LUCY LUMBE, Livingstone
WEARIED by the oppression and suffering inflicted on black nationals, Elizabeth Mufaya, then aged 24, decided enough was enough, opting to join the uprising movement for the liberation of Northern Rhodesia, present-day Zambia.
However, her active participation and involvement in the liberation struggle would cost her something of sentimental value ─ her marriage.
The year was 1957. Sent packing from her matrimonial home, Ms Mufaya’s predicament reignited her passion to fully dedicate her time and energy to Zambia’s fight for freedom, unhindered by her own personal problems.
Her personal battles would soon become stepping stones, ushering her to a position of prominence, rising from the rank of an ordinary member to a conspicuous position of party chairlady in United National Independent Party (UNIP).
Fifty-seven years since Zambia gained its independence, Ms Mufaya not only has vivid memories to share of the liberation struggle, but also bygone documentation and party regalia which she has safeguarded as her prized possessions.
As she emerges from her bedroom, one by one, she shows me a variety of documentation most of which are decorated with the portrait of a youthful former President Kenneth Kaunda.
“I have never discarded any documents, I have kept these documents intact. I still have my membership cards and some conference cards here with me as a remembrance of my participation in the country’s freedom struggle,” the 93-year-old says in an interview at her home in Livingstone.
At the age of seven, Ms Mufaya relocated from Mongu to Livingstone with her parents and younger sister in 1937.
Her father worked as a wood procurement officer for the Susman Brothers, a Jewish family partnership between two CLICK TO READ MORE