THE
BAROTSELAND AGREEMENT 1964
Following talks in London between the British Government, the
Government of Northern Rhodesia and The Litunga of Barotseland; an Agreement
regarding the position of Barotseland within independent Northern Rhodesia was
concluded at the commonwealth Relations office on 18th May 1964. It
is entitled, “The Barotseland Agreement 1964″. It was signed by Dr. K.D.
Kaunda, Prime Minister of Northern Rhodesia, by Sir Mwanawina Lewanika III, K.B.E
Litunga of Barotseland and by the Right Honourable Duncan Sandys M.P Secretary
of State for commonwealth Relations and for the colonies signifying the
approval of Her Majesty’s Government.
The text of
the Agreement is attached as the Appendix to this paper.
19th May,
1964.
APPENDIX
THE BAROTSELAND
AGREEMENT 1964
This Agreement is made this eighteenth day of May, 1964
between KENNETH DAVID KAUNDA, Prime Minister of Northern Rhodesia of the
one part and SIR MWANAWINA LEWANIKA THE THIRD ,K.B.E., Litunga of
Barotseland, acting on behalf of himself, his heirs and successors, his
council, and the chiefs and people of Barotseland of the other party is signed
by the Right Honourable Duncan Sandys, M.P Her Majesty’s Principal Secretary of
State for Commonwealth Relations And For The Colonies, to signify the approval
of Her Majesty’s government in the United Kingdom of the arrangements entered
into between the parties to this agreement and recorded therein.
Whereas it was proposed that the Northern Rhodesia shall
become an independent sovereign state to be known as the Republic of Zambia.
And whereas it is the wish of the government of Northern
Rhodesia and of the Litunga of Barotseland, his council and the chiefs and
people of Barotseland that Northern Rhodesia should proceed to independence as
one country and that all its peoples should be one nation:
And whereas having regard to the fact that all treaties and
other agreements subsisting between Her Majesty the queen of the United Kingdom
of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and The Litunga of Barotseland will
terminate when Northern Rhodesia becomes an independent sovereign republic and Her
Majesty’s government in the United Kingdom will there upon cease to have any
responsibility for the government of Rhodesia including Barotseland. It is the
wish of the government of Northern Rhodesia and of The Litunga of Barotseland
to enter into arrangements concerning the position of Barotseland as part of
the republic of Zambia to the place of the treaties and other agreements
hitherto subsisting between Her Majesty the Queen and The Litunga of
Barotseland:
And whereas on the sixteenth day of April 1964 a provisional
agreement was concluded at Lusaka with purpose and it is the desire of the
government of Northern Rhodesia and The Litunga, acting after consultation with
his council to conclude a permanent agreement with this purpose:
NOW THIS AGREEMENT WITNESSETH and it is hereby agreed between the
said Kenneth David Kaunda, Prime Minister of Northern Rhodesia, on behalf of
the government of Northern Rhodesia and the said Sir Mwanawina Lewanika the
Third, K.B.E., Litunga of Barotseland on behalf of himself, his heirs and successors,
his Council and the chiefs and the people of Barotseland as follows:-
1. Citation and commencement
This agreement may be cited as the Barotseland Agreement 1964
and shall come into force on the day on which Northern Rhodesia, including
Barotseland, becomes the independent sovereign Republic of Zambia.
2. The Constitution of Zambia
The constitution of the republic of Zambia shall include the
provisions agreed upon for the inclusion herein at the constitutional
conference held in London in May, 1964 relating to: -
(a) the protection of human rights and
fundamental freedoms of the individual.
(b) the judiciary; and
(c) the public service and those
provisions shall have full force and effect in Barotseland.
3. Administration of Justice
(1)
Subject
to the provisions of this Agreement, the people of Barotseland shall be
accorded the same rights of access to the high court of the republic of Zambia
as are accorded to other citizens of the Republic under the laws for the time
being in force in the Republic and a judge or judges of the high court selected
from among the judges who normally sit in Lusaka shall regularly proceed on
circuit in Barotseland at each intervals as the due administration of justice
may require.
(2)
The
people of Barotseland shall be accorded the same rights of appeal from the
decisions of the courts of the Republic of Zambia as are accorded to other
citizens of the Republic under the laws for the time being in force in the
Republic.
4. The Litunga and His Council
(1) The government of the republic of
Zambia will accord recognition as such to the person who is for the time The
Litunga of Barotseland under the customary law of Barotseland.
(2) The Litunga of Barotseland, acting
after consultation with his Council as constituted for the time being under the
customary law of Barotseland shall be the principal local authority for the
government and administration of Barotseland.
(3) The Litunga of Barotseland, acting
after consultation with his Council, shall be authorised and empowered to make
laws for Barotseland in relation to the following matters, that is to say-
(a) The Litungaship;
(b) The authority at present known as the
Barotse Native Government (which shall hereafter be known as the Barotse
Government);
(c) The authorities at present known as
Barotse Native Authorities;
(d) The courts at present known as
Barotse Native Courts;
(e) The status of the members of the
Litunga’s Council;
(f) matters relating to local government;
(g) land.
