The clerk of the court was extremely rough but I admired his habit of working on Sunday which I follow to-date. 

After being transferred to Judicial headquarters in Livingstone, I married my wife, Yolanta Chimbamu, on 24 May 1953 and we have six girls and two boys. Before going to Livingstone though, I had attended an eight-month course as a shorthand typist.  We were all men in the class.

When we settled down with the new Chief Chona at Nampeyo, I began applying for a bursary for a BA or BSc degree without much success.  Then I just applied for a law degree.  The Chief Justice Arthur Lewey opposed this very strongly.  He wanted a more elderly person. 

When federation came, this Chief Justice went to be a Federal Supreme Court judge.  Another excellent judge Sir Peter Bell from West Indies approved of my bursary to study law at Grey’s Inn School of Law for a degree of Barrister at Law in the United Kingdom.  I went in 1955 with Munalula Sikatana (the elder brother to Mundia  Sikatana).  Munalula committed suicide a day after our first law examination.

STUDENT LIFE IN ENGLAND

Munalula Sikatana was an extremely good person and interested in politics.  He contacted Simon Zukas and Commander Thomas Fox-Pitt five days after our arrival in London.  We had gone by ship via Cape Town in South Africa to Southampton.  This was a 14-day journey by sea.

Harry Nkumbula (who was pleasantly shocked to learn of our scholarship when I accidentally met him at Monze railway station) advised me to keep out of politics as the colonialists could fail me deliberately as they did to him.

However, Godwin Mbikusita Lewanika (a very kind man) had introduced us to Moral Re-Armament.  Remembering Nkumbula’s advice, I told them to contact me after I pass my law studies.  Since Sikatana was interested in any subject of a political nature, he kept contact with them, though he was scornful of their beliefs and the apparent aims of softening African desire for nationhood.

I only met Zukas and Commander Fox Pitt at the funeral of Sikatana.  At first I felt I was haunted by Sikatana – fellow students looked at us as twins.  We had been sharing a room until I left him in a student hostel at Queen’s Gardens to live alone in South London as the previous hostel was too noisy.  An Indian (Ugandan) boy followed me to reside at this new hostel and not long after he too died.  I felt a great loss.

I kept contact with Zukas and Commander Fox Pitt and other progressive organisations like the Africa Bureau, Anti-Slavery Society and Movement for Colonial Freedom. Later we formed a Committee of African Organisations. 

When I passed all my examinations, I joined in signing a letter with other African students opposing federation.  I was called to the Northern Rhodesia Commissioner’s office and was told that I should not have signed the letter as I was on federal scholarship.  (At that time higher education was a federal subject).  I explained that even the uneducated knew that federation was not in their interest.  I obtained a degree of Barrister-at-law at Gray’s Inn in 1958.  I was Mathias Chona Mainza while in England but I changed my name to MATTHIAS MAINZA CHONA by deed pool after all my examinations.

NO JOB FOR FIRST LAWYER

After I passed my examinations, there were some liberal Europeans who tried to come close to me, and my wife who was at the village.  I warned my wife to be careful and only to be close to missionaries.  They tried to persuade me to join the Native Court Adviser’s Department Council (Yamaba, Sokota, Sefeli Chileshe, Nabulyato etc).  I agreed to join the civil service but not in the Native Court Adviser’s Department.  I applied to be a magistrate crown counsel or district commissioner.  I got a response from the government informing me that all these were promotion posts except to be Assistant Executive Officer in the Native Courts Adviser’s Department.  I refused and some lawyers told me I would starve after refusing to join the civil service.

The lawyers made this threat because immediately after I passed my law examination, the Legislative Council passed a law that for one to practise, he must have served in the office of a lawyer in Northern Rhodesia for eight months and should pass a local examination.  After I could not get a job in the civil service, I tried a door to door campaign in the firms of white lawyers to get someone to take me.  They all refused me because they said they would loose their customers on account of my black skin.  In the end, the lawyer who took me was Arthur Johnson.  He took me as a typist.  He did not deal with any litigation, only conveyance and mortgages. 

I failed my first local examination.  I understand Musa Dhudhia (the second non-black lawyer in Northern Rhodesia also failed the local examination.  What a contrast with England where I passed all Bar examinations in less than two years.  I only stayed on to complete my dinners at Gray’s Inn. After failing the local examination, I swore never to write another one even if I was given answers to copy.

