Bembas and Tongas are not going anywhere – learn to coexist, says Nevers Mumba

Former Republican Vice-President Dr Nevers Mumba has called on the Bemba and Tonga speaking people to end the growing hostility between the two groups. He said neither community is “going anywhere” and both must learn to live together as Zambians. Speaking in an interview Dr…

Former Republican Vice-President Dr Nevers Mumba has called on the Bemba and Tonga speaking people to end the growing hostility between the two groups. He said neither community is “going anywhere” and both must learn to live together as Zambians.

Speaking in an interview Dr Mumba said he chose to single out two of Zambia’s 73 tribes to be “razor-focused,” and that he was one of the two.

“Let me start with the Tongas. The Bembas are not going anywhere. So we have to find a way to live with each other, our children intermarrying and living in one country,” he said.

He then addressed his own tribe. “To the Bembas, my tribe, I want to be very clear. The Tongas are not going anywhere. They are not few, they are many, just like you are many as well. And both these groups are Zambian.”

Dr Mumba said Zambians needed to “mature” in the way they relate to each other.

“You can’t wish such a big tribe of the Tongas away just because you have a problem in your sleep at night. You can’t wish the big tribe of the Bembas to just disappear just because you think you have a problem with them. These are here to stay, and they’ll outlive you,” he said.

“We may not agree on everything, but we are one people. We belong to this country. And for this country to develop, we’ve got to agree to some kind of unity around the purpose of making our country a better place.”

The interviewer asked whether he was suggesting the two groups were not coexisting. Dr Mumba said the “vibes” he was picking up pointed to tension between them, though he said other tribes were also involved.

“Very few people say what I’ve said, but it is important,” he said.

He also spoke about recent attacks on Bemba Paramount Chief Chitimukulu, which he called “careless talk”. He said the chief had only refused to be pulled into partisan politics.

“All that Chitimukulu is saying is that, look, don’t make a politician out of me. Outside being a chief and a paramount chief, he’s like a statesman. He’s above parties and politics,” Dr Mumba said. “But there are politicians that want to make a politician out of him so that he speaks for them. And the chief is saying, no, that’s not me.”