MUCHINGA PROVINCE

A place of natural abundance

By
Moono John
24th October, 1964 will always be in the memory of many people who emanate from the
borders of Zambia as it is the day that gave birth to the great nation now known to the world
as Zambia. Formerly known as Northern Rhodesia, was a protectorate of the British
government when the British South African Company was overseeing the premises. In 1924,
Northern Rhodesia became a British colony. Northern Rhodesia was colonized by the British
until after the aforementioned date that gave birth to a new nation and signaled the end of
British rule over this land.
Zambia draws its name from the river that runs from the north-west part of the country
through Mozambique to the Indian Ocean. The country was divided into 9 regions which are
called provinces. The nine provinces were; Lusaka province which is the home of the
administrative capital of the country, Southern province which is home to the first capital of
Northern Rhodesia and also the home to the tourist capital Livingstone. It is named after a
Scottish missionary who is said to be the first white man to see the Mosi-o- Tunya that means
“the smoke that thunders” and later he named it after the then Queen of the Britain, Queen
Victoria. Western Province home of the magnificent Mongu-Kalabo Bridge, North- Western
province the emerging industry hub of the country, Central province is the historical home of
Broken Hill man, Northern Province which is the home of the Mwela rocks and the
Chishimba Falls. Luapula Province is the home of many water bodies prominent among them
is the Lake Bangweulu and the Mambillima Falls. Eastern Province is the home of the
famous presidential holiday site Mfuwe and finally the Copperbelt Province which is the
industrial hub of the country. Zambia had maintained these provinces for a good number of
years until in 2011 when then president of the Republic of Zambia His Excellency Mr.
Michael Chilufya Sata made the pronouncement of the tenth province to be named Muchinga.
Muchinga Province draws its name from the Muchinga Escarpment. The escarpment runs
from Mafinga through to Mpika. Though scary on first sight but it is a beautiful scenery that
can be turned into a tourist attraction. This is because it is such a rare scenery worth of
watching. Muchinga means “meandering through a terrain before getting to the destination”.
However, it is worth noting that the meaning of Muchinga is subject to debate because little
or no research has been undertaken to find out the real meaning of Muchinga. The province is
rich in history and is at the centre of the history of Northern Rhodesia to becoming the
present day Zambia. Muchinga province has contributed immensely to the political
development of Zambia.
Zambia’s journey towards political emancipation became at a place called Mwenzo in
Nakonde district right in the heart of the province. This was a mission centre of the London
Missionary Society. A man named Donald Siwale is said to have begun a political movement
to emancipate the black majority of the ills of the white minority rulers of the country at the
time. In 1912, Donald Siwale formed the first welfare society which helped many blacks to
know about the rights and privileges. The man is fondly remembered by a school named after
him. The school is called Donald Siwale Technical Secondary School in Nakonde district.
While the place at which the movement started houses a girl’s boarding school. The school is
called Mwenzo Girls Secondary School. The two schools are just in close proximity to each
other. Another historical site worth of note in Nakonde district is the Old Fife Barrack. This
was the barrack for the British soldier who during the world war fought with their Germany
counterparts. Apart from the aforementioned sites in Nakonde district, there is another tourist
attraction that has a place in history. We are here today because of history and a serious
neglect of our historical background means that our future is bleak. The Zwangedaba burial
site along the Nakonde-Mbala road at a place near Kapwila is one historical site that needs
serious marketing and taking care of. Zwangedaba was a Ngoni king who led his people from
South Africa where they were running away from the wars of Shaka popularly known as the
Mfecane. He led his people who eventually settled in the eastern part of Zambia but
unfortunately for him, he died in Nakonde on there to the eastern province. His remains
remained in Nakonde and that should be guarded judiciously as a famous heritage site in the
country. These historical sites should be well managed and well marketed as they are key
places in the political journey of our great nation. The country can earn good foreign
exchange once these places are marketed as tourist sites. A brief history about them should be
stored at a museum in these locations for people from within the country and outside the
country can come and learn more about them.
In addition, the first republican president of Zambia Dr. Kenneth David Kaunda was born on
28th April, 1924 in Chinsali district at Lubwa Mission. The aforementioned place is in
Muchinga province and as fate would have it, the son from the province went on to lead the
liberation struggle and eventually became the founding president of Zambia. Therefore,
because of its place in the history of the country, it is worth including among the heritage
sites the country has to offer to the world. Another of the people to have been so active in the
liberation struggle is the late Simon Mwansa Kapwepwe as well as Robert Kapasa Makasa.
Simon Mwansa Kapwepwe emanates from Chinsali district and was also in the first cabinet
of the independent Zambia and has an airport named after him. This is the Simon Mwansa
Kapwepwe international airport in Ndola. While Robert Kapasa Makasa has a university
named after him. This is the Robert Kapasa Makasa University in his hometown of Chinsali
which is under the Copperbelt University.