Johnson told me that if I got a mortgage for a house, he would pay me £100 a month (part of which would come from the Government) but I preferred to stay in an African compound and he paid me £25.  I preferred to stay in Matero compound and be paid £25 per month.

WHY AND HOW I JOINED POLITICS

This period (1959) was a revolutionary period.  The whites were clamouring for dominion status for Federation so that they are free to deal with natives.  Dynamic Laurence Katilungu who teamed with weakening Harry Nkumbula had softened the Trade Union.  Kenneth Kaunda had broken away to form Zambian African National Congress (ZANC).  I arrived in this situation more sympathetic to ZANC but without any card from any of the political parties.

As I said, after the shock of Munalula Sikatana’s death, my life completely changed and I became very interested and active in politics in England.  Through Simon Zukas and Commander Fox-Pitt, I was able to meet Northern Rhodesia leaders who visited England like Harry Nkumbula, Kenneth Kaunda and members of the Legislative Council.  One day with Chuula we tried to urge Kaunda to take over the African National Congress (ANC) leadership as Nkumbula was a disgrace and could not achieve independence.  He said he (Kaunda) too had weaknesses and he urged us to support Nkumbula in spite of his shortcomings.

The problem came when ZANC was banned before the elections.  In the elections, the ANC won only one seat, that of Nkumbula.  The ANC held their first rally after the elections.  I cycled to Nkumbula’s house and asked him whether I could speak at the rally.  He agreed and introduced me as the first lawyer in Northern Rhodesia.  In my speech I said any real man should be in jail at that point in time and I praised and envied those in jail for freedom. Nkumbula echoed my words and threatened to join Kaunda in jail if Kaunda was not released.  Some people think that was my first and best speech I ever made.

That is how I joined politics.  Titus Mukupo and others liked my policy of unity and those who left ANC and wanted a leader who would capture ANC leadership and combine with former ZANC leaders to ensure one strong united anti-imperialist movement.  A conference was held after I bought my ANC card but later the two parties broke into two, one led by Nkumbula and the other led by me.  Meanwhile Paul Kalichini had announced the formation of African National Independence Party (ANIP).  We negotiated with Kalichini to make it United National Independence Party (UNIP).  Three people from his side met with three people from our side to elect a leader of UNIP.  I was elected by four votes to two. This means that one of his men voted for me.  Kalichini was at that election meeting while I was absent. 

It is significant that to this date, Kalichini has not complained about the voting at that meeting.

FEDERATION

In the civil service in Lusaka and Livingstone, Africans at that time were against Federation because it was like hearing another apartheid South Africa.  Although the Federal Government granted us scholarships, we were very strongly against Federation due to the long-term danger.  So like other Africans, I was against Federation and was in the forefront of fighting for its dissolution.  The deportation of Simon Zukas (for supporting African opposition to Federation) was an eye-opener for Africans.  The failure of the ANC to stop the imposition of Federation and prevent the deportation of Zukas weakened Nkumbula’s leadership, which up to that time had been legendary.  People wanted a sort of Mau Mau type of opposition to Federation.

SECOND ALL AFRICAN PEOPLE’S CONGRESS, TUNIS

I was invited to the Second all African People’s Congress in Tunis (1960), as I was the President of UNIP at that time. Kaunda had just been released and had not taken over the leadership of UNIP.  He and Simon Kapwepwe saw me off at the airport.  The next morning in Rome, I found that British newspapers had a front page report that police were to have arrested me and arrived at my Matero home soon after I left.  My wife told them that I had gone to the airport.  Upon arrival at the airport, they only found Kaunda and Kapwepwe.  They missed me as the aircraft had already taken off.   In Salisbury, Southern Rhodesia (today Zimbabwe), I was being followed by the police even in the African compound.  I was being followed until I boarded the plane for Nairobi/Khartoum/Rome.  I was wearing the Chitumwa, a lucky charm that I was given in Samfya  in Luapula Province.  At the conference in Tunis, I was a hero.  I said settlers were trespassers in Africa!

