Zambia

ZAMBIA​—290,587 square miles of mostly undulating plain atop a plateau 3,000 to 4,000 feet above sea level—​is in the heart of Africa, only nine degrees south of the equator. It is the third-largest copper-producing country of the world. Its population of 4,500,000 represents some seventy-three tribal divisions, speaking thirty different dialects. Though landlocked, Zambia (formerly known as Northern Rhodesia) has many fishermen, who ply their trade on the three large lakes, Bangweulu, Mweru and Tanganyika.

Beginning early in the nineteenth century Zambia was penetrated first by explorers and missionaries of Christendom’s sects, and then by prospectors searching for mineral riches, and finally by railroad, by drilling machines and all the other equipment for digging out the copper that lay underground. These developments were to bring tremendous changes to the primitive and largely illiterate population.

The advancing light on the understanding of Bible prophecy and doctrine began to penetrate this land as early as 1911, when copies of the publications of the Watch Tower Society called “Studies in the Scriptures” came in from neighboring territories. This opened the way for some of the recipients of this literature to communicate with the branch office of the Society in Cape Town, South Africa. One of these was K. M. Mwanza, who is still alive at this time of writing, and at the age of eighty-five is serving as a full-time minister  in his home district of Isoka in the northwestern part of Zambia.

In those early years the eagerness of many to follow up their interest in the Bible with extended discussion led some to neglect their domestic and agricultural activities and travel long distances on foot to where some Bible discussion would be taking place. The pastures of the Roman Catholic and Protestant missions were also adversely affected. So Brother Mwanza tells of soldiers being sent by the local British Administrator and the native Chiefs to round up the leaders of such assemblies. On more than one occasion he himself suffered imprisonment and lashes as well as confiscation of his Bible and Bible literature.

But the spread of Bible truth could not easily be halted. A man named Saimoni, possessor of a Berean Bible (published by the Watch Tower Society, and having a verse-by-verse commentary), took up temporary employment in a store at Broken Hill. There he witnessed to a fellow worker, Harrison Nyendwa, a member of the Free Church. Eventually Harrison left his secular employment and journeyed from Broken Hill through the Mkushi district to Serenje, preaching to the villagers and using only the Bible and what he had learned at Broken Hill. This journey on foot took three weeks, and many became interested through his efforts.

Now, this Harrison Nyendwa Mailo is a son of Chief Mailo, one of the senior chiefs in the Serenje district. Nearby is Livingstonia, and the whole area is viewed as the ‘preserve’ of the Church of Scotland. When Christendom’s sects began sending out their missions to Africa, they developed ‘understood’ boundaries for each denomination, and these territories were jealously guarded against infiltration by other sects. Thus Harrison was ‘sacrilegiously invading’ one of those preserves when he began spreading his newfound faith among the villagers. He was arrested and brought before the District Commissioner at Serenje, where he was reprimanded, beaten and then set free. On another occasion he was sentenced to eighteen months in jail. Thus even in ‘Dark Africa’ Church and State were already combining their efforts in opposition to the message of God’s kingdom.

In 1924 a representative of the Society came to the Rhodesias from the British branch to investigate some strange charges that had been leveled against some professing to be associated with the Society. He did discover that some were claiming to be associates of the Society without having any understanding of the Bible truths taught by the Society, and some of these were  practicing adultery, wife-swapping and other evils. Others he found to be sincere in their devotion to Bible principles. A Brother Dawson was sent in 1925 to supervise the interested groups in Northern Rhodesia. As a result of those visits, preaching activity and baptizing were brought to a standstill until such time as proper supervision of the activities could be provided. Meantime, repeated applications were made to the government for permission to have a resident European minister in the country on a permanent basis. The response was unfavorable.

In the years 1925 and 1926 efforts were made by those opposing the Kingdom work to link the Watch Tower Society with the religious fanaticism of Tomosiyo, Mwana Lesa (meaning “I Thomas, Son of God”), who was widely reported for his murderous baptizings in the Mkushi district. Since water baptism played a prominent part in the services of some of those early unidentified groups, it was only too easy to confuse the minds of many on the subject. It is well known that the total immersion practiced by Jehovah’s witnesses is but the prelude to a life of devotion to the service of Jehovah God.

The Copperbelt mining industry assembled vast populations in town and cities, calling their labor force from the primitive simplicity of tribal life. This development was also to aid in a swift garnering of other ‘precious things’ in Jehovah’s sight, people having faith in God and a genuine love of righteousness. Two early examples of success in this direction may be cited: There was the young man James Luka Mwango who contacted Society literature while on vacation from school. He was asked to translate one of the Society’s booklets into Cibemba, and became so engrossed with the contents that he eventually left his work as a teacher. He associated with Jehovah’s people and went on to enter the pioneer service, and is now in the Zambia branch office after enjoying many other privileges in the field.

The other case relates to Thomson Kangale. In 1931 he came in contact with a young football player who was showing deep interest in the literature of the Society. Stimulated by this boy’s determination to know something about the Bible, Thomson attended meetings, entered the full-time ministry in October 1937, and continued therein right up to the present when he is serving as one of the Society’s traveling representatives.

