Ubuntu as ‘Public Policy’ among the Tonga of Zambia’s Southern Province

Abstract

The paper draws its data from a three-year study entitled ‘Archaeology of Ubuntu’ funded by the ‘National Research Foundation’ (NRF) of South Africa. The data utilised in this paper is drawn from interview discussions conducted with purposefully sampled elders from Tonga communities in Zambia’s Southern Province. The data specifically originates from the views of the elders on ‘their understanding of Ubuntu’. The main premise of the paper is the notion that Ubuntu is a widely theorised concept (Letseka, 2012; Mets, 2011; Ramos, 2006) with various conceptions of it as a consequence of this status quo in scholarly circles. However, of special interest to this paper among the various conceptions of Ubuntu is Nkondo’s (2007) conception of it as ‘public policy’. As such, the paper shows how this conception of Ubuntu is actualised among the Tonga of Zambia’s Southern Province. The paper realistically describes and portrays the practical implications of such a conception of Ubuntu among the Tonga. The conception of Ubuntu as ‘public policy’ is done in relation to the four main functions of ‘public policy’ in society.