Simon Kapwepwe
Encyclopedia
Simon Mwansa Kapwepwe was the first vice-president of Zambia from 1967 to 1970.
district of the Northern Province of Northern Rhodesia
(which then included the present day Luapula Province
) . Although Chinsali was remote from the country's urban centres, it was an area of early educational development, because of the presence of two rival missions, the Presbyterian Livingstonia Mission of the United Free Church of Scotland
(based at Lubwa (next to the Kolwe River from 1913) and the Roman Catholic White Fathers' Mission (based at Ilondola from 1934). Chinsali's first missionary was David Kaunda from Malawi, the father of Kenneth Kaunda
(who became the first African prime minister of Northern Rhodesia in 1963 and then the first president of Zambia
in 1964). Simon Kapwepwe became the country's second vice-president. Kapwepwe started his primary education in Chinsali. He did his Standard 3 and 4 at Mwenzo, another mission of Livingstonia. In 1942 and 1943 he did his Standard 5 and 6 in Lubwa. In 1944 he became driver at the Public Works Department, and in 1945 a primary school teacher at Lubwa. In September 1947 he went to Tanganyika
, looking for work, together with Kenneth Kaunda and John Malama Sokoni. In June 1948 he became an Assistant Welfare Officer with the Kitwe Municipal Council, location Nchanga (Chingola district]]), and then a teacher at Wusakile Primary School in Kitwe
.
. Kapwepwe was a member of the national executive and became secretary of the Kitwe Branch.
Kapwepwe secured an Indian Village Industrial Scholarship in 1950. He stayed in Bombay from 1950 to 1954, after studying Hindi in Nairobi. Subjects he studied were pottery and journalism. In October 1953 the Central African Federation (or the Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland
) was created. The African majority's opposition to this new entity was organized by the ANC, but it was not very successful. On Kapwepwe's return to Northern Rhodesia in January 1955 he found the ANC leaderless, since both Harry Nkumbula and Kenneth Kaunda had been imprisoned for two months for distributing literature, considered subversive. Kapwepwe became then Acting President. When Nkumbula returned from prison, he appointed Kapwepwe to the position of Acting Provincial Organizer for Northern Province. In August 1956 Kapwepwe became Treasurer of the ANC, based in Lusaka.
Nkumbula's allegedly autocratic leadership and his willingness to accept in 1958 participation in national elections, which allowed the vote to only 25,000 Africans, led to a rift within the ANC. Kapwepwe, together with Kaunda, Sikota Wina and others, broke away and formed the Zambia African National Congress (ZANC) in October 1958. This party was declared illegal in March 1959, and its leaders were placed under a banning order or goaled. Kapwepwe was sent to Mongu, in Barotseland. While the ZANC leadership was in jail or away, Mainza Chona
and other nationalists from ZANC formed a new party, the United National Independence Party
(UNIP) to replace ZANC. Kapwepwe and the other imprisoned leaders of ZANC joined the new party. When he was released from jail in December 1959, he helped organize provincial and district branches of UNIP in Barotseland.
In 1960 Kapwepwe and Kaunda attended the Federal Review Conference in London, together with Mainza Chona and Harry Nkumbula. This conference meant the beginning of the end of the Central African Federation, and laid the foundations for the independence of Zambia and Malawi
, but not yet for Southern Rhodesia
. In October 1962 there were elections in Northern Rhodesia. Kapwepwe challenged Dauti Yamba and won convincingly. The result of the election was a UNIP/ANC coalition government, in which Kapwepwe was given the post of Minister of African Agriculture.
by Ian Smith
, the leader of the Rhodesian Front
, in 1965.
Despite their friendship from childhood, Kapwepwe and Kaunda drifted apart after leading Zambia to independence. In 1967 Kapwepwe led a rebellion within UNIP. He stood against Reuben Kamanga
and won the position of deputy leader of UNIP. As a consequence, Kaunda promoted him to the position of Vice President. He used his new position to put forward economic policies that differed from Kaunda's, but his views were sidelined. He also campaigned for the preservation of Zambian culture through the teaching of indigenous languages in schools. In August 1969, he offered to resign from the Vice Presidency as well as the deputy leadership of UNIP. This move was precipitated by tribal friction within UNIP. Kaunda did not want to lose him and managed to dissuade him from taking that move. However, in October 1970 Kaunda replaced Kapwepwe with Mainza Chona for the post of Vice President. Kapwepwe was allowed to keep the posts of Minister of Culture and Minister of Local Government.