CONSPIRACY AGAINST KINGDOM WORK

Early in May 1935 a three-day assembly was held on the banks of a river in the Ngwerere valley. Manasse  Nkhoma, sent by the Cape Town branch of the Society, was chairman. Those who attended, including Brother Mwanza, Thomson Kangale and Harrison Nyendwa, recall that it was a time of real encouragement. The matter of registering marriages in compliance with law was discussed and recommended as the proper course for Christians. Improved methods of preaching were also covered in the program.

That same month Ordinance 10 of 1935 was passed by the Legislature, an ordinance that would permit the restricting of any literature from entry into the country, and it only required some incident to provide the reason for invoking such powers. The ‘incident’ was supplied three weeks later when the Copperbelt mine workers rioted due to the mishandling of an announcement of a new taxation. In the melees that followed at Mufulira, Kitwe and Luanshya, six Africans were killed and twenty-two wounded by rifle bullets. During this trouble the brothers discreetly remained indoors, engaged in study and practiced singing some new songs. Religious enemies were quick to point the finger at the recent assembly at Lusaka as the hatching ground for the violence that erupted. Arrests of the brothers followed. Jehovah’s people were to be made the scapegoat and Christendom’s sects would get rid of troublesome preachers who were arousing too much interest in Bible study and so spoiling their pastures.

A Commission of Enquiry was subsequently appointed and brought in its findings in November 1935. Not a single one of Jehovah’s witnesses or any representative of the Watch Tower Society was in any way implicated in the disturbances. Rather, as early as 1924 at a missionary conference of Christendom’s sects a conspiracy to halt the circulation of Watch Tower literature had been hatched. One of the “reverends” at that conference charged that the contents of the Watch Tower literature was “propaganda coming to Africa from Russia.” In the meantime, however, on the basis of Ordinance 10 of 1935, the governor issued a Proclamation banning twenty of the Society’s publications.

Representations were made to the Secretary of State for the Colonies in London, England. That official instituted inquiries as to our status and activities in other African Dependencies, and, doubtless as a result of these, communicated his decision to Northern Rhodesia. The branch office in Cape Town received word from the Chief Secretary, Northern Rhodesia, under date of March 19, 1936, agreeing to our proposal to open an office at Lusaka and to the admission of a European representative of the Society to Northern Rhodesia.

 A literature depot was then established at Lusaka, and Brother L. V. Phillips from Cape Town was assigned there as depot servant. The property he was able to rent was situated right across the street from the police station. Application was immediately made for registration of the Society as a “recognized religious denomination,” but the Governor felt that there must be an effective organization in the country to ensure effective control of its members before he could recommend this move.

Meantime the depot servant was faced with the task of weeding out undesirable elements that had infiltrated some of the congregations. Some he found to be teaching and practicing ‘wife-changing’ or having community wives. His efforts to restore cleanness to some Mufulira congregations meant disfellowshiping as many as 140 persons. Despite difficulties, the first service year report following establishment of the depot showed that 758 publishers were active in the spread of the “good news.”

In 1937 James Mwango was employed by the Rhokana Corporation and associating with the Kitwe congregation. He recalls the introduction of theocratic organization there when Brother Jeremiah Chisansesanse was directly appointed by the Society as company servant, as overseers were then known. James had to wait until 1940 before he was baptized, since it was not until then that the restrictions imposed by Brothers Dawson and Walder in 1925 were revoked. He and other candidates were now required to demonstrate the degree of knowledge they had acquired by answering questions about their faith, their dedication, and other matters.

With the entry of Britain into the war in 1939 emergency conditions prevailed, and because of the stand of neutrality taken by the brothers the government in Northern Rhodesia issued a proclamation prohibiting the importation and distribution of all literature of the Society. In 1941 there followed a government notice calling upon all persons to surrender any Watch Tower publications in their possession within two months, failing which, prosecution would follow. The depot at Lusaka was raided and Brother Phillips was sentenced to six months’ imprisonment.

One incident involving the brothers that took place in 1940 shows the good effect the truth was having on them. Mine workers at Rhokana Corporation’s Nkana Mine went on strike, but the brothers employed at the mine continued to present themselves for work, since soldiers had been called in to prevent picketing. It began to be realized by employers that Jehovah’s witnesses  were in fact a stabilizing element in the population. This did much to remove the stigma that had been borne by the Witnesses unjustly ever since the 1935 riots.

Soon there was a great shortage of literature, even though the brothers had been able to hide much of their supplies for use in their field ministry. Eventually chapters from the Society’s publications were prepared on plain sheets by means of a hand-operated duplicator at the Lusaka depot. Traveling representatives, who visited the congregations, had to rely on their personal knowledge of the Scriptures and the Society’s publications. They would work in the field ministry during the day with various publishers, while in the evenings campfire question-and-answer discussions were arranged. All publishers associated with a congregation would come and stay in the village where the visiting brother was holding his meetings.

