Remembering Du: An episode in the development of Malawian political culture

African Affairs

Volumn 97, Issue 388, 1998, Pages 369-396

  Power, Joey ^a  

^a RYERSON UNIVERSITY   (Canada)

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EID: 11544265942     PISSN: 00019909     EISSN: None     Source Type: Journal    
DOI: 10.1093/oxfordjournals.afraf.a007949     Document Type: Article

References (129)

1. Nyasaland Times, (Blantyre, Malawi) 4 September 1962.
2. Nyasaland Times, 4 September 1962.
3. For the most recent account of the 1959 State of Emergency, see, Colin Baker, State of Emergency: Crisis in Central Africa, Nyasaland 1959-1960 (Tauris, London, 1997). The emergency was declared on 3 March 1959 in response to growing anti-government protests all over the country, but especially in the Northern districts. There were also allegations that the Congress was planning a systematic purge of Europeans throughout the Protectorate. These allegations emerged out of government concern with increasingly violent protests over a host of issues across the country and, of course, in the shadow of the Mau Mau emergency in Kenya. By the end of March 1959, almost all members of the Congress Central Executive and branch office holders had been arrested and detained, most in Nyasaland, but the 'hard cores' were kept in Gwelo or Khami prisons in Southern Rhodesia. Dunduzu Chisiza, Masauko Chipembere, Kaphombe Nyasulu, Yatuta Chisiza and Dr Banda were detained in Gwelo. Kanyama Chiume was also earmarked to be imprisoned with this group but was out of the country when the emergency was declared and so escaped arrest and detention.
4. In September 1962, Murray Kanyama Chiume was Minister of Education and Publicity Secretary for the MCP while Henry Masauko Chipembere was in prison having been convicted of sedition for some anti-government speeches he made soon after his 1961 release from detention. As a result, he did not stand in the 1961 elections, but on his release from prison he resumed his post as Treasurer General of the MCP and was appointed Education Minister. Both he and Chiume were close associates of Dr Banda until the 1964 Cabinet Crisis.
5. Nyasaland Times, 4 September 1962.
6. Only a few short months before, Lawrence Makata, a Nyasaland African Congress veteran politician and member of the Central Executive of the MCP, met his death in a car crash at the Mchinji turn-off in Lilongwe. There does not seem to have been any suspicion that this had political overtones until much later. There were two other people in the car with Makata, one who died in hospital some days after the accident and another who escaped with minor injuries. The late Lancy Makata reported to me in 1987 that his father had died when the steering column penetrated his chest. Another informant, who knew one of the passengers in the vehicle confirmed this and mentioned that Makata and his friends had been celebrating at Kwacha Cultural Centre in Blantyre and had been drinking heavily. Interview with Lancy Makata, Ndirande, Blantyre District, 3 February 1987; Interview with Alexander Mataka Bandawe, Chikwawa Road, Blantyre District, 15 March 1987.
7. Nyasaland Times, 25 September 1962.
8. Interview with Chamn'gona Nkoma, Lifupa Village, Chinteche, T. A. Malenga-Mzoma, Nkata Bay District, 29 October 1994. In Kamuzu's own words One party, one leader, one government, and no nonsense about it'. Philip Short, Banda (Routledge & Kegan Paul, London, 1974), p. 204, fn. 13.
9. Tactics like the forced sale of party cards, deployment of youth to beat and intimidate and even kill formed part of the MCP's political arsenal as early as the 1950s. They were not post-independence strategies.
10. From the 1970s to 1992, Dr Banda was regarded as having been assisted in his evil deeds by John Tembo or his niece and official hostess, Cecilia Kadzamira. John Tembo won a seat in the legislative assembly in the 1961 elections, but his political star had not yet risen far. Significantly, he assumed Dunduzu Chisiza's Parliamentary Secretary's duties in 1962 and became the first Minister of Finance at independence. Cecilia Tamanda Kadzamira has never held an elected post in government but was considered to have exerted power and influence through her position as Dr Banda's personal assistant and later as the Official Hostess. In two recent articles, Jan Van Donge suggests that people like John Tembo and Cecilia Kadzamira have been demonized by the Malawian people because blaming one or two evil villains for the regime's cruelties eliminates any suggestion of wider responsibility. This, in turn, enables the preservation of a usable past. Jan Kees Van Donge, 'Kamuzu's legacy: the democratization of Malawi', African Affairs 94 (1995), p. 245; and 'The Mwanza Trial as a Search for a Usable Malawian Political Past', African Affairs 97 (1998), pp. 91-118.
