Simon Mwansa Kapwepwe

Who is Simon Mwansa Kapwepwe?

Simon Mwansa Kapwepwe was born on 12 April 1922 in the Chinsali district of Northern Rhodesia's Northern Province, receiving his early education at Mwenzo and Lubwa mission schools before working as a government driver, primary school teacher, and welfare officer during the 1940s. Dissatisfied with colonial policy, he became a founding member of the Northern Rhodesian African Congress in 1948, and a decade later joined Kenneth Kaunda in breaking away to form the more militant Zambia African National Congress, for which he was banned and briefly relocated by colonial authorities. Following Zambia's independence in 1964, Kapwepwe served in a succession of cabinet posts, including Minister of Agriculture, Home Affairs, and Foreign Affairs, and was elected Zambia's second Vice President in 1967, a position he held until 1970 while campaigning for the preservation of Zambian languages and culture. After being sidelined from the vice presidency, he resigned from UNIP in August 1971 to found and lead the opposition United Progressive Party, winning a parliamentary seat that December; when President Kaunda banned the UPP in February 1972, Kapwepwe was among roughly 122 members detained, remaining in custody until the end of that year. He rejoined UNIP in 1977 at Kaunda's invitation, unsuccessfully contesting the party's 1978 presidential nomination against him before withdrawing from active politics. Kapwepwe died on 26 January 1980.

Sources: Wikipedia, "Simon Kapwepwe" · Chalo Chatu, "Simon Kapwepwe" · Wikipedia, "United Progressive Party (Zambia)"