(UPP) that had been formed on the Copperbelt. He did not own up until Kaunda dismissed four cabinet ministers on suspicion of being clandestine members of the new party. In August 1971, Kapwepwe resigned from UNIP and the government and announced that he was, indeed, the leader of UPP. In December 1971 he won a by-election for the Mufulira West constituency, and became his party's sole representative in parliament. Kaunda was not pleased with this development. So, on 4 February 1972, he banned UPP and imprisoned 122 members of the party, including Kapwepwe. Kaunda's excuse was that UPP was an instrument of the Rhodesian, South African and Portuguese governments, which favoured White minority rule. Kapwepwe was kept in prison until 31 December 1972. By then, Kaunda had neutralized any threat that Kapwepwe could pose: the Chona Commission, under the chairmanship of Mainza Chona, was appointed in February 1972 to make recommendations for the constitution of a ‘one-party participatory democracy’ (i.e. a one-party state). After collecting four months of public hearings, the commission's report was submitted to Kaunda in October 1972. The Second Republic (i.e., the one-party state) was inaugurated on 1 January 1973, the day after Kapwepwe was released from detention.
Kapwepwe was harassed even after he had been politically emasculated. He was arrested in February 1973 for illegal possession of two guns. He received a two-years suspended sentence. The UNIP-controlled Zambian media reported that Kapwepwe had sent people for military training outside Zambia. He sued the Zambia Broadcasting Services, the Times of Zambia and the Zambia Daily Mail for libel and won when he proved that they had made false reports.
Kapwepwe turned his back on politics and went to live on his farm in Chinsali. In the spirit of national unity, Kaunda asked Kapwepwe to return to UNIP in September 1977, which he did. To test his erstwhile friend's sincerity, Kapwepwe stood for the 1978 UNIP's one-party presidential nomination against Kaunda. He was disqualified by last-minute changes to UNIP's constitution. He retired for good from politics and returned to Chinsali.
He died on 26 January 1980, after suffering from a stroke two days earlier.
Early life
Simon Kapwepwe was born on 12 April 1922 in the ChinsaliChinsali
Chinsali is a town in the Northern Province of Zambia, and is headquarters of Chinsali District. It lies 15 km west of the Great North Road and about 180 km north-north-east of Mpika...
district of the Northern Province of Northern Rhodesia
Northern Rhodesia
Northern Rhodesia was a territory in south central Africa, formed in 1911. It became independent in 1964 as Zambia.It was initially administered under charter by the British South Africa Company and formed by it in 1911 by amalgamating North-Western Rhodesia and North-Eastern Rhodesia...
(which then included the present day Luapula Province
Luapula Province
Luapula Province is one of Zambia's nine provinces, and is located in the north of the country. The provincial capital is Mansa. Luapula Province was named after the Luapula River....
) . Although Chinsali was remote from the country's urban centres, it was an area of early educational development, because of the presence of two rival missions, the Presbyterian Livingstonia Mission of the United Free Church of Scotland
United Free Church of Scotland
The United Free Church of Scotland is a Scottish Presbyterian denomination formed in 1900 by the union of the United Presbyterian Church of Scotland and the Free Church of Scotland...
(based at Lubwa (next to the Kolwe River from 1913) and the Roman Catholic White Fathers' Mission (based at Ilondola from 1934). Chinsali's first missionary was David Kaunda from Malawi, the father of Kenneth Kaunda
Kenneth Kaunda
Kenneth David Kaunda, known as KK, served as the first President of Zambia, from 1964 to 1991.-Early life:Kaunda was the youngest of eight children. He was born at Lubwa Mission in Chinsali, Northern Province of Northern Rhodesia, now Zambia...
(who became the first African prime minister of Northern Rhodesia in 1963 and then the first president of Zambia
Zambia
Zambia , officially the Republic of Zambia, is a landlocked country in Southern Africa. The neighbouring countries are the Democratic Republic of the Congo to the north, Tanzania to the north-east, Malawi to the east, Mozambique, Zimbabwe, Botswana and Namibia to the south, and Angola to the west....
in 1964). Simon Kapwepwe became the country's second vice-president. Kapwepwe started his primary education in Chinsali. He did his Standard 3 and 4 at Mwenzo, another mission of Livingstonia. In 1942 and 1943 he did his Standard 5 and 6 in Lubwa. In 1944 he became driver at the Public Works Department, and in 1945 a primary school teacher at Lubwa. In September 1947 he went to Tanganyika
Tanganyika
Tanganyika , later formally the Republic of Tanganyika, was a sovereign state in East Africa from 1961 to 1964. It was situated between the Indian Ocean and the African Great Lakes of Lake Victoria, Lake Malawi and Lake Tanganyika...
