Zambesia | |
---|---|
Capital | Linyanti |
Common languages | English |
Demonym(s) | Zambesi, Zambesian |
Zambesia, historically known as Sebitwane country, Makololo country, and Sekeletu country, is a region with deep cultural and historical significance situated in southern Africa. The area's history predates the establishment of British and German protectorates in the late 19th century. However, following the colonial divisions and the subsequent independence of neighboring states, the Zambesi peoples found themselves divided among multiple countries, leading to cultural fragmentation and struggles for recognition and self-determination.
The region known as Zambesia has a rich and diverse history, with its roots tracing back to ancient cultures and societies that flourished along the Zambezi, Kwando, Linyanti, and Chobe Rivers. It was formerly referred to as Sebitwane country, Makololo country, and Sekeletu country. However, with the advent of colonial powers in the late 1800s, the region underwent significant changes.
In the present day, Zambesians continue to face a range of challenges that impact their livelihoods, culture, and rights.
Zambesians lack legal recognition as indigenous peoples within the broader context of Namibia. While the Namibian Constitution prohibits discrimination based on ethnic or tribal affiliation, there is no specific national legislation addressing the rights of indigenous peoples or minorities. This lack of recognition has implications for their political representation and protection of economic, social, and cultural rights. [1] [2] [3]
Geographical isolation and limited infrastructure have led to economic challenges for Zambesians, particularly those residing in the Caprivi Strip. Subsistence farming along the rivers remains a common way of life, yet job opportunities and public investments are limited. As a result, poverty rates remain high, and development is hampered. [4] [5]
Controversies have arisen over land use decisions, such as the approval of a multinational foreign company to lease communal land for a tobacco plantation in Zambesia. This decision has sparked criticism due to concerns over its impact on traditional livelihoods, food security, and environmental degradation. [6] [7] [8] The region's potential in sectors like agriculture and tourism remains largely untapped.
Zambesians face limitations on their freedom of expression and political engagement. Restrictions on public demonstrations and meetings related to self-determination and political views have led to challenges in expressing their desires for political autonomy and representation. [9] [10] [11]
Zambesia's history includes legal cases of significance. The Caprivi Treason Trial, one of the largest trials in Namibia's history, saw the arrest and subsequent acquittal of numerous individuals associated with the Caprivi Liberation Army. The trial, ongoing in some aspects, has brought attention to issues of justice and compensation for those involved.
In international forums, the Unrepresented Nations and Peoples Organization (UNPO) serves as a platform for advocating the rights and representation of marginalized communities worldwide. The region of Zambesia finds representation within UNPO through the efforts of the Movement for the Survival of the River Races in Zambesia (MOSURIRAZA), a non-violent membership-based organization led by Coordinator General Ben Siyambango. MOSURIRAZA's dedication to empowering Zambesian voices and raising awareness about the challenges faced by the region aligns with UNPO's mission of amplifying the concerns of unrepresented nations and peoples. [12] [13]
The Unrepresented Nations and Peoples Organization (UNPO) is an international organization established to facilitate the voices of unrepresented and marginalized nations and peoples worldwide. It was formed on 11 February 1991 in The Hague, Netherlands. Its members consist of indigenous peoples, minorities, and unrecognised or occupied territories.
The Zambezi Region is one of Namibia's fourteen regions, situated in the north-eastern part of the country along the Zambezi River. The region's capital is Katima Mulilo. The Katima Mulilo Airport is 18 kilometres south-west of the town, while the village of Bukalo is located 43 kilometres south-east of Katima Mulilo. Known as the Caprivi Region until 2013, it has eight electoral constituencies and a population of 142,373 according to the 2023 census.
The Caprivi Strip, also known simply as Caprivi, is a geographic salient protruding from the northeastern corner of Namibia. It is bordered by Botswana to the south and Angola and Zambia to the north. Namibia, Botswana and Zambia meet at a single point at the eastern tip of the Strip, which also comes within 150 m (490 ft) of Zimbabwe, thus nearly forming a quadripoint. Botswana and Zambia share a 150-metre (490 ft) border at the crossing of Kazungula.
Katima Mulilo or simply Katima is the capital of the Zambezi Region in Namibia. It had 46,401 inhabitants in 2023, and comprises two electoral constituencies, Katima Mulilo Rural and Katima Mulilo Urban. It is located on the B8 national road on the banks of the Zambezi River in the Caprivi Strip in lush riverine vegetation with tropical birds and monkeys. The town receives annual average rainfall of 654 millimetres (25.7 in).
The Lozi people, also known as Balozi, are a Bantu-speaking ethnic group native to Southern Africa. They have significant populations in Angola, Botswana, Namibia, Zambia, and Zimbabwe. The Lozi language, Silozi, is used as the formal language in official, educational, and media contexts. The Lozi people number approximately 1,562,000.