Another son of the soil of Muchinga province is the late Michael Chilufya Sata. Michael
Chilufya Sata born in Mpika district in 1937 came and added his name to the political
development and eventually led the country as a president. At the time of his death in
October of 2014 he was president of the republic of Zambia. Many sons and daughters of the
land who have their roots soiled in the province had dedicated the lives to liberation struggle
and others still raise the name of the province in the current political arena.
Muchinga province despite being a rural province has had a great contribution to the
country’s political emancipation and has also great amount of potential in terms of tourism.
Great effort should be put in marketing and developing the province in order to make it more
attractive and being the hub of tourism in the country. The province has vast unexplored land
and is home to some national monuments. Some of them are the Nachikufu Caves in Mpika.
The caves are a magnificent sight and save as historical site for the people of the stone-age
period. The caves provide us with evidence of people that lived during that period of time.
The paintings have been interpreted and have historical significance according to the time in
which they lived in. As country that is on the path of diversification from mining as the main
economic activity of the country to other sectors of the economic such as agriculture and
tourism. We should seriously consider beautifying such places to make them more attractive
to both local and foreign tourists. Charity begins at home says a famous adage. We as people
should first learn to appreciate and visit our heritage sites before we can think of marketing
them to the world. A serious paradigm shift in the way we do things is need for our tourism
sector to be among the best in Africa if not the whole world.
Another national monument worth of mention is the Chipoma falls in Chinsali district. This
natural wonder is one of the water bodies in the heart of the province has not been given the
publicity it deserves. Magnificent water bodies such as the Chipoma falls should be well
marketed. In addition to the Chipoma falls is the Lwitikila falls in Mpika district. Just like the
Chipoma falls, Lwitikila falls has not been well publicized for the world out there to know
about them. The province also has a hot spring in Shiwang’andu district. The hot spring is
known as Kapisha Hot spring. This is a rare sight and so it should be well publicized and
marketed for the world to know how much a rare sight it is. The major water body that the
province has is the Chambeshi River. The Chambeshi River acts as a demarcation between
Northern and Muchinga provinces. It goes through Lake Bangweulu and comes out as
Luapula River. Therefore, the name Luapula means “come through or go through” The
Bangweulu swamps in Chief Kopa’s area are another water body in the province. The Lake
also demarcates Luapula province and Muchinga province. Therefore, it is imperative that
as a country we seriously need to market these heritage sites properly so that these parts of
the country become economically viable too. Not only will it change the face of the province
but it will also help accelerate the diversification process as it will be based on tangible
actions and not mere pronouncements.
The province is also blessed with a number of national parks and some of the national parks
dotted round the province include Lavushi Manda, North Luangwa and South Luangwa
national parks. The national parks are home to many wildlife animals. Watching wild animals
is a magnificent and euphoric experience that last a lifetime. And it being a rare opportunity
for many, marketing these national parks and the kind of wildlife in them will be of great
benefit to the nation as more and more tourist will be willing to visit these national parks.
The province has nine districts. The province was robbed of the historical value when the
President Edgar Chagwa Lungu decided to demarcate Mpika district into three districts.
Mpika used to be the largest district in the country. Some geographers speculated that Mpika
was as big as Malawi and as big as Luapula province. This was the pride of the province
however, it has been taken away from the province to accommodate for accelerated
development. This is because the country is in a hurry to develop. The districts in the
province are Kanchibiya, Lavushi Manda, Mpika, Chinsali, Shiwang’andu, Isoka, Mafinga,
Chama and Nakonde districts. Nakonde is on the tip of the province up north and is the
gateway to East Africa. The border town is a hive of activities as people from different
countries converge on the Nakonde- Tunduma border to conduct various business activities.
The major languages spoken in the province are Bemba mostly in Chinsali district and others
on the northern side of the province as well as down south in Mpika, Namwanga mostly
spoken in Nakonde and Isoka districts and Tumbuka mostly spoken on the eastern side of the
province. The Namwangas of both Nakonde and Isoka district have a wonderful traditional
ceremony called the Mutomolo Traditional ceremony which is celebrated in August. The
ceremony is held during this time of the year to thank the ancestors for the good harvest and
pray for rains for the coming farming soon. The timing of the ceremony as it is held post
harvest period and just at the beginning of the preparations of the coming season. It is held in
Nakonde district at Chieftainess NaWaitwika’s palace. The people of this region of the
country are predominantly peasant farmers. The crops grown in this part of the country are
mainly maize, cassava, millet and groundnuts.
Muchinga province though a rural province but is abundantly endowed with many natural
wonders and places as well as having a place in the heart of the history of mother Zambia.
The country’s diversification agenda can only take effect with mental diversification on the
part of the citizens also taking effect. Marketing of the tourism potential of Muchinga
province will great benefit the nation. The province will also contribute to the Gross
Domestic Product of this country. We are a country sitting on abundance in terms of the God
given natural resources and it is our duty to market ourselves to the outside world for our
development agenda to take the diversification stance into being a serious reality. It begins
with us. Muchinga Province a place of natural abundance