Northern Rhodesia Police by rebels while 472 Lumpas were killed in desperate assaults on the security forces and 46 were killed by other civilians. On 24 October 1964 Northern Rhodesia became the Republic of Zambia and the Northern Rhodesia Police became the Zambia Police. Lawson Hicks, the last Commissioner of the NRP became the first Commissioner of the Zambia Police until succeeded by Michael Mataka who had joined the NRP as a constable in 1941. Northern Rhodesia Police The Northern Rhodesia Police was the police force of the British ruled protectorate of Northern Rhodesia (now Zambia). In 1889 Northern Rhodesia, bounded by Angola
Northern Rhodesia and Luanshya, all on what later became known as the Copperbelt and exploration in 1895 by the British South Africa Company's celebrated American scout, Frederick Russell Burnham, who led and oversaw the massive Northern Territories (BSA) Exploration Co. expedition first established for Westerners that major copper deposits existed in Central Africa. Along the Kafue River in then Northern Rhodesia, Burnham saw many similarities to copper deposits he had worked in the United States, and he encountered natives wearing copper bracelets. Later, the British South Africa Company built towns along the river and a railway to transport the copper through Mozambique.