§ Mr. Brockwayasked the Secretary of State for the Colonies on what charges Africans in Northern Rhodesia have been arrested during the recent boycott of beer halls; if they are tried individually or in groups; and if they are provided with facilities for defence.
§ Mr. Lennox-BoydSixteen men and four women have been charged with various offences arising out of the recent boycott of beer halls in Lusaka.
Nine men and four women have been charged jointly with rioting; two of them have been further charged with assault on the police. Another four men have been charged jointly with rioting and assault. Both these cases are still in progress. Two men who had been arrested and charged jointly with threatening violence to two women were acquitted after the complainants had withdrawn the complaint which they had made to the police. One man who was alleged to have been exhorting a crowd to brew beer in their houses was charged with proposing breaches of the law to an assembly; he was found guilty, bound over for twelve months and ordered to report to the probation officer daily.
Facilities for defence exist under the Poor Prisoners Defence Ordinance, the provisions of which may be applied if requested by the prisoner, or if thought fit by the magistrate. The Ordinance has not been invoked in any of these cases.