(h) forests;
(i) traditional and customary matters
relating to Barotseland alone;
(j) fishing;
(k) control of hunting;
(l) game preservation;
(m) control of bush fires;
(n) the institution at present known as
the Barotse native treasury;
(o) the supply of beer;
(p) reservation of trees for canoes;
(q) local taxation and matters relating
thereto; and
(r) Barotse local festivals.
5. Land
(1) In relation to land in Barotseland
the arrangements set out in the annex hereto shall have effect.
(2) In particular, the Litunga of
Barotseland and his Council shall continue to have the powers hitherto enjoyed
by them in respect of land matters under customary law and practice.
(3) The courts at present known as the
Barotse Native Courts shall have original jurisdiction(to the exclusion of any
other court in the republic of Zambia)in respect of matters concerning rights
over or interests in land in Barotseland to the extent that those matters are
governed by the customary law of Barotseland: Provided that nothing in this paragraph
shall be construed as limiting the jurisdiction and powers of the High Court of
the Republic of Zambia in relation to writs or orders of the kind at present
known as prerogative of writs or orders.
(4) Save with the leave of the court at
present known as the Saa- Sikalo Kuta, no appeal shall lie from any decision of
the courts at present known as the Barotse Native Courts given in exercise of
the jurisdiction referred to in paragraph (3) of this article to the High Court
of the Republic of Zambia.
6. Civil Servants
All public
officers of the Government the Republic of Zambia who may from time to time be
situated in Barotseland shall be officers serving on permanent and pensionable
terms.
7. Financial Responsibility
The Government of the Republic of Zambia shall have the same
general responsibility for providing financial support for the administration
and economic development of Barotseland as it has for other parts of the
Republic and shall ensure that, in discharge of this responsibility, Barotseland
is treated fairly and equitably in relation to other parts of the Republic.
8. Implementation
The
Government of the Republic of Zambia shall take such steps as may be necessary
to ensure that the laws for the time being in force in the Republic are not
inconsistent with the provisions of this Agreement.
9. Interpretation
Any question
concerning the interpretation of this Agreement may be referred by the
Government of the Republic of Zambia to the High Court of the Republic for
consideration (in which case the opinion thereon of the Court shall be
communicated to that Government and to the Litunga of Barotseland and his
Council) and any such question shall be so referred if the Litunga, acting
after consultation with his Council, so requests.
10. Revocation
The herein
before recited Agreement of the sixteenth day of April 1964 is hereby revoked.
In witness
whereof the parties hereto
Have
hereunto set their hands in the
Presence of:
– K.D.KAUNDA Prime Minister of Northern Rhodesia (Signed)
E.D. HONE
Governor of Northern Rhodesia (Signed)
(Signed)
IMENDA SIBANDI Ngambela of Barotseland
MWANAWINA
LEWANIKA III Litunga of Barotseland
Signed by
the Right Honourable Duncan
Sandys in
the presence of :- (Signed)
(Signed)
RICHARD HORNBY DUNCAN SANDYS
Parliamentary
Under Secretary of Her Majesty’s Principal Secretary
State for
Commonwealth Relations of State for Commonwealth Relations And for the Colonies
ANNEX TO
THIS AGREEMENT
1. The Litunga and National Council of
Barotseland have always worked in close co-operation with the Central
Government over land matters in the past have agreed that the Central
government should use land required for public purposes and have adopted the
same procedures as apply to leases and rights of occupancy in the Reserves and
Trust Land areas, where applicable. At the same time, the administration of
land rights in Barotseland under customary law and practice has been under the
control of the Litunga and National Council in much the same way as customary
land rights are dealt with in the Reserves and Trust Land areas.
2. In these circumstances it is agreed
that the Litunga should continue to have the greatest measure of responsibility
for administering land matters in Barotseland. It is however, necessary to
examine the position of land matters in Barotseland against the background of
the Northern Rhodesia Government’s overall responsibility for the territory.
3. The Barotse Memorandum has indicated
that Barotseland should become an integral part of Northern Rhodesia. In these
circumstances the Northern Rhodesia Government will assume certain
responsibilities and to carry these out they will have to have certain powers.
so far as land is concerned, apart from confirmation of wide powers the Litunga
over customary matters, the position is as follows: -
(1) The Northern Rhodesia Government does
not wish to derogate from any of the powers exercised by the Litunga and
Council in respect of land matters under customary law and practice.
(2) The Northern Rhodesia Government
would like to ensure that the provision of public services and the
responsibility of economic development in Barotseland are not hampered by
special formalities.
(3) The Northern Rhodesia Government recognises
and agrees that full consultation should take place with the Litunga and
Council before any land in Barotseland is used for public purposes or in the
general interests of economic development.
(4) The position regarding land in
Barotseland in an independent Northern Rhodesia should, therefore, be as follows:
-
(a) There should be the same system for
land administration for the whole of Northern Rhodesia including Barotseland,
that is, the Government Lands Department should be responsible for professional
advice and services with regard to land alienation in all parts of Northern
Rhodesia and that the same form of document should be used for grants of land
(i) for Government purposes and (ii) for non-Government and non-customary
purposes. The necessary preparation of the title documents should be done by
the Government Lands Department.
(b) The Litunga and National Council of
Barotseland will be charged with the responsibility for administering Barotse
customary land law within Barotseland.
Printed in
England and published by
HER
MAJESTY’S STATIONERY OFFICE
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