Assembling a National Colonial Archive: Considering the Influence and Historical Legacy of the Kaunda Era on Zambia’s Archives

Abstract

Drawing mainly from original archival research, this paper aims to explore the contribution and impact of the Kaunda administration in establishing an independent national archive and archiving system in Zambia, between 1964 to 1969. The attainment of independence in Zambia, under Kenneth Kaunda’s leadership and the United National Independence Party (UNIP), served as a transformative catalyst, paving the way for the establishment of an autonomous national archive and an archiving system preserved within Zambia rather than abroad in Zimbabwe. From the mid-1940s, Zambia’s public archives material was kept and preserved in Zimbabwe (formerly Southern Rhodesia) due to the absence of a mature archiving and records management system in Zambia (then Northern Rhodesia). Negotiations between Southern Rhodesia, Northern Rhodesia and Nyasaland led to the establishment of a shared archival service, resulting in Northern Rhodesia’s archives being centralised at the Central African Archives in Salisbury (Harare) until the 1960s, coinciding with the advent of Kaunda's administration. This article argues that, the Kaunda administration was instrumental in reclaiming Zambia’s colonial archives from the custody of Southern Rhodesia Archives in Salisbury, Southern Rhodesia. This move played a crucial role in the establishment of an independent national archive, which now serves as an essential resource for Zambia’s national history. By scrutinising the repatriation of archives material from Zimbabwe to Zambia and the establishment of the archiving system as well as the development of archival legislation from colonial era standards to contemporary frameworks influenced by the political context of independence and burgeoning nationalism, this paper endeavours to explain the critical role of Kaunda’s administration initiatives in preserving Zambia’s national history.