VOICE OF UNIP The editors of the Voice of UNIP were Nalumino Mundia and Sikota Wina.  If ever I edited this magazine, it may have been on temporal basis.  The Voice of UNIP was to project strong uncompromising anti-imperialist stance and report of activities and expose colonial oppression.  One special report was called GRIM PEEP IN THE NORTH.  This was a special report of the visit of Mundia to the Northern Province and the reports of UNIP activities and the cruel reaction of the colonialist in the Cha Cha Cha, which followed the 1961 Mulungushi conference.

 PARLIAMENTARY CONSTITUENCIES

I very much wanted to stand in one of the plateau seats in the Southern Province where the ANC were strongest, but my colleagues feared I would be defeated as National Secretary of UNIP.  They proposed Chingola but I declined.  Losing a seat never really bothered me.  What was important was to spread the message of national unity.  As a compromise I stood against Milimo Punabantu (who was part of ANC) in Livingstone constituency which included the present Katombola constituency.  I won that seat by the lowest majority of 483 in the whole general elections.  In 1968 we exchanged with Jethro Mutti who won Livingstone more comfortably as people had changed.  I faced the greater challenge in Mankoya Kaoma as (a) Mundia had formed United Party and (b) the 1967 Mulungushi conference had witnessed the defeat of Munukayumbwa Sipalo by me as National Secretary and of Arthur Wina by Mudenda and of Mukwae Nakatindi by Maria Nankologo.  There was a strong anti UNIP revolt in the province except Mankoya and Lukulu district where the Lozi community is in a minority.  In 1973 I moved t o Munali Constituency where the Lozi community were my strongest supporters notwithstanding that my opponent was from there.  It was the Party which decided who would stand where.  People with national outlook were made to stand away from the provinces.

MINISTER OF THIS AND THAT

I never minded which Ministry I served except after the 1968 elections when I was appointed Minister of Central Province.   I only served for three months in that position before I was appointed Minister without Portfolio, as I was also the National Secretary.  As Minister without Portfolio, I was also de facto second Vice President perhaps.

CHONA COMMISSION ON ONE PARTY It was extremely difficult to be chairman of the Chona Commission as there were independent intellectuals in the Commission like Kasuka Mutukwa, Lavu Mulimba and churchmen.  Mulemba who was against a One Party state eventually agreed to join as Vice-Chairman and became a real pillar to me in the Commission.  It is possible that no commissioner knew that he was against the One Party. At the end of the Commission, the churchmen like Bishop Elias Mutale and Bishop Mataka said they never experienced such patience as the one I had shown during the period of the Commission.  They could not match up to my patience in the face of tension and provocation from commissioners.

I made sure that the decisions were democratic and that the commissioners themselves drafted the text of whatever was agreed.  The commission had to reflect what they had decided.  This is why our report was more outstanding to date.  I was to report to the government any real dramatic proposal so that the government was ready to implement it.

NON-IMPLEMENTATION OF SOME COMMISSION RECOMMENDATIONS

What was more surprising and pleasing to me is that most of our recommendations were accepted and enacted into the Party constitution.  We regarded a commission as a commission to make recommendations.  We did not regard it as a Cabinet or Parliament.   We were to make suggestions.  These suggestions all came from the people.  Each person was merely suggesting that Parliament had a right to leave out whatever they thought could not be included. 

I honestly never felt disappointed.  For example two presidential terms had been the first in the terms of reference but for good reasons Cabinet did not adopt it.

FIRST PRIME MINISTER

I had told Kaunda that after being a chairman of the One Party Commission, I did not want to be Prime Minister, Secretary General or Investigator General.  I said I did not want any of those three posts.  But he appointed me Prime Minister anyway.  I was not quite happy, hence my resignation in 1975.  I had my own politics of service in a comfortable post.  I did not feel I would serve happily in these three posts.  So I resigned but he re-appointed me Prime Minister in 1977 again and then as Secretary General of the Party in 1978 until I was abruptly assigned to go to China in 1981.  I could not take up this post due to family reasons until 1984.

I fear to join in the politics of today, as there is no way one can work for the people.  One can only be sure of satisfying himself and his family.  It is for thieves, not for honest people.  I am not hostile to Chiluba’s MMD as it is de facto UNIP.  That is where one gets most UNIP members.  I boast that when I find people in trouble or difficulties, I become a Cabinet Minister of Chiluba without card, but if all is well, I am a humble villager, I am UNIP.

As a diplomat, I know that the West that dictates on our economic policies dominates the one polar world we live in.  We are colonised again.  This has advantages but more disadvantages.