Lawrence Chola Katilungu (February 1914 – 9 November 1961) was a

Northern Rhodesia Northern Rhodesia was a British protectorate in Southern Africa, now the independent country of Zambia. It was formed in 1911 by Amalgamation (politics), amalgamating the two earlier protectorates of Barotziland-North-Western Rhodesia and North ...

n trade union leader. Katilungu was the first President of the African Mineworkers' Union.

Biography

Katilungu was born in February 1914 in the Northern Province of Northern Rhodesia, the grandson of a minor chief in the

Bemba Bemba may refer to: Languages and ethnic groups * Bemba language, or Chibemba, a Bantu language spoken in Zambia * Bemba people, or AbaBemba, of Zambia * Bemba, a dialect of the Buyu language of the Democratic Republic of the Congo People * Jea ...

tribe. He initially worked as a mission teacher, before becoming an underground worker at the

Nkana Nkana is a section of the city of Kitwe, Copperbelt Province, Zambia which started off in the early part of the 20th century as a railway station to support the growing complex of copper mining operations. It was named after Chief Nkana, the lo ...

mine in 1936, later promoted to recruiting clerk. Katilungu first came to prominence in 1940 as a leader of striking African mineworkers at Nkana. In February 1948, he was elected President of the newly formed Nkana union. In March 1949 all the African miners' unions in Northern Rhodesia, including Nkana, amalgamated to form the African Mineworkers' Union, and Katilungu became president. In 1952, he led a successful strike to gain a wage increase of a half-crown per day for African workers. Briefly a member of the Constitution Party, Katilungu was made part of the 20-member

Monckton Commission The Monckton Commission, officially the Advisory Commission for the Review of the Constitution of the Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland, was set up by the British government under the chairmanship of Walter Monckton, 1st Viscount Monckton of Br ...

, set up by the British government in 1959 to prepare the 1960 conference to review the Constitution of the

Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland The Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland, also known as the Central African Federation (CAF), was a colonial federation that consisted of three southern African territories: the Self-governing colony, self-governing British colony of Southern ...

. Two of Katilungu's closest personal friends, Godwin Mbikusita Lewanika and Harry Mwaanga Nkumbula were involved in unionism and politics, and politics respectively.
House of Lords Debates, 24 November 1959 vol 219 cc890-901
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References

Sources

* *Campbell, Alexander (1954), "The Heart of Africa", Longmans, Green and Company *Shillington, Kevin (2005), "Encyclopedia of African History", Routledge
Encyclopædia Britannica, Zambia; Colonial Rule
{{DEFAULTSORT:Katilungu, Lawrence Chola Zambian trade unionists People from Northern Province, Zambia 1914 births 1961 deaths Members of the Legislative Council of Northern Rhodesia Zambian African National Congress politicians Bemba