After Msiri’s death the Luapula valley was divided in 1894 between Britain — the eastern shores of the Luapula and Lake Mweru became part of North-Eastern Rhodesia, administered by the British South Africa Company (BSAC) — and King Leopold II of Belgium’s misnamed Congo Free State (CFS), or rather its agent, the Compagnie du Katanga, which took over the western shores.
Kazembe was elected a Member of Parliament for Chiradzulu South in May 2009, running on the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) platform.
The Chilunda-speaking Kanongesha-Lunda people are the largest ethnic group, and are related to the Chibemba-speaking Kazembe-Lunda of Luapula Province.