Talking of Livingstone An Audience with Chief Chitambo By: Nicky Dunnington-Jefferson Photos: Nicky Dunnington-Jefferson
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othing Venture.1 It seemed sensible to follow the credo of my old college motto on my quest to meet an African chief. But the present Chief Chitambo IV (Freddy Chisenga) is no ordinary chief. He is the great-great grandson of Chief Chitambo, who magnanimously received the frail and sick David Livingstone into his village in northern Zambia in 1873; the explorer died soon after. I had read that a meeting was possible; but what to do? Meeting an African chief is no straightforward 1. Title of Principal Dorothy Neville-Rolfe’s book.
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TRAVEL & LEISURE ZAMBIA
undertaking and despite asking my contacts in Zambia for advice, none was forthcoming. Solution: just pitch up at the chief’s village and hope for the best. And so we did.
Early one morning my guide, the acclaimed Zambian artist Quentin Allen, and I set off from Kasanka National Park, following the signs to Chief Chitambo’s village. Upon arrival we were greeted by the kapasa, the chief’s messenger responsible for checking visitors’ credentials and through whom to apply for an audience. My interest in Livingstone, inspired by the Royal Geographical Society, was my line of approach, and I was delighted when the kapasa showed us to an open-sided enclosure, asking us to wait. We waited under an hour before the kapasa returned, with good news. But
that’s not all; a strict code of behaviour is required upon meeting the chief. The kapasa had briefed us: kneel down with foreheads to the ground and upon command clap twice; then clap twice again and stand up.
Chief Chitambo IV was seated on a white plastic chair, dressed in a smart grey suit and tie, a carved wooden walking stick beside him; it was apparent later that he is quite lame. But what intrigued me were his purplelensed sunglasses. He is a good-looking, courteous and well-spoken man in his early seventies, and, after making obeisance, I felt privileged when permission was given to use my tape recorder and conduct an interview. I started by asking him about David Livingstone and he replied: “My great,