11. From the 1970s to 1992, Dr Banda was regarded as having been assisted in his evil deeds by John Tembo or his niece and official hostess, Cecilia Kadzamira. John Tembo won a seat in the legislative assembly in the 1961 elections, but his political star had not yet risen far. Significantly, he assumed Dunduzu Chisiza's Parliamentary Secretary's duties in 1962 and became the first Minister of Finance at independence. Cecilia Tamanda Kadzamira has never held an elected post in government but was considered to have exerted power and influence through her position as Dr Banda's personal assistant and later as the Official Hostess. In two recent articles, Jan Van Donge suggests that people like John Tembo and Cecilia Kadzamira have been demonized by the Malawian people because blaming one or two evil villains for the regime's cruelties eliminates any suggestion of wider responsibility. This, in turn, enables the preservation of a usable past. Jan Kees Van Donge, 'Kamuzu's legacy: the democratization of Malawi', African Affairs 94 (1995), p. 245; and 'The Mwanza Trial as a Search for a Usable Malawian Political Past', African Affairs 97 (1998), pp. 91-118.
12. Van Donge,'Kamuzu's legacy', p. 257.
13. It is also rumoured that the 1968 head-on collision in which Augustine Bwanausi, Pemba Ndovi, and two other men were killed was caused by two white South African 'suicide' assassins. Interview 88 Dr Harry Bwanausi, Njamba, Blantyre, Blantyre District, 21 February 1996. Africa Watch also represented a number of motor vehicle deaths as political killings. Their information was provided by Malawian exiles. Africa Watch Committee, 'Where Silence Rules. The Suppression of Dissent in Malawi, October 1990', (Human Rights Watch, New York, October 1990).
14. Chiume wrote in his autobiography that he decided to leave the country after being told by his former personal secretary whose husband was a police officer, that the regime was planning 'road accidents'. Chiume's account of this was first published in 1975, before the Mwanza deaths. M. W. Kanyama Chiume, Kwacha. An Autobiography (East African Publishing House, Nairobi, 1975), p. 216.
15. Notably, in a 1982 version of his autobiography, Kanyama Chiume mentions the rumours circulating about the 'mysterious death' of Dunduzu Chisiza in 1962 and recalled Banda's remarks in a central committee meeting such that 'to those who oppose us, accidents do happen'. Kanyama Chiume, Autobiography of Kanyama Chiume (Panaf Books Limited, London, 1982), p. 209.
16. Interview with Ngolesi Mwakipunda Mwaungulu, Chichiri MCP Headquarters, Blantyre, Blantyre District, 5 March 1996. Mr Mwaungulu was a class mate of Dunduzu Chisiza at Aggrey Memorial College and gave interesting insight into Du's early education and religious questing.
17. Nyasaland Times, 4 September 1962.
18. Malawi National Archives, Zomba, Malawi [hereafter MNA] Secretariat Transmittal Lists SMP NAT.34 Volume VI, Nyasaland African Congress March 1955 to March 1959, 22-25-3R, 118, F78A, Nyasaland African Congress Circular No. 4 of 1956, 9 October 1956. These files were not yet catalogued by the Malawi National Archives. The references include file name (e.g. SMP NAT.34 . . .) location number (e.g., 22-25-3R), box number (e.g., 118) and folio number (e.g., F78A) where the item is found in the file and finally, the item.
19. Chakalipa Phiri recalled being in the Congress deputation which visited Governor Armitage in 1957 to discuss constitutional changes and ways and means of seceding from the Central African Federation. At that time, T. D. T. Banda was president of Congress and both Chipembere and Kanyama Chiume, African Legislative Council members, also formed part of the delegation. In spite of the attendance of these senior politicians, it was Dunduzu Chisiza, Phiri recalled, who was the chief spokesperson at the meeting. This meeting took place on 21 September 1957. MNA Private Papers of Chakalipa Phiri, uncatalogued, p. 49. MNA SMP NAT.34 volume VI, Nyasaland African Congress March 1955 to March 1959, 22-25-3R, 118, F65, Circular No. 19 of 1957, 21 September 1957. The meeting with the Secretary of State occurred in January of 1957 and again, Chisiza took an active role in the discussions. MNA SMP30007A Secretary of State's Visit 1957, Nyasaland African Congress Meeting, 22-25-2R, 117, F11; F14 Biographical Notes on Members of the Delegation from the Nyasaland African Congress; Confidential Record of a Meeting Held by the Secretary of State for the Colonies with a delegation from the Nyasaland African Congress at 2 p.m. on Tuesday, 15th January 1957, 21 January 1957.
