BRE SCHEME TO UNDO BNC GAINS UNVEILED
by Mampi Ñundamai
Information obtained from some very impeccable sources close to the embattled Barotse Royal Establishment (BRE) has revealed that a very serious scheme to undo the gains made by the 2012 Barotse National Council (BNC) Resolutions and the related follow-up actions, especially the achievements made by the Barotse National Freedom Alliance (BNFA) in its quest to ensure that the BNC Resolutions of March 2012 is implemented. The ambiguous statement unleashed to the press and published in both ‘The Post’ and ‘The Daily Nation’ on 22nd October 2015 was intended to kick-start the campaign which unfortunately has backfired because it only served to expose the embattled BRE as a vacillator at best or a bunch of uncoordinated liars who deny today their own signatures what they did yesterday under the same signatures. It may be worth noting that the publication of their position statement in the two tabloids had cost the embattled BRE or whoever is sponsoring them not less than K20,000.00. Following up on that position statement, probably what they have called “...PRE-DIALOGUE consultations with stakeholders ... who share this vision ...” of turning against the wishes and aspirations of the People of Barotseland, the embattled BRE held a highly secretive meeting on Thursday 5th November 2015, with a select group of ‘activists’ who are generally perceived to be disgruntled and compromised, among them was Chazele Mulasikwanda and Mungwaluku of ‘The Congress’ and some former Barotseland Imilemas leaders who lost elections. The meeting was to strategise on how to go round the Districts to popularize the issue of the restoration of the Barotseland Agreement 1964 (BA'64) as opposed to implementing the wishes and aspirations of the People of Barotseland—total independence of Barotseland from the rest of Zambia and to try and convince the District Kutas to tow the embattled Namuso (BRE) line ahead of the much anticipated Privy Council. The BRE master plan is to get the Privy Council make a decision that is pro restoration of the Agreement, in the false belief that it can be used to effectively overturn the BNC Resolutions of March 2012 which were categorical on the issue of disengagement and the pursuit of independent statehood for Barotseland following the Zambian Governments Abrogation of the BA ’64. Both the Privy Council and the embattled BRE are subordinate to the Barotse National Council and any actions by the Privy Council that are at variance with the BNC Resolutions of March 2012 will simply put them at the same fate like the embattled BRE and also make themselves irrelevant to the Barotseland independence struggle. According to the source, the embattled BRE is ready with the finances for the tour and is targeting to send out at least 30 ‘activists’ to undo whatever progress has been made in the minds of the people to prepare them for a self-governing Barotseland. Unfortunately for the embattled BRE, only a handful of activists have so far enlisted themselves to this diabolic scheme so that they could partake of the “thirty pieces of silver” on offer. Meanwhile Induna Kalonga in an interview has denied knowledge of the scheme and the meeting with the select group of ‘activists’ indicating that only Induna Katema could be the one in the know. Interviews with other Indunas also reveal that there could be a split at Namuso with other Indunas revealing that even the position statement published on 22nd October 2015 was not sanctioned by the Kuta but by the three who signed it.