the capital of Western Province in Zambia and was the capital of the formerly-named province and historic state of Barotseland. Its population is 179,585 (2010 census), and it is also the headquarters of Mongu District. History Mongu ...

in 1931. His father was Chief Minister to the Paramount Chief of

Barotseland Barotseland ( Lozi: Mubuso Bulozi) is a region between Namibia, Angola, Botswana, Zimbabwe including half of eastern and northern provinces of Zambia and the whole of Democratic Republic of Congo's Katanga Province. It is the homeland of the ...

. He attended

Kafue Kafue is a town in the Lusaka Province of Zambia and it lies on the north bank of the Kafue River, after which it is named. It is the southern gateway to the central Zambian plateau on which Lusaka and the mining towns of Kabwe and the Copperbe ...

Training School and then

Munali Secondary School Munali Secondary School is a state-funded secondary school located on the Great East Road in Lusaka, Zambia. Munali was the first secondary school for black students in Zambia's history. Some of its alumni are notable Zambian politicians and public ...

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 ...

, before going on to study at the

University of Fort Hare The University of Fort Hare is a public university in Alice, Eastern Cape, South Africa. It was a key institution of higher education for Africans from 1916 to 1959 when it offered a Western-style academic education to students from across sub ...

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 ...

. However, he was expelled from the university due to his political activity. Wina returned to Northern Rhodesia and worked in the Information Department of the colonial government, and in 1954 he was arrested for entering a whites-only restaurant.Sikota Wina recounts his early days as a Politician
Lusaka Times, 28 July 2013 In 1956 he began working as a journalist, editing the ''African Life'' magazine. He was arrested again in March 1959 as part of a drive against "suspected subversives". After being released from detention in Bemba, he joined 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) and became its publicity director. In 1962 Wina was elected to the Legislative Council for Copperbelt West in the

general elections A general election is a political voting election where generally all or most members of a given political body are chosen. These are usually held for a nation, state, or territory's primary legislative body, and are different from by-elections ( ...

that year. He subsequently became Parliamentary Secretary to

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 ...

when Kaunda was appointed Minister of Local Government. In the 1964 general elections he was elected in the Luanshya–Kalulushi constituency and was appointed

's government."U.N.I.P. Cabinet Sworn In: "Racial" Seats Must Go: Mr. Kaunda", ''East Africa and Rhodesia'', 30 January 1964, p449 He became Minister for Local Government later in the year. He was re-elected to the National Assembly in the 1968 general elections representing the Roan constituency after Luanshya–Kalulushi was abolished, and was appointed Minister of Information, Broadcasting and

Tourism Tourism is travel for pleasure or business; also the theory and practice of touring (disambiguation), touring, the business of attracting, accommodating, and entertaining tourists, and the business of operating tour (disambiguation), tours. Th ...

in December 1968.John Dickie &

Alan Rake Alan Rake (born 1933) is an English journalist and writer about Africa. Life Alan Rake was educated at Oxford University, where he studied Philosophy, politics and economics. He was invited by Jim Bailey, also educated at Oxford, to work for '' ...

(1973) ''Who's Who in Africa: The political, military and business leaders of Africa'', African Development, pp600–601 Wina left politics in the 1970s. In 1984 he was arrested at

Bombay Airport Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport is an international airport serving Mumbai and the Mumbai Metropolitan Region (MMR). It is the second busiest airport in the country in terms of total and international passenger traffic aft ...

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

for alleged drug smuggling. According to Indian government prosecutors, he jumped bail and used a fake Sudanese passport to fly back to Lusaka under the name Hussein. Upon his return to Zambia, he claimed the drugs had been planted. Together with his wife, Wina was jailed in April 1985, but was released the following year without facing a trial. After multi-party politics was introduced at the start of the 1990s, Wina became a member of the

Movement for Multi-Party Democracy The Movement for Multi-party Democracy (MMD) also known as New Hope MMD is a political party in Zambia. Originally formed to oust the previous government, MMD controlled an absolute majority in parliament between 1991 and 2001, when its past lead ...

and was elected to the National Assembly in the

Chililabombwe Chililabombwe (formerly named Bancroft) is a small town in Copperbelt Province, Zambia. It is located near the Democratic Republic of the Congo border. The name Chililabombwe means 'place of the croaking frog' in the local language of Lamba. The ...

constituency in the 1991 general elections. Following the elections, he was appointed Deputy

Speaker Speaker may refer to: Society and politics * Speaker (politics), the presiding officer in a legislative assembly * Public speaker, one who gives a speech or lecture * A person producing speech: the producer of a given utterance, especially: ** I ...

, but resigned from the post in 1994 after another drug-dealing scandal. He was re-elected in

1996 File:1996 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: A Centennial Olympic Park bombing, bomb explodes at Centennial Olympic Park in Atlanta, set off by a radical Anti-abortion violence, anti-abortionist; The center fuel tank explodes on TWA Flight 8 ...

,Zambia
Election Passport but defected to the

United Party for National Development The United Party for National Development (UPND) is a social liberal political party in Zambia, led by Hakainde Hichilema, the current president of the country. The party is an observer member of the Africa Liberal Network. History The UPND was ...

prior to the 2001 general elections and ran in the

Mulobezi Mulobezi is a small town in the Western Province of Zambia, and the centre of its timber industry. Timber extends into Southern Province with which the town is economically linked. Extensive forests of Zambian Teak grow on the sandy soils of th ...

constituency. Although he was beaten by the MMD's Michael Mabenga, the result was overturned by the Supreme Court in September 2003 due to Mabenga using state resources during the election campaign. Wina contested the subsequent by-election, but was defeated by Mwiya Wanyambe of the MMD. Wina is the brother of politician

Arthur Wina Arthur is a common male given name of Brythonic origin. Its popularity derives from it being the name of the legendary hero King Arthur. The etymology is disputed. It may derive from the Celtic ''Artos'' meaning “Bear”. Another theory, more ...

. He was originally married to Glenda Puteho McCoo, an African-American, before marrying Mukwae Nakatindi, a politician and member of the

royal family, in the 1970s. Nakatindi died in 2012. Sikota died at the

University Teaching Hospital The University Teaching Hospital (UTH) formerly Lusaka hospital is the biggest public tertiary hospital in Lusaka, Zambia. It is the largest hospital with 1,655 beds. It is a teaching hospital and, as such, is used to train local medical student ...

in Lusaka on 15 June 2022.Sikota Wina dies
ZNBC, 15 June 2022

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Wina, Sikota 1931 births University of Fort Hare alumni Zambian journalists United National Independence Party politicians Movement for Multi-Party Democracy politicians United Party for National Development politicians Members of the National Assembly of Zambia Members of the Legislative Council of Northern Rhodesia Health ministers of Zambia Local government ministers of Zambia Tourism ministers of Zambia Information and Broadcasting Services ministers of Zambia Alumni of Munali Secondary School People from Mongu District 2022 deaths