Mwami Msiri Ngelengwa Shitambi

Mwami Msiri Ngelengwa (1850-1891) was the son of Kalasa Mazuiri, a Musumbwa of the Nyamwezi people, and Manena, from the tribe of the bahindi in Tanzania. Msiri was born at a time when birth dates were not recorded and history was passed on orally. However, some of the older yeke estimate his birth to be situated around the early 1800s, probably around 1815 in Tanganyika. Msiri has been described as a gregarious and energetic youth. He was not a very tall man; standing at approximately 5’7″. Some say that he was broad-shouldered and dark in complexion. His photograph confirms that assertion. He had several relatives and cousins, such as Kabobo, whom he loved very much. He and Kabobo displayed leadership qualities, along with strong family bonds and most of all loyalty (see Msiri’s cousins).

After settling in Katanga, Msiri became king, it is estimated, at the age of 36, succeeding his father Kalasa Mazuiri, who had passed away in Tanganyika. As King of the Bayeke, Msiri was bequeathed territories by King Katanga and conquered others. Ultimately, many kings started paying him tribute, as a sign of allegiance and/or in recognition to his protection. He later expanded his Kingdom to what encompassed the whole of Katanga and parts of modern day Zambia.

Msiri was fearless in battle and magnanimous in time of peace. His generosity and loyalty to the Yeke people made him a beloved monarch, whose legend was passed down in the oral tradition of story telling, later kept alive through written accounts and yeke traditional songs.  He was the first Mwami of the Bayeke in Katanga, until the 20th of December 1891, when he was killed by Bodson- a so-called captain of the Belgian expedition, whose sole purpose was to achieve, by any means necessary, total subjugation in the name of the belgian king Leopold II.After his death, the belgians continued their pattern of brutality and forced labor in Katanga and the Congo at large. His option to die instead of being enslaved symbolizes the Yeke spirit of rejecting to bow to oppressing forces and colonial tyranny. That moral stand lives on strong in the form of a motto, which was uttered by Msiri a few days before he was assassinated: “Sumbwa Kufwa”. It means: “I would rather die than be enslaved”.

Msiri officially wed many wives, around three hundred. However, he was linked, at one time or another, to more than a thousand women-many of whom he did not have any relations with. He fathered numerous children, and some were women. However, due to the sparse record keeping, many of their names are today known to only a few. We know of 28 male children, who became prominent figures in the Yeke  history (see Msiri’s sons). Three of them succeeded their father as Kings of the Bayeke: Mwenda Mukanda-Bantu, Mwenda Kitanika Mabumba, Mwenda Munongo Musamfya Ntanga.