Barotseland is a region between Namibia, Angola, Botswana, Zimbabwe including half of north-western province, southern province, and parts of Lusaka, Central, and Copperbelt provinces of Zambia and the whole of Democratic Republic of Congo's Katanga Province. It is the homeland of the Lozi people or Barotse, or Malozi, who are a unified group of over 46 individual formerly diverse tribes related through kinship, whose original branch are the Luyi (Maluyi), and also assimilated Southern Sotho tribe of South Africa known as the Makololo.
The indigenous people of Africa are groups of people native to a specific region; people who lived there before colonists or settlers arrived, defined new borders, and began to occupy the land. This definition applies to all indigenous groups, whether inside or outside of Africa. Although the vast majority of Native Africans can be considered to be "indigenous" in the sense that they originated from that continent and nowhere else, identity as an "indigenous people" is in the modern application more restrictive. Not every African ethnic group claims identification under these terms. Groups and communities who do claim this recognition are those who by a variety of historical and environmental circumstances have been placed outside of the dominant state systems. Their traditional practices and land claims have often come into conflict with the objectives and policies promulgated by governments, companies, and surrounding dominant societies.
Assyrian Universal Alliance, usually abbreviated as AUA and popularly known as Khoyada is an ethnic Assyrian worldwide umbrella organization made up of different sectors of the Assyrian federations and organizations throughout the world.
Albert Mishake Muyongo is a Namibian politician and former Member of Parliament who is currently living in exile in Denmark.
Germany–Namibia relations are the bilateral relationship of Germany and Namibia. This relationship is of particular importance as Namibia was colonized and occupied by the German Empire in the 19th century. There is also a community of approximately 30,000 German Namibians residing in Namibia today. Both nations are members of the United Nations. Culturally, both countries are part of the Germanosphere.
Namibia, despite its scant population, is home to a wide diversity of languages, from multiple language families: Germanic, Bantu, and the various Khoisan families. When Namibia was administered by South Africa, Afrikaans, German, and English enjoyed an equal status as official languages. Upon Namibian independence in 1990, English was enshrined as the nation's sole official language in the constitution of Namibia. German and Afrikaans were stigmatised as relics of the colonial past, while the rising of Mandela's Youth League and the 1951 Defiance Campaign spread English among the masses as the language of the campaign against apartheid.
Victor Simunja is a Namibian politician. A member of the South West Africa People's Organization (SWAPO), Simunja was appointed to the National Assembly of Namibia in 2000 and served as Deputy Minister of Defense from 2000 to 2009. Simunja rose to the rank of lieutenant colonel in the Namibian Defence Force prior to entering political office. He is a member of the Mafwe ethnic group, indigenous to the Caprivi Strip.
The Caprivi treason trial is a trial in which the Government of Namibia indicted 132 people for allegedly participating in the Caprivi conflict on the side of the Caprivi Liberation Army during a period between 1992 and 2002. They were charged with high treason, murder, sedition, and many other offences, altogether 278 counts of criminal conduct.
Dolkun Isa is a Uyghur activist based in Germany, who has been designated as a terrorist by the Chinese Government since 2003. He is the 3rd and current president of the World Uyghur Congress, in office since 12 November 2017. He previously served as General Secretary and Chairman of the Executive Committee of the congress, respectively, and has spoken on behalf of the rights of the Uyghurs which make up the majority population in that region. He has also presented Uyghur human rights issues to the UN Human Rights Council, European Parliament, European governments and international human rights organizations.
The Caprivi Vision is a weekly published community newspaper in Namibia with content in English and Lozi. It is sold in the Caprivi Strip now Zambezi Region, Northern Regions of Namibia, in the capital Windhoek and other countries of the Southern Africa such as Botswana and Zambia. The Caprivi Vision was founded by Risco Mashete Lumamezi on 21 August 2000 as a student of the Polytechnic of Namibia, and its first edition was sold in Katima Mulilo on 30 April 2002.
Ogoni nationalism is a political ideology that seeks self determination by the Ogoni people. The Ogonis are one of the many indigenous peoples in the region of southeast Nigeria. They number about 1.5 million people and live in a 404-square-mile (1,050 km2) homeland which they also refer to as Ogoni, or Ogoniland. They share common oil-related environmental problems with the Ijaw people of Niger Delta.
Ralph J. Bunche III is an American lawyer and human rights activist. Between 2008 and 2009, he advised, as in-house counsel, two Ministers of Finance of Liberia, Antoinette Sayeh and Augustine Kpehe Ngafuan on matters including the elimination of approximately US$1.2bn in foreign debt and foreign investment in the extractive industries and agricultural sectors. After leaving law practice he served in senior positions for the OSCE Mission in Kosovo and Fair Trials before being elected in September 2018 as General Secretary of the Unrepresented Nations and Peoples Organization (UNPO), a position he held for three 18-month terms alongside serving as the representative of Cornwall to the European Union.
The Rehoboth area, historically the Free Republic of Rehoboth is an unrecognized state in central Namibia, inhabited by the indigenous Baster people.