Those were years of great difficulty for the advancement of the Kingdom work. In 1942 the depot servant was again arrested, this time for refusal of military service. For eight out of the twelve months he had been behind bars. But an African brother had served to keep the depot functioning. When Brother Phillips was free again he did what he could to keep the organization in good working order. As capable brothers volunteered their services, he would give them some training and send them out to maintain contact with the congregations. Despite all the restrictions, by 1943 there were, on an average, 2,784 Witnesses preaching in Northern Rhodesia.

Brother James Mwango, traveling representative, tells of covering as much as 700 miles by bicycle. Nine “servants to the brethren” (now known as circuit servants) traveled 8,000 miles visiting 140 congregations during the service year 1944, and this mainly by bicycle or on foot. The South African branch sent Brother C. Holliday to help with this service in 1945. He traveled extensively in the Barotse Province as well as on the Copperbelt. Some of the native Chiefs refused to permit Bible study meetings. Communication between the depot and the congregations or circuit servants was mainly by native “runners,” a system that Brother Mwango considered more efficient than the government postal service.

Early in 1947 a member of the British branch office staff made a personal visit to the British Colonial Office in London. This was supported by a petition to the Northern Rhodesia government signed by 40,909 persons deploring the ban on a Christian educational activity. The only response was the lifting of the ban  on a few items of literature. But The Watchtower was still not free for circulation, so efforts still had to be maintained to keep getting the necessary spiritual food to the ‘household of faith.’ The need was greater than ever, for 1947 ended with 6,114 publishers active in 252 congregations.

GILEAD GRADUATES ARRIVE

Not until the arrival of graduates from Gilead School did we begin giving attention to the 25,000 Europeans who had come to Zambia in connection with mining operations. That was in 1948, when missionary Harry Arnott was assigned to Luanshya and Ian Fergusson to Chingola. Intensive house-to-house preaching was soon under way and the response was exciting. Literature went fast and home Bible studies using the book “Let God Be True” developed rapidly. Within a year two English-speaking congregations were formed in these towns.

That year 1948 was a grand one in several ways. A phenomenal increase of 61 percent brought the total average ministers up to 9,873​—and the peak figure reached 11,606. That was a wonderful report to be able to hand personally to Brothers Knorr and Henschel when they visited this territory for the first time. This was when Brother Knorr decided to establish a new branch here in Northern Rhodesia, with H. W. Arnott as branch servant. The Society’s president also interviewed the Secretary for Native Affairs and the Attorney General, and was assured that it was the government’s intention to lift the ban on our literature and activities soon.

Right away special training courses were provided for the traveling representatives of the Society and literacy became a prime consideration among the congregations. ‘Each one teach one’ became a familiar slogan in the campaign. Circuit servants gave special attention to the matter when visiting each congregation. At first progress was slow, but then came some real success. In the period between 1959 and 1969 an average of 720 persons each year were taught to read and write. In a 1970 survey, in fact, it was ascertained that out of the more than 50,000 publishers in the country, over 36,000 could read and over 32,000 could write. This is all the more striking when we consider that of the whole population of 2,500,000 in 1963, some 1,247,760 were reported illiterate.

It was a happy time when, commencing with the issue of August 1, 1949, The Watchtower was finally freed from ban. A monthly edition in the principal vernacular  language, Cibemba, was mimeographed in the branch at Lusaka and mailed out to all subscribers. Brother Mwango recalls preparing the translation while still serving as a circuit servant, writing it in longhand, often by candlelight far into the night. Meantime it became necessary to enlarge the rented quarters at the branch to house extra workers and to mimeograph 7,000 copies each of The Watchtower in Cibemba and Silozi.

Gilead graduates B. M. Holcomb and E. H. Kielhorn arrived in 1949, closely followed by two others, John and Kay Jason, in 1950. In this latter year an English-speaking circuit assembly drew a peak attendance of seventy-four. Also, Brother Phillips could report at the “Theocracy’s Increase” Assembly at Yankee Stadium that our publisher total had risen to 15,196, with 40,000 attending the Memorial celebration. At that time Brother Phillips remained in New York to attend Gilead’s sixteenth class, which graduated February 1951.

About this time Harrison Nyendwa, circuit servant, met a young man in the southern province town of Choma, Mukosiku Sinaali, who worked in the local post office. The New Apostolic Church leaders soon got wind of the Bible study that then started and tried to reclaim this straying member of their church. A meeting was arranged and the church elders were going to prove to Mukosiku that this new religion was all wrong. Mukosiku reports what followed: “After failing for two hours to prove that theirs was the right religion, the five elders rose and in a fit of anger rolled up their shirt sleeves to beat us up. Smilingly Brother Nyendwa used his Bible to show how unchristian it would be for us to fight. Foiled, but not admitting defeat, they threatened: ‘We will call down fire upon this house and those who will survive will be the true worshipers!’ Again Harrison pointed out that that too would be unchristian, using the text at Luke 9:54, 55 where Jesus reproved his disciples for wanting to ‘tell fire to come from heaven and annihilate’ the inhospitable Samaritans. This humiliating defeat proved to my satisfaction which was the true religion.”

