Religion: Case of the Bembas' Beer

In the bustling copper town of Ndola in Northern Rhodesia, the. High Court deliberated the fate of two native Africans, Joseph Mubanga and Fitaliano Sakeni. They were members of the Bemba tribe and converts to Roman Catholicism. Their crime: acting on orders of Catholic priests, they had persuaded other Catholic Bembas not to contribute grain to the local Bemba chief. Fined by a native court, they had taken their case to the Bemba court of appeal, which increased their fines. The district commissioner's court upheld the conviction. The two dissatisfied Bembas had finally appealed to the Northern Rhodesia High Court. Behind...

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