20. Kaphombe Nyasulu stated that it was Dunduzu Chisiza who was behind the move to oust T. D. T. Banda and who first suggested that Dr H. Kamuzu Banda might be invited to return. Du would not have attended the March 1958 meeting which led to T. D. T.'s ouster, however, since he was then in England. Nyasulu says that it was Du who persuaded him to move the motion to depose Banda and then, had either Harry Jonga or Kinross Kulujiri moved the motion to bring Banda home. Chipembere seconded this motion. Interview with Kaphombe Visusgo Nyasulu, Mzuzu boma, Mzimba District, 5 November 1995.
21. Philip Short suggests that Dr Banda was overwhelmed by his reception as a messiah in 1958 and his remark that an Old friend who visited Banda during this period described him as "a very frightened man" ', Short, Banda, pp. 89-92 and 93. Initially, Dr Banda chose a more modest biblical parallel. On the Sunday after the Nkata Bay Conference in August 1958, he was invited to read at a local Church of the Central African Presbyterian (CCAP) Sunday service. His selections were Psalm 35 and Luke 15:11-32, the story of the prodigal son. One recalls that in this story, the prodigal offers to re-enter his father's household as a servant, but is welcomed with much feasting and ceremony. His brother, of course, was less than pleased at his reception! Interview with Reverend Henry Makwakwa, Zebediya Makwakwa Village, Mzimba District, 6 November 1995.
22. Interview with Komani Chakalipa Phiri, Khuyu Village, Rumphi District, 21 October 1995; and MNA Private Papers Chakalipa Phiri, p. 57; MNA 151/DMM/1/1 Personal papers of Daniel Mchawe Mkandawire, F31, D. K. Chisiza, Secretary General to Mchawe Mkandawire, 23 December 1958. Both Mr Mkandawire and Mr Phiri recall that Dunduzu Chisiza organised the despatch of party cards, copies of the constitution, advice on the organization of political meetings. He even made bicycles available for parry organizers.
23. Colonial Office, Report of the Nyasaland Commission of Inquiry 1959 [Devlin Report], Her Majesty's Stationery Office, London, 1959, pp. 48-9. Colin Baker in his recent book, agrees with the Commissioners, citing a Special Branch source, one R. Mushet, such that ' [on] the evening of Banda's arrival Chiume, Chipembere, Chisiza and other Congress leaders met in secret and agreed that Banda would remain their leader as long as he accepted their policy, but no longer'. Mushet to Baker, February 1995, cited in, State of Emergency, p. vii. The source of Mushet's information is not stated, but it would have to have been someone very close to the executive.
24. Interview with Komani Chakalipa Phiri; Interview with Ngolesi Mwakipunda Mwaungulu, Chichiri MCP Headquarters, Blanryre, Blantyre District, 5 March 1996. This is also argued in Robert Rotberg, The Rise of Nationalism in Central Africa. The Making of Malawi and Zambia, 1873-1964 (Harvard University Press, Cambridge, 1965), p. 294-5.
25. Short, Banda; T. David Williams, Malawi. The Politics of Despair (Cornell University Press, Ithaca, 1978); The Devlin Report, 1959; Chiume, Kanyama Chiume, chs. seven to eleven; Baker, State of Emergency.
26. Short, Banda; T. David Williams, Malawi. The Politics of Despair (Cornell University Press, Ithaca, 1978); The Devlin Report, 1959; Chiume, Kanyama Chiume, chs. seven to eleven; Baker, State of Emergency.
27. Short, Banda; T. David Williams, Malawi. The Politics of Despair (Cornell University Press, Ithaca, 1978); The Devlin Report, 1959; Chiume, Kanyama Chiume, chs. seven to eleven; Baker, State of Emergency.
28. Short, Banda; T. David Williams, Malawi. The Politics of Despair (Cornell University Press, Ithaca, 1978); The Devlin Report, 1959; Chiume, Kanyama Chiume, chs. seven to eleven; Baker, State of Emergency.
29. Short, Banda; T. David Williams, Malawi. The Politics of Despair (Cornell University Press, Ithaca, 1978); The Devlin Report, 1959; Chiume, Kanyama Chiume, chs. seven to eleven; Baker, State of Emergency.