Later promoted to be subpostmaster at Sesheke in Barotseland, Mukosiku made a point of saying something about Bible truth to each customer. This, together with the fact that Mukosiku would not call him “Father,” irked a Roman Catholic priest, who lodged a complaint with the District Commissioner, and the matter came to the attention of the Postmaster General. Here, in part, is the reply of that official to the District Commissioner: “The Head Office does not see any justifiable reason for transferring this man. This ministry has in  succession suffered three losses in the form of misappropriation of public funds by previous subpostmasters who all served prison sentences. We have now sent you an honest man whom we feel can serve the public better. If it is only for religious differences you want him transferred, this ministry will not provide you with any replacement. That man is sent there to stay. However, we would recommend that the Catholic Mission arrange to get its mail through Senanga Post Office.”

Brother Sinaali soon joined the ranks of the pioneer ministers, was appointed a circuit servant in 1958, and later attended Gilead School in 1961. Upon his graduation he returned to Zambia, where he has been busy in Bethel service and in translation work.

By the end of the 1951 service year the number reporting field ministry had risen to 19,173. This was truly affecting the religious preserves of Christendom’s sects. As author Ian Cunnison observed in his book A Watchtower Assembly in Central Africa: “In Luapula valley Watchtower has more adherents than all other missions put together. I estimate that more than half of the professing Christians in the area are Watchtower, in spite of the fact that the Plymouth Brethren at Johnston Falls and Kawambwa and the London Missionary Society at Mbereshi have been established for fifty years and the White Fathers at Lufubu for twenty. Also about half the Watchtower members originally belonged to one of the other missions.” Efforts were continually made to incite secular officials against the Witnesses and their Kingdom activities.

Assemblies continued to bring strength and encouragement to the brothers. North of Fort Jameson in the Luangwa valley the district servant tells of an assembly at which, during the campfire gatherings in the evening, the roaring of lions at times drowned out the singing of Kingdom songs. At an assembly in 1952, on the occasion of another visit by Brother Knorr, some 20,000 persons attended. Such gatherings of representatives of every section of the population and of many tribes offered irrefutable evidence of the unifying effect of Bible truth on the lives of people. Yes, international assemblies also proved to be upbuilding to the Zambian brothers, of whom twenty-eight delegates (including some from Southern Rhodesia) attended the New World Society Assembly in New York city, in July 1953.

With still more missionaries arriving in the country, their number by 1954 had risen to sixteen. New congregations were being formed among the English-speaking community. The work was truly expanding, so much  so that it was decided to purchase a property at Luanshya to take the place of the rented premises at Lusaka. This was particularly necessary seeing that large stocks of “Let God Be True” and “This Means Everlasting Life” were now beginning to arrive. The happy prospects of moving into the new home and branch office were tragically marred by a road accident on the way from Lusaka in which Sister Marion Arnott was fatally injured.

The great influx of new associates called for expansion in another very tangible way​—more and better Kingdom Halls were needed. Up to this time meeting places were often quite primitive​—pole and mud walls, thatch roof, dirt floor and low mud benches, yes, even some open ground under a shading tree or at the back of someone’s home. Now substantial brick buildings with galvanized iron roof began to make their appearance, some of them with electric lighting, to contrast with the village meetings that had to be conducted in daylight hours or, if at night, around a bright campfire. Most often the Kingdom Hall is now the most imposing structure in the country villages, blending with the rural background and neatly embellished with flower beds.

Very stimulating to the brothers in Zambia was a new feature in our educational campaign, namely, the use of films such as “The New World Society in Action.” Over 42,000 saw this film in its first year, commencing in 1954. Government officials and education officers alike were deeply impressed. And the showing of “The Happiness of the New World Society” constituted a turning point in the life of one polygamous village headman. After noting how people were abandoning old-world practices such as polygamy, he set aside his second wife, and asked that a Bible study be started with him and his first wife.

In the Barotse Province, home of the Lozi people, the district servant showed the film to the royal family, comprising some 230 persons, in the grounds of the palace. The Litunga or Paramount Chief asked if it could be shown to his people. The following evening there was an attendance of 2,500. On the same trip the film equipment was transported by barge to an assembly in an isolated area where many had never before seen a film. At two showings there was an attendance of 1,800 persons, including government officials. All six of the Society’s films have now been shown around the country, with well over a million viewers. Surely a fine way to acquaint people with the nature of this Bible-based society!

 What a start, then, for the 1955-1956 service year! The “Triumphant Kingdom” Assembly was held on the banks of the Mwambashi stream some ten miles out from Kitwe. Brother Henschel from Brooklyn served this gathering and released to an excited audience of 36,000 the booklet “This Good News of the Kingdom” in both Cibemba and Cinyanja. Then in February 1956 came a shipment of 36,000 copies of the book “This Means Everlasting Life” in Cibemba. Memorial attendance that year rose to 70,749.

