Mutumba Mainga

Mutumba Mainga or Mutumba Mainga Bull (1938 – 13 February 2026) was a Zambian historian and politician. She was the first Zambian woman to gain a PhD, the first Zambian woman to lecture at the University of Zambia, and the first Zambian woman to serve as a full Cabinet Minister in Zambia.

Life and career Mutumba Mainga came from Nalikolo, a village in Mongu District. before gaining her first degree from the University College of Rhodesia and Nyasaland, and a BA in history from the University of London in 1963. In 1965 she married Nicholas Theodore Bull,

In 1973 Mutumba Mainga Bull was elected to parliament, as MP for Nalolo Constituency in Western Province. From 1973 to 1976 she was Minister of Health. She held various positions in UNIP before retiring from active politics in 1991.

Works 'A History of Lozi Religion to the end of the Nineteenth Century', in Terence O. Ranger and Isaria N. Kimambo, eds., The Historical Study of African Religion. Berkeley: University of California Press, 1972 'Lewanika's Achievement', The Journal of African History, Vol. 13, No. 3 (1972) Bulozi under the Luyana Kings: Political Evolution and State Formation in Pre-colonial Zambia. London: Longmans, 1973. The Barotseland Agreement 1964 in Historical Perspective: A Preliminary Study. 1985. The Political Process in Zambia, 2001, 2002. 'Reserved Area: Barotseland of the 1964 Agreement', Zambia Social Science Journal, Vol. 5, No. 1 (2014)