§ 48. Mr. Brockwayasked the Secretary of State for the Colonies to what terms of imprisonment Frank Chitambala, Secretary-General of the United National Independence Party of Northern Rhodesia, Sykes Ndilila, Information Secretary, Diminico Mwansa, Propaganda Secretary, and George Nsunge, Secretary for the Lusaka Constituency, have been sentenced on charges of sedition, publishing seditious documents, and possessing seditious publications; and if he will give particulars of their offences, including the documents and publications which they published or possessed.
§ Mr. Iain MacleodThey were each sentenced to 18 months' imprisonment on various charges of seditious intention and possession and publication of seditious documents. As the particulars of their offences are detailed, a fuller reply is as follows:
The Governor has informed me that the four men were tried on the following charges:
First count. Conspiracy to do an act with a seditious intention, contrary to Section 53D (1) (A) of Chapter 6 of the Laws of Northern Rhodesia. The particulars of the offence were that all four did on diverse days between the 17th December, 1959, and 6th January, 1960, at Lusaka in the Lusaka district unlawfully conspire together to publish a document with a seditious intention, that is to say they did, with the intention of exciting the inhabitants of the territory to attempt to procure the alteration, otherwise than by lawful means, of a matter in the territory as by law established, namely, to procedure by unlawful means the disruption of the Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland, conspire together to publish a document containing the words set out in the schedule.
Second count. Publishing a seditious publication, contrary to Section 53D (1) (C) of Chapter 6 of the Laws.
That all four did on a date unknown, but between 17th December, 1959, and 6th January, 1960, at Lusaka in the Lusaka district, publish a seditious publication, namely a document containing the words set out in the schedule.
Third count. Unlawful possession of seditious publication, contrary to Section 53D (2) of Chapter 6 of the Laws.
14WFrank Chitambala, on 6th January, 1960, at Lusaka in the Lusaka district, was without lawful excuse in possession of a seditious publication, that is to say a publication containing the words set out in the schedule.
Fourth count. Unlawful possession of a seditious publication contrary to Section 53D (2) of Chapter 6 of the Laws.
Diminico Mwansa, on 6th January, 1960, at Lusaka in the Lusaka district, was without lawful excuse in possession of a seditious publication, that is to say, a publication containing the words set out in the schedule.
The Governor has added that the document in question was a double-sided roneoed foolscap sheet entitled "Remember the Year of Our Lord One Thousand Nine Hundred and Sixty" which, amongst other things, contained the phrase "to break up the Federation of Welensky by all means possible whether legal or extra-legal.