Mulenga, Alice (1924–1978)

Zambian prophet and founder of the Lumpa Church. Name variations: Alice Lenshina; Alice Lenshina Mulenga; Alice Mulenga Mubusha; Lenshina. Born Alice Mulenga in 1924 (one source cites 1927); died in prison in 1978.

Alice Mulenga, who as Lenshina (meaning "regina" or "queen") founded Zambia's most well-known independent church, was born in 1924, in what was then the British protectorate of Northern Rhodesia. A member of the Bemba tribe, the country's largest ethnic group, she was raised as a Presbyterian. Western missionaries had flocked to Africa during the colonial occupation of the 19th century, many of them aggressively seeking converts to their various brands of Christianity; they were successful to a certain degree, with the result that throughout the 20th century indigenous African religions, including animism, ancestor worship, and a strong belief in magic and witchcraft, existed side by side (and often intermixed) with Islam and Christianity. In addition, it is estimated that over 7,000 separate religious movements in Africa have found followers, some in significant numbers, since the middle of the 19th century.

Alice Mulenga's movement began in 1953, when she underwent either a near-death experience or, as she believed, actual death and resurrection, accompanied by revelations commanding her to proselytize a new religion. Condemning traditional witchcraft and secular authority, and promising health and a "new life," Lenshina, as she became known, rapidly attracted followers and gained a reputation as a healer and a prophet. She founded the Lumpa Church (Lumpa being variously translated as "that which excels," "supreme," and "best of all"; the movement has also been called the Visible Salvation Church) around 1954. By 1960, the church could claim over 60,000 adherents to Lenshina's version of apocalyptic Christianity, which among other things forbade divorce, community responsibilities, magic, the traditional practice of polygamy, and beer.

Northern Rhodesia became the independent republic of Zambia in 1964, and in the new post-colonial era the Lumpa Church's tenet of rejection of secular authority became more problematic. Although the church was initially allied with Zambia's first government, led by President Kenneth Kaunda, the two institutions soon became involved in a dispute over taxation (which Lenshina also forbade). The struggle led to violence which that year caused the deaths of between 600 and 700 people. The church was banned by the government in 1965, and Lenshina was arrested. Many of her followers fled Zambia; those who did not were officially expelled from the country in 1970. Lenshina died, still in prison, in 1978. Despite this, the Lumpa Church remains active in parts of Zambia as an underground movement.

Karina L. Kerr , M.A., Ypsilanti, Michigan