History of Jehovah's Witnesses
Jehovah's Witnesses originated as a branch of the Bible Student movement, which developed in the United States in the 1870s among followers of Christian Restorationist minister Charles Taze Russell. Bible Student missionaries were sent to England in 1881 and the first overseas branch was opened in London in 1900. The group took on the name International Bible Students Association and by 1914 it was also active in Canada, Germany, Australia and other countries. The movement split into several rival organizations after Russell's death in 1916, with one—led by Russell's successor, Joseph "Judge" Rutherford—retaining control of both his magazine, "The Watch Tower", and his legal and publishing corporation, the Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society of Pennsylvania.
Albert Muwalo
Muwalo and Gwede were closely associated with the implementation of repressive policies against political critics and even those seeking political neutrality, like Jehovah's Witnesses. After the removal of these two, the government's attitude appeared to have softened, at least for a time. Muwalo was linked to the persecution of Jehovah's Witnesses, that started in late 1963 before the pre-independence election, when Witnesses were beaten for failing to buy MCP cards, because their religious beliefs did not allow membership of political parties. In 1967, at the conference of the MCP, of which Muwalo was Administrative Secretary, it was agreed that Jehovah's Witnesses should be declared an "unlawful society", and it was soon declared to be such, leading to attacks in which at least five Witnesses were killed and many fled the country. The anti-Witness campaign resumed in 1972, with further killings and beating. Over 50,000 Witnesses fled to Zambia or Mozambique, although in 1973, the Zambian authorities, and in 1975 the government of newly independent Mozambique, forcibly repatriated the majority of these refugees. A fifth wave of persecution of Jehovah's Witnesses began in September 1975, mainly organised by local MCP members, but authorised at the party's highest level. This involved over 5,000 arrests, with many Witnesses being sentenced to three years in prison for membership of an illegal organisation, many beatings and destruction of Witnesses' property, and at least two more killings. After Muwalo's arrest, this wave of persecution ended, and many of those imprisoned or in detention were released. Although it is clear that the initial impetus for banning the Witnesses in 1967 came from Banda, Muwalo was responsible for organising much of the subsequent anti-Witness action.