A young man, Smart Phiri, tells how he came in contact with the message of truth: “One day I wanted to go and convince this Witness that his religion was all wrong. Since I was off duty, I took my Cinyanja Bible, bought at the time of my baptism at Merwe Mission, and went to this person’s place of work. As soon as he saw me he said: ‘It seems today you really mean business, because I notice you have brought your Bible with you.’ ‘Yes,’ I replied, ‘I want to convince you that Watchtowers are never the true church.’ He gave me the opportunity to start first and show him from the Bible that my church was right. Well, I did not know where to start, so he tactfully took over and began teaching me on various subjects. This lasted from 8:30 in the morning until 5:30 at night, without break for lunch. And, of course, his employer could not complain, for he did not stop work on his sewing machine, but left the work of finding and reading Scripture texts to me. This day was a milestone in my life, and I must admit that it was on this day that God answered my prayer for enlightenment.”

That very evening Smart Phiri accompanied the Witness to the Kingdom Hall. At first there was great consternation when the other brothers saw this police constable in their midst. From then on Smart Phiri began attending meetings with his wife. He completed his contract with the police and dedicated his life to Jehovah, entering the full-time pioneer ministry in October 1956. The following month he was invited to join the branch office staff at Luanshya. He would later enjoy many other privileges of service.

The missionary force in the country was meanwhile augmented; Joseph Hawryluk, John and Ian Renton, Gene Kinaschuk, Paul Ondejko, Peter and Vera Palliser, Avis Morgan and Benson Judge, all contributed their efforts for the furtherance of the “good news” during the following years. How happy they were to have a share in the prospecting and digging for more of ‘the precious things’ of Zambia in which Jehovah was deeply interested!

 Among those ‘precious things’ garnered in during this time was a young man of the Lozi tribe, Solomon Lyambela. When he was but fifteen years of age this ‘new faith’ had begun to be a disturbing element in his life. He was then associated with the Paris Evangelical Mission. His wife’s uncle introduced the new teaching and all members of the two family villages accepted it, all except Solomon, that is. He did not agree. But later, when secular work took him to another area, he attended one of the Witness meetings and accepted some booklets, including Where Are the Dead? This and the caliber of the men and women who were engaging in the house-to-house ministry deeply impressed him. Imagine the surprise to his family when he wrote and told them of his adherence to the faith! They had to send a family member on the 450-mile trip to Livingstone to check on the truth of the matter. His first Memorial he recalls was in 1936.

It was not until 1939 that Solomon was baptized. Then in 1940 he served as Scripture reader when Brother L. V. Phillips addressed an assembly of almost 300 persons at Mongu, the provincial capital of Barotseland. When trouble arose over the refusal of brothers to give the worshipful salute to the Litunga or Paramount Chief, Solomon and other prominent brothers were arrested and imprisoned for up to three months. Later he moved to Southern Rhodesia in search of work and ended up entering the pioneer ranks. When he came back to Northern Rhodesia in 1950 he was assigned to service in the circuit work. That issue of “Showelela” (the royal salute) has receded somewhat, and we recall that this same Litunga gladly viewed the Society’s films on more than one occasion. Solomon could carry with him a very interesting report when he was invited to Gilead School in 1958.

PRUNING STIMULATES GROWTH

Again Northern Rhodesia was well represented at the “Divine Will” International Assembly in New York, in 1958. Thirty-two delegates went from here, of whom eight were from the English-speaking Kitwe congregation. At that assembly Harry Arnott told the thousands assembled in Yankee Stadium of how the Kingdom work in this country was truly prospering​—there being now one publisher for every eighty persons in Northern Rhodesia. And while the mines of the Copperbelt were heading for their most productive year yet, Jehovah’s people were preparing for a gathering that would surpass anything yet witnessed in this land. Thirty-five acres of land outside the town of Ndola  were cleared in readiness for the “Faithful Ministers” National Assembly in April 1959.

A group of disfellowshiped persons came to this assembly in the hope that their leader would be recognized by the Society’s president, Brother Knorr. Instead, they were debarred from entry into the assembly grounds, and the brothers assembled were warned against any association with the evildoers. Faithful Witnesses, on the other hand, enjoyed a grand program that received its due share of publicity in the public press. Said one editorial: “The Witnesses are linked to the Watch Tower Society that was proscribed in Northern Rhodesia, but, from all accounts, those areas in which Jehovah’s witnesses are strongest among Africans are now areas more trouble-free than the average. Certainly they have been active against agitators, witchcraft, drunkenness and violence of any kind. A close study of the Bible is encouraged.” The same editorial took note of the increase of active preachers among Jehovah’s witnesses in seven years​—13,300! The attendance for the public talk of this never-to-be-forgotten assembly proved to be 29,596 at the vernacular section and 405 at the English-speaking section.

During this visit Brother Knorr viewed possible locations for a new branch headquarters, and the go-ahead signal was given to proceed with construction of the proposed home and office building on property purchased by the Society at Kitwe. There was every prospect of more successful prospecting for ‘precious things’ in this part of the field. True, the success was sometimes achieved by trial, hardship and endurance through the devilish snares placed in the way of true Christians, even as they were placed in the way of Christ Jesus. At times there had to be complete pruning away of bad elements that had come into association with Jehovah’s people. For example, in the 1960-1961 service year, 414 persons were disfellowshiped for various reasons, such as adultery, polygamy, wife-swapping and witchcraft.

