Mwami Kitanika Mabumba Mushalila

Mwami Mwenda Kitanika Mabumba was the son of Msiri and Inamizi, a woman from Mulungu, in Rhodesia. Known as Nasolya, Kitanika was born around the mid- 1860s. He was a quiet, and reflective man, who when necessary was very strict and unbending.

He was of a stocky build like his father, and stood at about 5’8”. Kitanika saw himself as the carrier of the burden that had befallen his people. His austere view should be taken in the context of his father’s assassination in 1891, the painful passing of his brother Mukanda-Bantu, and the humiliation he and our people incurred. He succeeded Mukanda-Bantu, after many years of war and increasing colonial encroachment on our Kingdom. He therefore had to proceed differently, in accordance with the changing times, and opt for the only plausible alternative: diplomacy. His brother and predecessor Mukanda-Bantu had already initiated this process towards the latter part of his reign.

Kitanika had to wrestle with the representatives of the central government, who were empowered to contain the powers of the Yeke King. This attempt by the colonizers would prove futile because the people still answered to the King before they complied with the government’s exigencies. In the end, even though Kitanika appeared to be too diplomatic, he was a skilled leader, whose diplomatic acumen was ahead of its time in our culture. Some of his hawkish siblings wanted a firmer tone towards the Belgians; however, he understood that the political landscape had shifted in their disadvantage.

In contrast to Mukanda-Bantu, he ruled from Bunkeya; hence bringing back the capital to its erstwhile stature as the last capital of Garanganze. It is during his reign that the redesign of Bunkeya took place. From the church of Bunkeya, the administrative offices in the Milumba, and the Royal Palace on the Lupili, Kitanika initiated many of the capital’s monuments.

Kitanika was the first King to be baptized as a catholic in 1938, just two years before his death. His Christian name was Albert. As his father Msiri had done years before, he allowed churches to blossom in Bunkeya, and to convert the masses without interference. However, not everybody readily adopted Christianity. His successor Munongo was not as willing to discern between the missionaries and the colonizers, for in those days, the difference was rather blurry.