, looking for work, together with Kenneth Kaunda and John Malama Sokoni. In June 1948 he became an Assistant Welfare Officer with the Kitwe Municipal Council, location Nchanga (Chingola district]]), and then a teacher at Wusakile Primary School in Kitwe
Kitwe
Kitwe is the second largest city in terms of size and population in Zambia. With a population of 547,700 Kitwe is one of the most developed commercial and industrial areas in the nation, alongside Ndola and Lusaka...
.
Independence Struggle
Due to his dissatisfaction with the policies of the colonial Northern Rhodesian government, he became a founding member of the Northern Rhodesian African Congress in 1948. This party was soon renamed the Africa National Congress (ANC) under the leadership of Harry NkumbulaHarry Nkumbula
Harry Mwaanga Nkumbula was a Northern Rhodesian/Zambian nationalist leader who assisted in the struggle for the independence of Northern Rhodesia from British colonialism. He was born in the village of Maala in the Namwala district of Zambia's southern province...
. Kapwepwe was a member of the national executive and became secretary of the Kitwe Branch.
Kapwepwe secured an Indian Village Industrial Scholarship in 1950. He stayed in Bombay from 1950 to 1954, after studying Hindi in Nairobi. Subjects he studied were pottery and journalism. In October 1953 the Central African Federation (or the Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland
Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland
The Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland, also known as the Central African Federation , was a semi-independent state in southern Africa that existed from 1953 to the end of 1963, comprising the former self-governing colony of Southern Rhodesia and the British protectorates of Northern Rhodesia,...
) was created. The African majority's opposition to this new entity was organized by the ANC, but it was not very successful. On Kapwepwe's return to Northern Rhodesia in January 1955 he found the ANC leaderless, since both Harry Nkumbula and Kenneth Kaunda had been imprisoned for two months for distributing literature, considered subversive. Kapwepwe became then Acting President. When Nkumbula returned from prison, he appointed Kapwepwe to the position of Acting Provincial Organizer for Northern Province. In August 1956 Kapwepwe became Treasurer of the ANC, based in Lusaka.
Nkumbula's allegedly autocratic leadership and his willingness to accept in 1958 participation in national elections, which allowed the vote to only 25,000 Africans, led to a rift within the ANC. Kapwepwe, together with Kaunda, Sikota Wina and others, broke away and formed the Zambia African National Congress (ZANC) in October 1958. This party was declared illegal in March 1959, and its leaders were placed under a banning order or goaled. Kapwepwe was sent to Mongu, in Barotseland. While the ZANC leadership was in jail or away, Mainza Chona
Mainza Chona
Mainza Mathias Chona served as Prime Minister of Zambia on two occasions: 25 August 1973 to 27 May 1975 and 20 July 1977 to 15 June 1978. He also held various government positions, including Justice Minister , Home Affairs Minister and Minister of Legal Affairs and Attorney-General...
and other nationalists from ZANC formed a new party, the United National Independence Party
United National Independence Party
The United National Independence Party is a political party in Zambia. It governed that country from 1964 to 1991 under the presidency of Kenneth Kaunda....
(UNIP) to replace ZANC. Kapwepwe and the other imprisoned leaders of ZANC joined the new party. When he was released from jail in December 1959, he helped organize provincial and district branches of UNIP in Barotseland.
In 1960 Kapwepwe and Kaunda attended the Federal Review Conference in London, together with Mainza Chona and Harry Nkumbula. This conference meant the beginning of the end of the Central African Federation, and laid the foundations for the independence of Zambia and Malawi
Malawi
The Republic of Malawi is a landlocked country in southeast Africa that was formerly known as Nyasaland. It is bordered by Zambia to the northwest, Tanzania to the northeast, and Mozambique on the east, south and west. The country is separated from Tanzania and Mozambique by Lake Malawi. Its size...
, but not yet for Southern Rhodesia
Southern Rhodesia
Southern Rhodesia was the name of the British colony situated north of the Limpopo River and the Union of South Africa. From its independence in 1965 until its extinction in 1980, it was known as Rhodesia...
. In October 1962 there were elections in Northern Rhodesia. Kapwepwe challenged Dauti Yamba and won convincingly. The result of the election was a UNIP/ANC coalition government, in which Kapwepwe was given the post of Minister of African Agriculture.