In contrast to the tribal custom of segregating men and women at meetings, a custom that sets up barriers to Christian family unity, the book Christians in the Copperbelt noted the practice among Jehovah’s witnesses: “This attitude of man and woman working together in family units was very obvious in the homes of Watchtower members we visited. The women took their place in the meeting and in discussion without any embarrassment or the usual reluctance to speak. While it was rather difficult in most other congregations to find out who was married to whom, because husbands  and wives neither came to the church together nor sat together during the service, the Watchtower families were easily recognized in their meetings as little clusters of father, mother and children.”

While political ‘winds of change’ were blowing hard throughout Northern Rhodesia in 1961, the peace-loving Witnesses pressed on with their God-given work. Despite emergency conditions, they organized and enjoyed their series of “United Worshipers” District Assemblies in 1961, gathering for these joyous occasions at such places as Kashiba, Senanga, Broken Hill, Petauke and near Kitwe. Total attendance exceeded 30,000. This year, also, Kingdom Ministry School courses were provided so that congregation overseers might be better qualified for their shepherding duties in connection with God’s flock or congregation. Gilead graduates were extensively used in this project: Hayes Hoskins concentrated on the course for those speaking Cinyanja; Billy Howard, John Renton and Wayne Johnson conducted those in Cibemba and Silozi. A centrally located Kingdom Hall in each area would be selected and there a number of classes would be held, and then on to another area, and thus the whole field was eventually covered.

By the end of 1961 the new branch office at Kitwe was well under way. It was a happy day when, on February 3, 1962, the new branch with its Bethel home and Kingdom Hall were dedicated. Under a four-column-wide picture of the entire complex, the newspaper The Northern News reported the matter: “Work among Jehovah’s witnesses in Northern Rhodesia, Kenya, Tanganyika and Uganda will be directed from a new £20,000 building at Kitwe. It comprises living quarters for a staff of 14, an office block, a literature depot and a meeting place for the Kitwe congregation with seats for 200. All the interior decoration of the centre was done by the Witnesses themselves.”

Politically the year 1962 was an important one in the country. A general election in October was immensely significant, marking as it did the first major electoral confrontation between African and European, and producing the first African government. Reports kept coming in of cases of intimidation of the brothers in connection with the purchase of cards identifying them with a particular political party. Amid such a tense atmosphere preparations got under way for the “Courageous Ministers” National Assembly at Kitwe, scheduled for May 1963. Four separate arenas were constructed from which the assembly program was presented in the four principal languages, English,  Cibemba, Cinyanja and Silozi. Otherwise, it was a completely integrated gathering. The baptism of 631 new ministers included both Africans and Europeans. Particularly significant, in view of what was ahead for the brothers, was the talk explaining Romans 13, and the Christian’s relationship to the superior authorities. Brother Henschel from the Brooklyn Bethel addressed the largest audience at this five-day assembly when he spoke to 24,551 on the final day, having as his subject “Pay Attention to Prophecy.”

Violence and persecution faced many of the returning delegates from that assembly. A number of sisters in the Samfya district, upon being found without political cards, were beaten and forced to drink the urine of their attackers. In that area, too, five homes and a Kingdom Hall were burned down. At Mazangu village in the eastern province missionaries Wayne Johnson and Benson Judge were forced to leave a village on failing to produce the card. At nearby Sikamwenje village they were prevented from proceeding with their Christian work by a chanting, frenzied mob. By September’s end it was reported that a total of ten Kingdom Halls had been destroyed. The Zambia News in its issue of December 8, 1963, included the following in its report of the situation:

“The centuries-old story of the persecution of religious sects has repeated itself in African villages of the Luapala Province. More than 100 political hoodlums have been jailed or are facing trial for beating up Jehovah’s witnesses and pulling down and burning their homes and churches. . . . Police have interviewed 30 witnesses of a typical politics-versus-religion incident in which a marauding crowd of 600 is said to have marched down the main street of Mwansabombwe​—Senior Chief Kasembe’s village—​smashing the houses of Jehovah’s witnesses. Magistrates specially flown here from the Copperbelt have already sent lawbreakers to jail for up to three years’ hard labour. More court cases are pending. The 14 ringleaders of a violence campaign at Kanyembo were sentenced to jail terms ranging from two to three years. . . . Despite threats and violence the Witnesses have refused to be intimidated. They have a reputation for bravery, and have proved to be fearless in reporting cases of terrorism, a police spokesman said.”

Of course, representations were immediately made to Mr. K. D. Kaunda, the Prime Minister and head of the United National Independence Party. In a personal interview responsible brothers set before Mr. Kaunda the facts of the campaign of violence. The Prime Minister  promptly sent out by telephone and telegram instructions to all regional secretaries to put a stop to all such lawless and terroristic acts. The Witnesses, for their part, had been well prepared to meet those onslaughts, and in everything they did they manifested their hatred of violence and respect for law and order. In spite of the enemy action, reports for the month of December 1963 showed an all-time peak of 30,728 publishers. As a result of their legally defending their right to preach and keep themselves separate from the world, 199 lawbreakers were sentenced to a total of 304 years in prison for their share in the unjustified attacks on peaceful Christians.

