Maravi

Rupiah denounces Lunda-Luvale rows as petty, old-fashioned

Rupiah denounces Lunda-Luvale rows as petty, old-fashioned
By Speedwell Mupuchi in Mwinilunga
Tue 14 Sep. 2010, 04:01 CAT

PRESIDENT Rupiah Banda on Sunday described the conflict between the Lunda and
Luvale people of Zambezi as petty and old-fashioned.

Talking to journalists at Mulumbi school ground before he departed for Solwezi,
President Banda said the conflicts between the Lunda and the Luvale were petty
squabbles.

“So we hear stories that they are fighting but these are brothers, and the same
people came from Mwat Yamvwa, same culture, same language. I was so happy to see them dancing together and I want to encourage this, very much, in all the
provinces. We should not have these petty…these are old-fashioned, petty tribal
squabbles,” he said.

“I think the Zambian people don’t like that.”

President Banda said his government was doing everything possible to resolve the conflict between the Lunda and Luvale people of Zambezi.

“I don’t have to expose our strategy but we are doing everything possible to
make sure that we do not have these things…,” he said.

President Banda said he was happy to see Mize people (the Luvale) dancing at the Chisemwa Cha Lunda ceremony and were given gifts as a mark of appreciation of their brotherhood.

He said he had enjoyed the Chisemwa Cha Lunda ceremony and was happy to see all
tribes of the North Western Province together.

“Chidika chinawahi (the ceremony is wonderful),” said President Banda.
Earlier, Lunda Cultural Association chairperson Elijah Kalemba called for
lasting peace between the Lunda and Luvale people of Zambezi.
Kalembe said Lundas and Luvales elsewhere were living in peace and supporting each other during traditional ceremonies.

Lundas and Luvales in Zambezi have recently engaged in skirmishes following a Kitwe High Court ruling that set the Zambezi River as the boundary between the Lunda on the east and the Luvale on the west, and that both senior chiefs Ndungu (of the Luvale) and Ishindi (of the Lunda) should confine their activities within that boundary.

The recent skirmishes were over the emergence of the Luvale’s Makishi from the
graveyard on the eastern side in their procession to the west.

Chief Ndungu during the Likumbi Lya Mize challenged President Banda to publicly
state whether any traditional chief had claim and control over Zambezi Boma,
which was state land.

Chief Ndungu said the government’s silence over the matter was fueling the conflict.

And speaking during the Chisemwa Cha Lunda ceremony, President Banda said culture, when properly nurtured, was a unifying factor.

He said his government believed culture was also an integral part of development and the emancipation of the people from foreign cultural enslavement.

President Banda also announced the disbursement of K10 million to Kawiku Women
Club to facilitate their development projects.

And President Banda said government had continued to provide basic
education for all children countrywide because education was a pillar for
development.

“A country with a learned and skilled citizen is bound to develop in all
sectors,” he said.

President Banda said about K9.4 billion had been set aside for completion of construction of the Mwinilunga Trades School.

He told the people that he had really enjoyed all the cultural dances displayed at Chisemwa Cha Lunda.

President Banda seemed impressed by the dancing of a Makishi from Zambezi, small girls from Ikelengi, a dance group from Mukangala area who wore garments made from specially processed tree backs and chunkanga (young girls that had come of age).

From time to time, President Banda walked in on the dancers to give money in appreciation.

Several Lunda, Kaonde, Lamba and Luvale chiefs, including some from Angola and
the Democratic Republic of Congo, attended the ceremony.

Meanwhile, Mwat Yamvwa, the Lunda King from the Democratic Republic of Congo, is expected in Mwinilunga today and will hold a meeting with Lunda chiefs at Kwakuwahi Lodge. Mwat
Yamvwa was supposed to grace this year's Chisemwa Cha Lunda ceremony but was
reportedly in Namibia at the time.

Labels: RUPIAH BANDA, TRIBALISM

posted by MrK @ 6:23 AM