Northern Rhodesia was intensely unpopular among the vast African majority and its formation hastened calls for majority rule. As a result of this pressure, the country became independent in 1964 as Zambia. The geographical, as opposed to political, term "Rhodesia" referred to a region generally comprising the areas that are today Zambia and Zimbabwe. From 1964, it only referred to the former Southern Rhodesia. The name "Rhodesia" was derived from Cecil John Rhodes, the British capitalist and empire-builder who was a guiding figure in British expansion north of the Limpopo River into south-central Africa. Rhodes pushed British influence into the region by
Northern Rhodesia Police England, where the assistance of the local CID was obtained. On 1 April 1924 the Administration of Northern Rhodesia became the direct responsibility of the Colonial Office. The NRP then consisted of: Colonel Stennett was succeeded as Commandant by Lt-.Col. Arthur Stephenson . Although he had no previous police experience, Stephenson was no stranger to Northern Rhodesia having worked in the postal service and later as a labour recruiter prior to 1914. In May 1926 one hundred men of the Military Branch converged on Serenje to deal with unrest caused by the activities of Tom Nyrenda, Mwanalesa, "The Son of