26/08/2026
THE MINDSET QUESTION: Preparing the Barotse Nation for a New Political Future
Written by: Lindunda Wamunyima
ARTICLE 3 — THE END OF DEPENDENCY
We Cannot Build a New Barotseland with an Old Political Psychology.
A new political future cannot be built with an old political psychology. For too long, we have sometimes approached the Barotseland question as though its progress depends entirely on THE Litunga, BRE or someone else. We wait for Barotse government to act. We wait for leaders to provide direction. We wait for the Barotse Traditional Governance structure (BTG) to resolve everything. We wait for organisations, politicians, activists or a few individuals to carry the responsibility on behalf of everyone else. Yet nations do not transform through waiting. Political agency begins with the citizen.
This does not mean that institutions, traditional leadership or political organisations have no responsibility. They do, but institutions are strengthened by citizens who are informed, organised, disciplined and prepared to participate. A people who continually outsource their responsibility will eventually discover that their political future is being shaped without their meaningful participation.
If we desire a different Barotseland, we must therefore develop a different mindset. We must move from dependency to agency; from spectatorship to participation; from complaint to construction; and from waiting to preparation. The question is not only, “What are our leaders doing?” It must also be, “What are we doing as citizens to prepare ourselves and our nation?”
A politically prepared people must understand their history. They must preserve their records. They must educate their children. They must develop competent institutions. They must encourage serious research and informed debate. They must cultivate economic resilience and social cohesion. They must prepare people who can represent their interests intelligently and responsibly wherever and whenever that respon