After Independence
The General Elections, held in January 1964, were won by UNIP with 55 seats, as opposed to the ANC's 10 seats. Kapwepwe was given the post of Minister of Home Affairs. In September 1964, he was appointed Minister of Foreign Affairs and held that post for three years. During that time he lambasted the British government for failing to intervene after Rhodesia's Unilateral Declaration of IndependenceUnilateral Declaration of Independence (Rhodesia)
The Unilateral Declaration of Independence of Rhodesia from the United Kingdom was signed on November 11, 1965, by the administration of Ian Smith, whose Rhodesian Front party opposed black majority rule in the then British colony. Although it declared independence from the United Kingdom it...
by Ian Smith
Ian Smith
Ian Douglas Smith GCLM ID was a politician active in the government of Southern Rhodesia, the Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland, Rhodesia, Zimbabwe Rhodesia and Zimbabwe from 1948 to 1987, most notably serving as Prime Minister of Rhodesia from 13 April 1964 to 1 June 1979...
, the leader of the Rhodesian Front
Rhodesian Front
The Rhodesian Front was a political party in Southern Rhodesia when the country was under white minority rule. Led first by Winston Field, and, from 1964, by Ian Smith, the Rhodesian Front was the successor to the Dominion Party, which was the main opposition party in Southern Rhodesia during the...
, in 1965.
Despite their friendship from childhood, Kapwepwe and Kaunda drifted apart after leading Zambia to independence. In 1967 Kapwepwe led a rebellion within UNIP. He stood against Reuben Kamanga
Reuben Kamanga
Reuben Chitandika Kamanga was a Zambian politician. Before Zambia's independence he served as the deputy president of the United National Independence Party and as Minister of Labour and Mines. After independence in October 1964 he became the country's first Vice-President, serving for three...
and won the position of deputy leader of UNIP. As a consequence, Kaunda promoted him to the position of Vice President. He used his new position to put forward economic policies that differed from Kaunda's, but his views were sidelined. He also campaigned for the preservation of Zambian culture through the teaching of indigenous languages in schools. In August 1969, he offered to resign from the Vice Presidency as well as the deputy leadership of UNIP. This move was precipitated by tribal friction within UNIP. Kaunda did not want to lose him and managed to dissuade him from taking that move. However, in October 1970 Kaunda replaced Kapwepwe with Mainza Chona for the post of Vice President. Kapwepwe was allowed to keep the posts of Minister of Culture and Minister of Local Government.
End of his political career
Kapwepwe's life in UNIP began drawing to an end when he was linked with rumours of a new party called the United Progressive PartyUnited Progressive Party
There have been several political parties named the United Progressive Party.*For the main governing party in Antigua and Barbuda, see United Progressive Party ....
(UPP) that had been formed on the Copperbelt. He did not own up until Kaunda dismissed four cabinet ministers on suspicion of being clandestine members of the new party. In August 1971, Kapwepwe resigned from UNIP and the government and announced that he was, indeed, the leader of UPP. In December 1971 he won a by-election for the Mufulira West constituency, and became his party's sole representative in parliament. Kaunda was not pleased with this development. So, on 4 February 1972, he banned UPP and imprisoned 122 members of the party, including Kapwepwe. Kaunda's excuse was that UPP was an instrument of the Rhodesian, South African and Portuguese governments, which favoured White minority rule. Kapwepwe was kept in prison until 31 December 1972. By then, Kaunda had neutralized any threat that Kapwepwe could pose: the Chona Commission, under the chairmanship of Mainza Chona, was appointed in February 1972 to make recommendations for the constitution of a ‘one-party participatory democracy’ (i.e. a one-party state). After collecting four months of public hearings, the commission's report was submitted to Kaunda in October 1972. The Second Republic (i.e., the one-party state) was inaugurated on 1 January 1973, the day after Kapwepwe was released from detention.
Kapwepwe was harassed even after he had been politically emasculated. He was arrested in February 1973 for illegal possession of two guns. He received a two-years suspended sentence. The UNIP-controlled Zambian media reported that Kapwepwe had sent people for military training outside Zambia. He sued the Zambia Broadcasting Services, the Times of Zambia and the Zambia Daily Mail for libel and won when he proved that they had made false reports.
Kapwepwe turned his back on politics and went to live on his farm in Chinsali. In the spirit of national unity, Kaunda asked Kapwepwe to return to UNIP in September 1977, which he did. To test his erstwhile friend's sincerity, Kapwepwe stood for the 1978 UNIP's one-party presidential nomination against Kaunda. He was disqualified by last-minute changes to UNIP's constitution. He retired for good from politics and returned to Chinsali.
He died on 26 January 1980, after suffering from a stroke two days earlier.