KAPWEPWE’S DAUGHTER RECOUNTS HOW DAD’S NAME CHANGED TO ‘SHIMPUNDU’
By Mulenga Kapwepwe
7th October was a big day for my parents.They woke up early. For my father, it was the day he and his colleagues were to announce the formation of the Zambia Africa National Congress(ZANC), a radical breakaway party from Harry Nkumbula’s ANC.
They had been preparing and strategising for the day for weeks. For my heavily pregnant mother, labour for child number five had began. Assured by my supremely confident mother that she had everything under control, with the sun barely up, my father bid goodbye to my mother and went to meet his colleagues.
Within hours, around 08.30, my mother delivered by herself, a tiny baby girl. She carried on with the business of the day(childbirth was natural and not the drama it is today).
Later that afternoon she took her new baby to Chilenje Clinic to register the birth. After examination by the nurses and a doctor, it was discovered that although all signs of labour had ceased, and my mother was feeling perfectly fine, there was still another baby waiting to be born.
There was no agreement as to whether this second baby was still alive. A decision was made to induce the birth. The second baby was born, alive and well as the sun was setting. More than eight hours had lapsed between the births.
My very surprised father came to the clinic to find two babies and his name changed forever to ShiMpundu (father of twins.) He promptly named one Chileshe after his mother, and the other Mulenga after his mother – in-law.
And the course of Zambian history was forever changed on the 7th October 1958.😄
Happy birthday to my twin sister Chileshe!!