ZAMBIA’S OPPORTUNITY

Dr. Kaunda’s party enjoyed a sweeping triumph at the polls, and three months later he led a delegation to the London Independence Conference to argue for full independence for Zambia without further delay. Again he met with success, and on May 27 he informed Parliament: “We are being given the opportunity to make this a country where all our people will be happy to stay; a country where people for 24 hours in every day will not feel afraid to go outside their homes on account of their political, religious or other beliefs.” Thus on October 24, 1964, Northern Rhodesia became the independent sovereign Republic of Zambia.

Jehovah’s people in Zambia viewed with special interest the provisions made in the new Constitution for fundamental rights, particularly this provision: “Except with his own consent, no person shall be hindered in the enjoyment of his freedom of conscience, and for the purpose of this section the said freedom includes freedom of thought and of religion, freedom to change his religion or belief, and freedom, either alone or in community, with others and both in public and in private, to manifest and propagate his religion or belief in worship, teaching, practice and observance.” Would this high principle be maintained?

As early as November 1964 our brothers began to run into difficulties in relation to the flag-salute and national-anthem issue. A patriotic hysteria, doubtless excited by the speeches and celebrations of the new independence era, swept the country. Now the immediate target was the children of the Witnesses in the schools around the country. As though diabolically planned, the issue was bandied about in the press and the Watch Tower Society and the Witnesses were put in the worst possible light. Adding to all the unfavorable publicity, there was then a case of some of the  Witnesses who had been severely injured in a highway accident. In the public press the reports of the accident highlighted the fact that the injured Witnesses flatly refused to accept blood transfusion.

Some officials of the new administration got the idea that the neutral, integrity-keeping course of the brothers and their children was due to following a man, so they contrived to have the branch servant, Harry Arnott, removed from Zambia. Sadly, he and his wife Zennie took their leave of the country in December 1965, and J. S. Mundell took over the responsibilities of branch servant. There were 700 congregations in the whole land by now, and at the Memorial celebration earlier that year the attendance for the first time topped the 100,000 mark, the actual figure being 100,088.

In 1966 harassment of Jehovah’s witnesses continued, special police agents questioning them on their stand as to participation in politics. Also that year the Witnesses were receiving attention in legislative circles. After considerable debate The Education Act, 1966, was put in force, this providing that in all schools the pupils would be required to sing the national anthem and salute the national flag, with expulsion from school as the only alternative. Then followed another statute, The Public Order (Amendment) Act, 1966, requiring that all public gatherings must be opened with the singing of the national anthem. That statute went into force on January 1, 1967. Many parents and children found it difficult to understand how freedom of conscience could exist side by side with government edicts such as these, edicts that went so far as to determine how a person’s conscience should view these national symbols.

This meant it was no longer possible to hold assemblies to which the public were invited. However, the brothers continued to organize intercongregational religious services in fenced-off private areas, open only to Jehovah’s witnesses and their friends. Despite efforts to interfere with these, almost all of them were held, and, despite the lack of invitations to the general public, the attendances kept getting larger and larger. In the latter part of 1966 all eight of the “God’s Sons of Liberty” District Assemblies, with a total combined attendance of 49,528, were held without incident. How encouraging, too, to find a new peak attendance at the Memorial celebration of 1967​—120,025, with 26 partaking of the emblems.

One circuit assembly at Kabompo in the Northwestern Province was broken up before it ever got started,  police even using smoke grenades and tear-gas shells in an effort to intimidate the inoffensive Christians. This took place two days before the assembly was due to begin. The assembly sleeping camp and arena were burned down. The brothers who had temporarily dispersed to surrounding villages returned on the Friday, got to work again preparing for the arrival of some 400 delegates, and the program for Saturday and Sunday continued normally. The incident received wide publicity, reflecting well on the peaceful conduct of the Witnesses.

At a later assembly in the same province, at Solwezi, the police turned up again under command of the same officer who had led the attack at Kabompo. This time he approached the district servant, contributed for some of the Society’s literature, while his men quietly listened to the program. After the showing of the film “God Cannot Lie,” some of those officers were heard remarking: “The Watchtower is the only true church.” The circuit servant reported that in the three congregations nearest to the scene of the tear-gas attack twenty new publishers had begun to share in the ministry.

PREACHING IN TROUBLOUS TIMES

Amid trying conditions the service of the Kingdom brings many a joyous experience to those who loyally endure. For example, one circuit servant told how, in the area of the famed Luangwa Valley Game Preserve, he had to walk and cycle sixty-four miles through swamps to get to his next isolated group. Often he was in water four feet deep, and there was the continual torment of the tsetse flies. He reached the camp of a Game Guard who provided water for washing, besides food and a place to sleep. After some rest the brother lit up his paraffin lamp and asked the Guard to bring together his family. Teachers and pupils from a nearby school also came, raising to fifty the number in his audience. To them he explained the Kingdom hope, with a response that fully rewarded him for his hazardous and exhausting journey. Many booklets and magazines and one subscription were obtained by his appreciative listeners.