30. Nyasulu was eventually moved from Gwelo to Bulawayo Prison.
31. This was Dr Banda's speech made after the death of Dunduzu in September. Hansard, 16 October 1962.
32. Hansard, 16 October 1962.
33. Andrew Ross, 'Some Reflections on the Malawi "Cabinet Crisis", 1964-65', paper presented at the Joint Seminar of the Departments of History and Theology/Religious Studies, Chancellor College, University of Malawi, 27 February 1997. A number of the informants who volunteered their thoughts on the accident had access to an earlier version of this paper. Kanyama Chiume, Vera Chirwa, Willie and Grace Chokani, Aleke Banda and others attended a 'Cabinet Crisis' seminar in the United Kingdom in 1992 where this paper, and others, were discussed. Lupenga Mphande chaired a special session on Dunduzu Chisiza's 'car accident' which some of these people also attended. Andrew Ross, 'Some Reflections on the Malawi "Cabinet Crisis" 1964-65', paper presented at a seminar held in York, C. 1992/93.
34. Andrew Ross, 'Some Reflections on the Malawi "Cabinet Crisis", 1964-65', paper presented at the Joint Seminar of the Departments of History and Theology/Religious Studies, Chancellor College, University of Malawi, 27 February 1997. A number of the informants who volunteered their thoughts on the accident had access to an earlier version of this paper. Kanyama Chiume, Vera Chirwa, Willie and Grace Chokani, Aleke Banda and others attended a 'Cabinet Crisis' seminar in the United Kingdom in 1992 where this paper, and others, were discussed. Lupenga Mphande chaired a special session on Dunduzu Chisiza's 'car accident' which some of these people also attended. Andrew Ross, 'Some Reflections on the Malawi "Cabinet Crisis" 1964-65', paper presented at a seminar held in York, C. 1992/93.
35. Ross, 'Some Reflections', p. 5. Interview with Kaphombe Visusgo Nyasulu.
36. Interviews with Clement Salima and Reverend Pat Banda, Mulunguzi Cottage, Zomba, Zomba District, 11 March 1995; and at Chamn'gona Nkoma; David Mukumphi Chirwa, Kanjedza, Blantyre, Blantyre District, 25 November 1995; and Mikeka Mkandawire, Zaninge Estate, Bolero, Rumphi, 15 October 1994. Indeed, it is at this time that the Youth League began to demand party cards before allowing people to board buses, enter markets and so on, a phenomenon attributed to a much later stage in the Banda regime.
37. This translates as, 'Everything derives from Kamuzu'.
38. Ross, 'Some Reflections', p. 6. Later, Chisiza devoted considerable attention to the problems of 'strong man government' and dictatorship in his political writings. Pan of Chisiza's fascination with universal religions such as Bahaism, Christianity, Islam, Zoroastrianism, Buddhism, Hinduism, Judaism all lay in the moral imperative against dictatorship which he felt each contained. He later wrote about the importance of emerging African nations and leaders to adhere to such ideologies; Chisiza, Africa, What Lies Ahead?, pp. 16-22; 42; 43. See also, 'The Temper, Aspirations and Problems of Contemporary Africa', in E. F. Jackson (ed.), Economic Development in Africa. Papers presented to the Nyasaland Economic Symposium held in Blantyre 18 to 28 July 1962 (Blackwell, Oxford, 1965), pp. 8-9.
39. Ross, 'Some Reflections', p. 6. Later, Chisiza devoted considerable attention to the problems of 'strong man government' and dictatorship in his political writings. Pan of Chisiza's fascination with universal religions such as Bahaism, Christianity, Islam, Zoroastrianism, Buddhism, Hinduism, Judaism all lay in the moral imperative against dictatorship which he felt each contained. He later wrote about the importance of emerging African nations and leaders to adhere to such ideologies; Chisiza, Africa, What Lies Ahead?, pp. 16-22; 42; 43. See also, 'The Temper, Aspirations and Problems of Contemporary Africa', in E. F. Jackson (ed.), Economic Development in Africa. Papers presented to the Nyasaland Economic Symposium held in Blantyre 18 to 28 July 1962 (Blackwell, Oxford, 1965), pp. 8-9.
