Baháʼí Faith in Zambia
The Bahá’í Faith came to Zambia in 1952 when British pioneer Eric Manton arrived in Northern Rhodesia. He was joined in 1955 by Ethna Archibald of New Zealand. The first Zambian to join was Christopher Mwitumwa in 1954. The faith began on the Copperbelt and the first Local Spiritual Assembly appeared in Fisenge in 1956, followed by assemblies in Kitwe and Luanshya. In 1962, seven people in Mwinilunga declared themselves Bahá’ís, helping the faith spread to the North-Western Province. The first National Spiritual Assembly was elected in 1967, and the nation’s Bahá’í center premises were obtained the following year.
Starting in 1975, Zambia held annual national conferences to teach the Bahá’í Faith. In 1983, the Continental Board of Counsellors for Africa met in Zambia for the first time. A Regional Bahá’í Council for the North-Western Province was formed in 1998.
The Zambian Bahá’í community runs several social programs, especially in education with a focus on girls. The William Mmutle Masetlha Foundation (founded in 1995) runs the Masetlha Institute (1983) and Banani International Secondary School (1993). Banani is a girls’ residential school that emphasizes agriculture and science and has been recognized as one of Africa’s top hundred secondary schools. The Masetlha Institute works on literacy and primary health care, and the foundation provides vocational training and education. The Bahá’í community also works with FUNDAEC to create youth programs for rural areas.
Population figures for Bahá’ís in Zambia vary by source, but recent official figures place the number in the thousands—around 3,900 to 4,000 in the late 2010s.
This page was last edited on 2 February 2026, at 20:33 (CET).