Simon Kapwepwe

Simon Kapwepwe (born April 12, 1922 , † January 26, 1980 in Chinsali ) was the second Vice President in Zambia from 1967 to 1970 . He was childhood friend, political supporter and opponent of Kenneth Kaunda .

education

Simon Kapwepwe was born in the Chinsali district. Although this area is far away from the urban centers of Northern Rhodesia , today's Zambia, it was of political importance at the time. The place was marked by the contrasts between the Protestant Reformed Church of Scotland, which had been running the Lubwa Mission since 1905 , and the Roman Catholic Church with the mission of the White Fathers in Ilondola . One of the early missionaries in Lubwa Mission was David Kaunda, father of Kenneth Kaundas, who would later become the first President of Zambia. Kenneth Kaunda and Simon Kapwepwe both received their school education in the Lubwa Mission and then their teacher training. After graduating, Kapwewe moved to Kitwe to work as a primary school teacher.

The struggle for independence

Out of dissatisfaction with the colonial policy of the government of Northern Rhodesia, he became one of the founders of the Northern Rhodesian African National Congress in 1948 , which was soon renamed the Northern Rhodesian African National Congress. This party was presided over by Harry Nkumbula , Kapwewe became a member of the board and secretary in Kitwe. Nevertheless, Kapwewe returned to Chinsali with Kenneth Kaunda in 1949, where they wanted to set up an estate. Both remained politically active in the African welfare organization Chinsali, which was an offshoot of the NRANC.

Kapwewe received a scholarship to India in 1950, so that he gave up teaching and began a four-year course. One of his subjects was journalism. In his absence, in October 1953, the white settlers realized their dream of the Central African Federation, the Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland . The African opposition to this move was organized by the NRANC but was unsuccessful. When Kapwepwe returned in January 1955, he found the NRANC without a guide as Nkumbula and Kaunda were in jail for distributing subversive writings. Kapwewe took over the leadership of the NRANC and actions of passive resistance that he had met in India under the leadership of Mahatma Gandhi, who had used these means very effectively against British colonialism. When Nkumbula was released from custody, he appointed Kapwepwe President of NRANC in the Northern Province . Kapwepwe later became its treasurer.

Nkumbula's often lamented autocratic leadership style and his willingness to make political compromises at the expense of majority rule led to a split in the NRANC. Kaunda, Kapwepwe and other more militant party members broke up and founded the Zambian African National Congress in October 1958 . This party was banned by the British colonial authorities in March 1959, its leaders were arrested and Kapwepwe was sent to Mongu in Barotseland to serve prison . While the leadership of the ZANC was in prison, Mainza Chona and other nationalists broke away from ZRANC and founded the United National Independence Party in 1959 . Kapwepwe and other imprisoned leaders of the banned ZANC joined the new party. When they were released from prison in December 1959, Kapwepwe organized the UNIP association in Barotseland.

In 1960 Kaunda and Kapwepwe were at the Federal Review Conference in London, as were Nkumbula and Chona. This conference buried the project of the Central African Federation and laid the foundations for the independence of Zambia and Malawi , the former Nyassaland . In preparation for this possibility, elections were held in Northern Rhodesia in October 1961. Kapwepwe came up and won clearly over his challenger Dauti Yamba. The result of this election was a coalition government made up of UNIP and ZRANC, in which Kapwepwe received the post of Minister for African Agriculture.

The independence of Zambia

In the general elections that were held in Zambia in January 1964, UNIP won 55 seats and the ZRANC, now ANC 10. Kapwepwe first became Minister of the Interior, and in September 1964 Minister of Foreign Affairs and remained so for the next three years. During this time he did not cease to prosecute the British government for Ian Smith's unilateral declaration of Rhodesia's independence in 1965.

Regardless of their childhood friendship, Kapwepwe and Kaunda increasingly diverged in their political ideas. The ambitious Kapwepwe led a rebellion within UNIP, ran against Reuben Kamanga in the election for Vice Chairman of UNIP and won. Kaunda promoted him to Vice President of Zambia. He used this position for an economic policy that differed from the Kaundas. He also advocated the preservation of Zambian culture through native languages ​​as the language of instruction in schools. In August 1969 he offered his resignation as Vice President and Vice Chairman of UNIP. However, that would have been a break within UNIP according to tribal borders. Kaunda didn't want that. He persuaded him to stay. But in October 1970 Kaunda Mainza appointed Chona as Vice President of Zambia. Kapwepwe became Minister for Culture and Minister for Local Government.

The end of political life

The end of Kapwepwe in UNIP began to emerge when it was associated with the formation of a new party, the United Progressive Party , which had formed in the Copperbelt . He was silent until Kaunda sacked four ministers whom he suspected of secret membership in the UPP. In August 1971 Kapwepwe left the government and UNIP, declaring that he was indeed the leader of the UPP. In December 1971 he won the Mufulira by-elections and became the only UPP holder of a mandate in the National Assembly of Zambia . Kaunda was upset about this development. On February 4, 1972, he banned the UPP and arrested 122 of its members, including Kapwepwe. Kaundas argued that the UPP was an instrument of the white minority government in (South) Rhodesia, the South Africans and the Portuguese. Kapwepwe remained in custody until December 31, 1972. By then, Kaunda had neutralized him politically by having the Chona Commission appointed in February 1972, named after its chairman Mainza Chona, recommend one-party participation democracy , hence dictatorship. After four months of public hearings, the Commission submitted its findings to Kaunda in October 1972. As a result, the Second Republic was proclaimed on January 1, 1973, one day after Kapwepwe was released.

Kapwepwe was attacked from now on, although he was politically sidelined. In February 1973 he was arrested for illegally possessing weapons and received a two-year suspended sentence. The UNIP-controlled press wrote that Kapwepwe had sent people abroad for military training. Doc Kapwepwe sued the Zambia National Broadcasting Corporation , the Times of Zambia and the Zambia Daily Mail and won those lawsuits.

Then Kapwepwe left politics and retired to his estate near Chinsali. With the intention of preserving national unity, Kaunda asked him in September 1977 to return to UNIP. Kapwepwe then put Kaunda's forgiveness to the test by running against him in the 1978 presidential nomination. He was outmaneuvered at the last moment by a change in the UNIP statutes. Then Kapwepwe said goodbye and returned to Chinsali.

Simon Kapwewe died on January 26, 1980, two days after a stroke.

Web links

• CV ( Memento from June 10, 2007 in the Internet Archive )
• Rewriting the History of Kenneth Kaunda?