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Lewis Changufu: Difference between revisions
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AS A way of compelling the British government to end the unpopular Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland, the [[United National Independence Party]] (UNIP) embarked on a campaign dubbed ''Cha Cha Cha'' meant to make the then Northern Rhodesia ungovernable.<ref name=dailymail/> | AS A way of compelling the British government to end the unpopular Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland, the [[United National Independence Party]] (UNIP) embarked on a campaign dubbed ''Cha Cha Cha'' meant to make the then Northern Rhodesia ungovernable.<ref name=dailymail/> | ||
Initially, there was a ‘war cabinet’ which was constituted to oversee the whole operation. Its members were Lewis Changufu as leader, first independence Minister of Finance Arthur Wina and an Irish party member, | Initially, there was a ‘war cabinet’ which was constituted to oversee the whole operation. Its members were Lewis Changufu as leader, first independence [[:Category:Ministers of Finance|Minister of Finance]] [[Arthur Wina]] and an Irish party member, Mr Edmund. The committee was to identify targets for attack, and to do so, they engaged a group of youths to execute the scheme. One of the targets was a fleet of new government vehicles that were parked at the former Mechanical Services Branch (MSB) premises in [[Lusaka]].<ref name=dailymail/> | ||
The committee was to identify targets for attack, and to do so, they engaged a group of youths to execute the scheme. One of the targets was a fleet of new government vehicles that were parked at the former Mechanical Services Branch (MSB) premises in Lusaka. | |||
However, on the eve of the attack, and to everyone’s surprise, they found that all the vehicles had been driven off and hidden elsewhere. The issue was later tabled before the UNIP Central Committee which then decided that there should be only one ‘war planner’ – | However, on the eve of the attack, and to everyone’s surprise, they found that all the vehicles had been driven off and hidden elsewhere. The issue was later tabled before the UNIP Central Committee which then decided that there should be only one ‘war planner’ – Changufu. With that, he went on to establish “Cha Cha Cha" uprising committees on the [[Copperbelt Province|Copperbelt]], [[Northern Province|Northern]], [[Luapula Province|Luapula]] and [[Eastern Province|Eastern]] provinces which regularly gave him briefings. Each province was reporting to him on what they thought was the best way to bring about independence for Zambia. | ||
With that, | |||
In one of the many interviews reflecting on Zambia’s independence struggle, Mr Changufu, who died at the age of 89 on Wednesday at the University Teaching Hospital, and is being buried today at Leopard’s Hill Memorial Park in Lusaka, explained that the uprising was to be carried out in four phases with the last being so destructive as to make the Mau Mau look like a child’s play. | In one of the many interviews reflecting on Zambia’s independence struggle, Mr Changufu, who died at the age of 89 on Wednesday at the University Teaching Hospital, and is being buried today at Leopard’s Hill Memorial Park in Lusaka, explained that the uprising was to be carried out in four phases with the last being so destructive as to make the Mau Mau look like a child’s play. | ||
“We only went as far as the second stage. My goodness, if we had gone to the last stage, this country would have been different from what it is today… We were not talking about guerrilla warfare; ours would have been an open onslaught. It was planned in such a way that action would take place in all the districts at the same time,” he explained. | “We only went as far as the second stage. My goodness, if we had gone to the last stage, this country would have been different from what it is today… We were not talking about guerrilla warfare; ours would have been an open onslaught. It was planned in such a way that action would take place in all the districts at the same time,” he explained. | ||
