Dr MT Mazimba

28/09/2026

I wrote a piece on multimorbidy during WW1 and its now been published by the prestigious Journal of Southern African Studies (JSAS).

Thank you to Marja Hinfelaar and Ginny Bond for the mentorship.

New Article Out!

Multi-Morbidity during the First World War: The Case of Northern Rhodesia (Zambia)

How did disease shape the experiences of Africans during the First World War?

In this article, Mutale T. Mazimba examines the under-researched disease burden experienced by African porters in Northern Rhodesia, focusing on the overlapping effects of dysentery, bubonic plague and jiggers during and immediately after the war.

Drawing on archival sources from the Missionaries of Africa Faith Encounter Zambia Archives and the National Archives of Zambia, the article uses a syndemic lens to examine how multiple diseases interacted and affected African communities.

Mazimba also highlights the healthcare responses developed by African communities themselves, demonstrating the importance of integrated approaches to treating and managing multi-morbidity.

The article contributes to the history of health and disease in colonial Africa while drawing attention to experiences that have often been overshadowed by the focus on influenza during the First World War.

Read the full article here: https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/03057070.2026.2737508

26/09/2026

He says, "Before you capture, let me get my fruit."

Thats how I sat down with Professor Ackson Marko Kanduza at his office in Lusaka West.

He is a historian of eastern Zambia, and he is also the son of a World War Two veteran. We talked for an hour, and then kept talking for several more.

He told me about his father's return from the war. He told me about a scheme that was meant to support the children of veterans, and what became of it. And he told me about the things he never learned, because nobody wrote them down and nobody said them out loud.

I am grateful for his time and for his trust. Some conversations change how you see a whole project. This was one of them.

10/09/2026

I have spent the past week at the FENZA Archives in Bauleni, Lusaka, reading through the records of Catholic missionaries who worked in Northern Rhodesia. The files are in English, French, and German. This reminds us that the colonial project was never just British, and that the archives of this country are entangled with the histories of Europe in ways we do not always acknowledge.

But something has struck me. The missionaries rarely recorded the war. In page after page of mission diaries, I find notes on school enrolments, crops, weather, visits, baptisms. Life, it seems, continued normally. The Second World War is barely mentioned.

This raises a question I am still sitting with: Does this silence mean the war had little impact on missionary communities? Or does it mean that the war was only truly felt by those who were touched by it such as the soldiers and the families who lost someone? Did those untouched simply carry on?

Perhaps the archive is not neutral. Perhaps it tells us as much about what was not recorded as what was. Perhaps the intimate experience of war is not in the official record at all.

That is what I am trying to find.

If you know of any family stories about WWII veterans in Zambia—especially from the northern provinces—I would love to hear from you.

07/09/2026

A few weeks ago, I posted about my research on WWII veterans and their families in Zambia. A lady named Sumili Kipenda reached out and told me about a section at Memorial Park in Lusaka dedicated to World War veterans. I visited today.

I found the site—a quiet section with four graves. One has a headstone. The other three do not. I went to the office and spoke with Mr. Musenge Sichone, who has invited me to send questions about the site's history, how burials are arranged, and how the site is maintained and remembered.

I am grateful to Sumili for pointing me in this direction. It is a reminder that memory is not just in archives—it is in the ground, in the spaces we walk past, and in the people who remember and share.

I will continue to document sites like this as part of my research. If you know of other veteran gravesites, memorials, or family stories, I would love to hear from you.

29/08/2026

Sometimes the most important work is the quietest. I have spent the last few weeks deep in the literature—reading, thinking, and building the foundation for the next phase of this project.

It is not the kind of work that makes for dramatic posts. But it is the kind of work that makes everything else possible.

I have been thinking about how we remember—and how we forget. About the silences that shape our families. About the stories that are never written down.

I am still here. Still listening. Still learning.

If you have a story about a veteran in your family, or know someone who does, I would love to hear from you.

26/08/2026

It has been a while since I posted, but I have been thinking about you—the people who have reached out, shared stories, and pointed me in new directions.

Every message, every lead, every shared memory has been a gift.

I am still working on the project, still reading, still preparing for the interviews ahead. And I am still looking for more stories.

If you have a connection to a Zambian WWII veteran—or know someone who does—I would be honoured to hear from you.

Let us keep building this record together.

18/08/2026

Elections are over.

Whatever your choice, I hope we can all move forward with a shared commitment to building a better Zambia.

As a historian, I am reminded that democracy is not just about voting—it is about what we do between elections.

Here is to the work ahead.

12/08/2026

On Thursday, Zambians will head to the polls. It is a moment of national decision, and a reminder that democracy is not just about voting—it is about the stories we carry, the histories we inherit, and the future we are building together.

My research on WWII veterans and their families has taught me that ordinary people have always been at the heart of this country's story. The soldiers who fought, the families who waited, the communities that rebuilt—they are the ones who have shaped what Zambia is and what it can become.

However this election unfolds, I hope we carry forward the lesson that our history is not just in the past—it is alive in the choices we make today.

Vote. Stay safe. Be kind to one another.

27/02/2026

I enjoyed a thought provoking chat with Dr Dora Siliya at the media briefing to drum up support for the Platinum authors book conference.

She shared my concerns about the challenges facing Zambian writers.

I look forward to discussing solutions on 24th March at the KK wing.

27/02/2026

I am currently writing a book on Zambian men and women who gave their labour for the First World War. I hope to publish it with Ohio University Press.

Using data from archives and interviews with surviving descendants of veterans, i demonstrate that a significant number of local servicemen and women were recruited during the FWW, and their experiences were often negative. Harsh conditions, coercive recruitment, and severe disruption characterized their wartime experiences. The War also had lasting social consequences for soldiers as the hardships undermined their traditional ties to indigenous authority and disrupted pre-war social and economic structures.