Background
Sikota Wina was born on August 31, 1931, at Mongu, Barotse Province, son of the traditional Chief Minister to the Paramount Chief.
Sikota Wina was born on August 31, 1931, at Mongu, Barotse Province, son of the traditional Chief Minister to the Paramount Chief.
Educated at Kafue Training School and Munali Secondary School. He was expelled from Fort Hare University College, South Africa, because of his political activities.
After employment in the colonial government’s information department he worked as a journalist from 1956 to 1959. He edited “African Life", a magazine published at Ndola, and injected as much radical nationalism into it as he could. On March 11, 1959, he was arrested in the general round-up of “suspected subversives”. As a Barotse he was kept away from his home area and sent into detention in Bemba country. After his release he joined UNIP and became its director of publicity.
At the October 1962 elections he was returned for Luanshya-Kalulushi. When Kaunda became Minister of Local Government Wina became his Parliamentary Secretary at the ministry. In 1964 he became Minister of Health, then in 1965 he was transferred to be Minister of Local Government and Housing.
Since 1968 he has been more at ease in expanding information services, providing more broadcasting stations and developing tourist facilities. In October 1972 he negotiated for new radio transmitters from China. In February he completed negotiations with Japan for the construction of a mass media centre and the extension of television to five main towns.
Party publicity director, much more radical than his elder brother Arthur who was Zambia’s first Finance Minister. A former journalist, he was arrested at the same time as Kaunda in March 1959 and became the main propagandist of the United National Independence Party on his release. In recent years he has devoted much time to extending and improving the services of the mass media with training programmes for journalists and technicians.