40. Ross, 'Some Reflections', p. 6. Later, Chisiza devoted considerable attention to the problems of 'strong man government' and dictatorship in his political writings. Pan of Chisiza's fascination with universal religions such as Bahaism, Christianity, Islam, Zoroastrianism, Buddhism, Hinduism, Judaism all lay in the moral imperative against dictatorship which he felt each contained. He later wrote about the importance of emerging African nations and leaders to adhere to such ideologies; Chisiza, Africa, What Lies Ahead?, pp. 16-22; 42; 43. See also, 'The Temper, Aspirations and Problems of Contemporary Africa', in E. F. Jackson (ed.), Economic Development in Africa. Papers presented to the Nyasaland Economic Symposium held in Blantyre 18 to 28 July 1962 (Blackwell, Oxford, 1965), pp. 8-9.
41. Public Records Office, London [hereafter PRO] DO35/7477 F329. Inward Telegram, Secret, to Governor Armitage to Secretary of State for the Colonies, 30 May 1960.
42. Nyasaland Times, 30 September 1960. It was at this meeting that Banda became the 'life president' of the party. Some sources say that this took place in a private executive committee meeting; others that Dunduzu Chisiza moved the motion in the general meeting. Interview with Kaphombe Visusgo Nyasulu.
43. Personal Communication John McCracken, March 1996; Ross, 'Some Reflections', p. 8.
44. Personal Communication John McCracken, March 1996; Ross, 'Some Reflections', p. 8.
45. PRO.DO158/36, F45. Governor Armitage to Secretary of State for the Colonies, 25 December 1960.
46. PRO.DO158/36, F52A. Governor Armitage to Secretary of State for the Colonies, 2 January 1961.
47. Nyasaland Times, 27 January 1961.
48. Nyasaland Times, 14 February 1961.
49. Hansard, Legislative Council, Government Printer, Zomba, 29 November 1961.
50. Chipembere was not to see outside the walls of Zomba Prison until January 1963, by which time Dunduzu Chisiza was dead. T. David Williams mentions this episode and the growing rift between Chisiza and Chipembere on the one hand and Banda on the other before 1964. Williams, Malawi, p. 200.
51. Central African Archives [hearafter CAA] on deposit in MNA F120 Microfilm Reel 726 L343/2. Situation Reports, June 1961 to March 1962, Weekly Intelligence Report for week ending 12 December 1961, 13 December 1961.
52. Ross, 'Some Reflections', p. 9. A Mr Kelvin Gwebe-Nyirenda may have information regarding this story. He made a remark in passing about Banda and Chisiza having differed over 'something to do with Tanganyika'. Mr Gwebe-Nyirenda is the uncle of Kenneth Kaunda. Gwebe said that Kaunda often slept at his house in Karonga, and one wonders if it was not during one of these visits that Kaunda shared this information. I was unaware of Ross's story when I met with Mr Gwebe and so did not ask for clarification. Interview with Kelvin Gwebe-Nyirenda, Gwebe Village, TA Kyungu, Karonga District, 30 October 1995.
53. This remark was made in a letter sent to the Colonial Office from the British Embassy in Washington regarding Dunduzu Chisiza's Leader Grant visit to the United States in October-November 1961. Whether Chisiza was aware of Nyerere's alleged comments is not clear. PRO DO158/43. J. D. Hennings, British Embassy, Washington, to Ken J. Neale, Colonial Office, 20 October 1961.
54. Chisiza and Phillips left London on the 16th of April. It was reported two days later that Nyasaland would share in a £1.785 million loan negotiated from Barclays Bank by the Federal Ministry of Finance. The Guardian, 18 April 1962. Dr Banda denied knowledge of the loan, said that only 'Official' members of his government knew of it (that is Mr Henry Phillips) and that it was an attempt to perpetuate Nyasaland's involvement in the Federation. In a secret telegram sent some days later, Dr Banda said that he disagreed with the loan because it was negotiated without his knowledge, but had 'not said that he wished to reject any share of it'! Governor Glyn Jones wrote to the Commonwealth Relations Office such that Dr Banda had been 'needled' by the press into making 'extravagant and damaging statements' and that even though Jones had 'cautioned him ... he finds it physically impossible to resist the provocation'. Jones concluded by saying that he felt 'none of these loans will be rejected'. PRO.DO183/148. Nyasaland Development Plan, 1962-64, F8 Secret Telegram, Glyn Jones to Central Africa Office, Commonwealth Relations Office, 24 April 1962.
55. PRO.DO183/148 Fl. Minute to Tennant from N. D. Watson, 11 April 1962. Watson referred to the proposed funding formula as containing 'all the essential financial "strings" . . . though we have tried not to advertise them'.
56. Ross, 'