‘Leave Chitimukulu alone or you’ll face extinction’

AN opposition political party threatening to dethrone paramount chief Chitimukulu has been warned that it will soon face extinction if it continues with such barbaric behaviour.

Mr Henry Kanyanta Sosala, the current Chitimukulu said recently that a named political party claimed that he was not a genuine member of the Bemba royal family and should be removed from the throne.

Chief Luchembe of Mpika and former UPND presidential spokesperson, Edward Mumbi warned in separate interviews that the erring political party was walking on thin ice.

Mr Mumbi charged that the opposition party attacking the Chitimukulu would be extinct because of a lack of respect for the chieftaincy.

“Chiefs should not be dragged into politics, they should be respected and threatening to dethrone him is even worse. I must warn that political party that it will be extinct if it continues with such stupidity,” he said.

And Chief Luchembe reiterated that it was a daydream and a fantasy for an opposition party to think that they would one day assume powers to dethrone a chief.

He said that the republican constitution now protected the chieftaincy, and that no entity had the power to dethrone a chief. Chief Luchembe of the Bembaspeaking people, described the threats on the Chitimukulu as the last kicks of a dying horse. “That is a clear fantasy by a party that knows that it is going nowhere. With the new constitution, no one has the power to dethrone the rightful heir to the throne,” he said.

Chief Luchembe noted that in as much as traditional leaders were nonpartisan, they had the right to comment on national issues and should not be hated for that.

In a statement, the Chitimukulu had said that sometime last year, a close relative in Ndola informed him that a member of an opposition party was planning an inquiry to prove that he was not a genuine member of the Bemba royal family once it formed government in 2021.

He said that the political party intended to base its probe on his great great grandmother (Queen Mother Chimbabantu) who it claims was not genuine but someone who was brought back after she was kidnapped by the Ngonis.

“At that time, I did not take it seriously but of late I was informed that more people have joined in and indeed in March an individual from this party travelled to Kasama to meet the most senior among the sons of chiefs whom we regard as the “alderman” of the Bemba royal family.

“He is actually our cultural bank because of his wide knowledge of our traditions and norms,” said Chitimukulu.

The Chitimukulu said the alderman was the only living survivor of the previous generation of the Bemba ancestors.