Zambia's Purported Tribalism: A Political Narrative That Divides Us – Time for Unity and Progress

Abstract

Zambians celebrate its tangibility of cultural diversity and longstanding demoralization within Southern Africa, the epitome of an ethnically and politically harmonized nation. Although, in the recent past, political leadership in the country has come under pressure of demands that they address the issue of tribalism, political actors in the country have expanded its use as a function of political strategy to sway voters, inflame social animosity in the quest to gain political support. This article critiques the assertion by authors writing on politics and human rights issues in Zambia that tribalism is a significant and endemic vice, thereby arguing that the phenomenon is, to a considerable extent, an artefact of political engineering rather than an ailment of society. Using a historical analysis of ethnic relations in Zambia, the development of electoral processes, and techniques of employing political language, the article reveals that political actors fabricate tribalism as an institutional logic. Accordingly, tribalism ceases to be a representation of the fixed social cracks but a weapon in the hands of politicians to mobilize voters. This paper further refutes this politicized type of tribalism as confusing and damaging to the Zambian unity since it creates division, mistrust, and conflict within the multiple tribes. The article calls for a positive social mobilization that departs from ethnic politics and calls on citizens and policymakers to work towards fostering ethnic harmony and tolerance. As highlighted in the paper, it is necessary to mobilize a greater Zambian nationalism to counter sectarian politics that harm society’s cohesiveness. Finally, this work argues that for Zambia to undergo political stability and socio-economic development in the long run, the country must dispel the tribalism barrier and establish a nation on the principles of unity and nationalism.