whole of Northern Province, Eastern Province and the Copperbelt, was an AIC. It staid aloof of the nationalist struggle against the colonial rule. This led to the accusation that the Church was actually opposing the struggle as recently had been initiated by the ANC and later UNIP. The main aim of the Lumpa Church was to clean the country of witchcraft. This message was very popular. She helped also to reintegrate widows who could get important positions in her church, for example as prayer leaders or as church choir leaders. Lenshina's movement had specifically spiritual roots, she was "a peasant woman who claimed to have died and risen again." Encouraged by Fergus Macpherson, the Scottish missionary of Lubwa Mission to share her story she gathered a large following and formed an independent church. The rapid rise of the Lumpa church and its reluctance to involve itself with anti-colonial struggle led to violent conflicts with the UNIP youth in Chinsali District and then later also with colonial authorities. In 1963 the new majority government with Kenneth Kaunda as prime minister send the army into the district to restore order and to capture Lenshina. Sporadic clashes became an open war, in which the official death toll was 1,111, although it was probably much larger Lenshina surrendered herself to the army and was sentenced to life imprisonment. The Lumpa Church was banned. Tens of thousands of her followers fled to the Congo. The Church only reappeared after the fall of Kaunda in 1988. Much of the latter conflict with the Lumpa Church had been undertaken by the transitional government formed to take over from the colonial administration in 1964. This transitional government was led by Kenneth Kaunda. Kaunda was himself a product of the mission schools, as was his father, David, who was "a well-educated Malawian preacher and schoolteacher… who moved to Zambia as a missionary." Kaunda would emphasize his Christian roots, especially in the lead up to independence and in the early years of his presidency. "I was brought up in a Christian home and my Christian belief is part of me now. It is still my habit to turn to God in prayer asking for his guidance." His Christian beliefs ensured the colonial administration were favourably disposed towards Kaunda and the United National Independence Party (UNIP) that he led. His faith also bought him wide support in the churches both African