The year 1967 was a busy one for the branch office in Zambia. In addition to organizing and supervising the sixteen “Disciple Making” District Assemblies, which drew a combined total audience of 77,251, there was also the preparation for the test case on the flag-salute issue due in the High Court of Zambia in Lusaka. The Court’s judgment was handed down on November 20​—a decision adverse to Jehovah’s people, a decision that  denied Witness children the right to an education in the public schools of the country. That meant that reading and writing classes for the benefit of the expelled children had to be arranged. By August 1968 the records showed that 5,755 children had been expelled.

But other drastic measures had already been taken against the Kingdom activities at the start of 1968. Deportation orders, designed to expel all Witnesses who were expatriates, were served on the missionaries in the country, some being forced to leave within seven days. They doubtless expected that the Witness organization would be like a crewless ship tossed on a stormy sea. But, to the contrary, volunteers quickly filled up the vacancies and the Kingdom work went on apace. The branch responsibilities were taken over by Smart Phiri, and, as indicative of the normal operation of matters, it is to be noted that the twelve “Good News for All Nations” District Assemblies went off as planned, with a total attendance of 110,952. The Jephthah drama was a most timely part of the assembly program.

In December 1968 the first general elections in independent Zambia were due, and again fanatical, patriotic fervor spilled over into violent persecution of God’s servants. More than eighty houses belonging to brothers had their windows broken; many brothers and sisters were physically assaulted. As the weeks passed, the situation grew worse. From village to village Witnesses were being hunted like wild beasts. Well over a thousand brothers had their homes and property completely destroyed; several hundred were beaten. One brother had nails driven into his head, and another was beaten to death. Three sisters were raped. By the end of February some forty-five Kingdom Halls had been burned down and over one thousand brothers in the Luapala and Serenje areas were left homeless. Swiftly the Society arranged for funds from the branch office to be made available for the destitute ones, while some six tons of clothing and blankets generously contributed by brothers in the Copperbelt were rushed to the scene. Definite steps were initiated by the Government to halt the persecution, though without any admission on the part of government officials as to the rightness of the position taken by the Witnesses.

The pressure in political circles to have the Witnesses entirely banned continued to mount. President Kaunda, however, elected to handle the situation personally, and how he purposed to do so was soon in evidence. By Statutory Instrument No. 384 of 1969, aimed directly at the preaching ministry of the Witnesses, and using emergency powers, it was ruled that “no person shall  enter without the express consent of the occupants for the time being thereof any dwelling or the curtilege thereof or any building and solicit or advocate adherence to or disseminate the teachings of the religion, organization or society specified in the Schedule [Jehovah’s Witnesses; the Watchtower Bible and Tract Society], whether by words or conduct.”

In face of this virtual ban it now became necessary for the brothers to redesign their ministry, with incidental witnessing taking on more importance. New ways of obtaining prior consent to enter private homes had to be developed. By one way or another Jehovah’s witnesses were determined to fulfill their God-given preaching commission. Due to those developments, time formerly spent in the house-to-house ministry was to a large extent spent in Bible study activity in the homes of persons known to be interested. Thus by April 1971 a peak number of home Bible studies was reported, namely, 47,840. Surely this intended obstacle to the Kingdom activity had been turned into a blessing!

Early in 1970 it became a matter of published comments that in some rural areas there was difficulty in filling the desks in recently built schools. Some inclined to blame Jehovah’s witnesses, but the fact of the matter was that the Witness children had been expelled from school. But events now began to take a new turn. Some schoolmasters were reinstating Witness children. Insistence on the singing of the anthem and saluting the flag was being relaxed on the simplest of pretexts. Some of the Witness children were again able to enjoy a secular education, provided they exercised wisdom when it came to ceremonial school days.

During the year 1971 Zambia’s population experienced serious disasters, what with severe drought in one part of the country and catastrophic flooding in another. Many of Jehovah’s people shared in those sufferings, but they had the advantage of being part of a loving organization that quickly brought them relief in the form of clothing and food supplies. Above all, they are never left without spiritual sustenance and the assurance of Jehovah’s loving concern for their welfare. How evident that love is is shown in the prosperity that attends the Kingdom activities! At the special talks conducted in the congregations and isolated groups throughout the country in March, there was a total attendance of 103,760. And the Memorial celebration on April 9, 1971, drew a still larger crowd of 166,492, of whom 27 partook of the bread and wine.

The ‘precious things’ that Jehovah has gathered out in the Zambia field are happy to share with fellow  Witnesses world wide in more productive digging. Their determination to carry out Jehovah’s will for them in these hazardous but momentous times is rewarded by seeing the result that Jehovah gives. In the service year 1971 a new peak of 56,996 ministers active in the field was reached, this resulting in a peak figure of 4,295,663 back-calls made on interested persons and an average of 53,710 home Bible studies conducted every week. How comforting to know that Jehovah himself is accomplishing this work, leading it to its successful conclusion, and we are his fellow workers!