Adamson Bratson Musanda Mushala was a

Zambian Demographic features of the population of Zambia include population density, ethnicity, education level, health of the populace, economic status, religious affiliations and others aspects of the population. Zambia's youthful population cons ...

insurgent who led a resistance movement against the one-party government of President Kenneth Kaunda from 1975 until his death in 1982, when he was killed by officers of the Zambia Army.

Rebellion

Before engaging in open rebellion, Adamson Mushala was originally a member of the

United National Independence Party The United National Independence Party (UNIP) is a political party in Zambia. It governed the country from 1964 to 1991 under the socialist President (government title), presidency of Kenneth Kaunda, and was the sole legal party in the country ...

(UNIP), where he participated in the fight against colonial rule. He was dispatched to

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. With population of China, a population exceeding 1.4 billion, it is the list of countries by population (United Nations), second-most populous country after ...

to receive guerrilla training, anticipating a return to combat the colonial government of Zambia. However, Zambia had already achieved independence by the time he returned. Mushala aspired to be appointed as the Minister Of Tourism and Wildlife under the UNIP government—a request that President Kenneth Kaunda denied. Feeling frustrated and marginalized, Mushala left Zambia with a group of followers for South West Africa (now

Namibia Namibia, officially the Republic of Namibia, is a country on the west coast of Southern Africa. Its borders include the Atlantic Ocean to the west, Angola and Zambia to the north, Botswana to the east and South Africa to the south; in the no ...

), which was then under

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. Its Provinces of South Africa, nine provinces are bounded to the south by of coastline that stretches along the Atlantic O ...

control. There, he further honed his guerrilla skills. Inspired by

Jonas Savimbi Jonas Malheiro Sidónio Sakaita Savimbi (; 3 August 1934 – 22 February 2002) was an Angolan revolutionary, politician, and rebel military leader who founded and led the National Union for the Total Independence of Angola ( UNITA). UNITA was on ...

's actions in

Angola Angola, officially the Republic of Angola, is a country on the west-Central Africa, central coast of Southern Africa. It is the second-largest Portuguese-speaking world, Portuguese-speaking (Lusophone) country in both total area and List of c ...

, Mushala returned to Zambia in 1975 and initiated a rebellion against the UNIP-led government, a campaign that continued until his death in 1982. He was reputed to have survived numerous attempts to capture or kill him, a feat attributed by some to

witchcraft Witchcraft is the use of Magic (supernatural), magic by a person called a witch. Traditionally, "witchcraft" means the use of magic to inflict supernatural harm or misfortune on others, and this remains the most common and widespread meanin ...

and

supernatural Supernatural phenomena or entities are those beyond the Scientific law, laws of nature. The term is derived from Medieval Latin , from Latin 'above, beyond, outside of' + 'nature'. Although the corollary term "nature" has had multiple meanin ...

abilities. Unconfirmed reports suggested that the Zambian government even enlisted the help of witchdoctors, both locally and internationally, in unsuccessful attempts to capture him.

Death

Adamson Mushala was killed in a military ambush in 1982. The incident took place in the secluded regions of North-Western Province near

Solwezi Solwezi is a town in Zambia. It is the provincial capital of the mineral-rich North-Western Province. Solwezi is also the administrative capital of Solwezi District, one of the eleven districts in the North-Western Province. Geography Locati ...

—the very area where his rebellion had its roots following a post-independence dispute in the 1960s. Tragically, he was killed by a bullet that struck him through his eye. In a final display intended to confirm his death to the public, Mushala's body was displayed at Solwezi General Hospital for public viewing.

Aftermath

Following the death of Adamson Mushala, leadership of the rebel movement was assumed by his second-in-command, Alexander Saimbwende. Saimbwende carried on Mushala's insurgency until September 25, 1990. After engaging in talks with Alexander Kamalondo, who was then the Member of the Central Committee for North-Western Province, Saimbwende decided to cease hostilities. He was flown to

Lusaka Lusaka ( ) is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Zambia. It is one of the fastest-developing cities in southern Africa. Lusaka is in the southern part of the central plateau at an elevation of about . , the city's population was abo ...

and subsequently received a

presidential pardon A pardon is a government decision to allow a person to be relieved of some or all of the legal consequences resulting from a criminal conviction. A pardon may be granted before or after conviction for the crime, depending on the laws of the j ...

from Dr. Kenneth Kaunda, marking the formal end to a long-standing resistance movement.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Mushala, Adamson 1982 deaths 20th-century Zambian people 1935 births

Rebellion

Death

Aftermath

See also

References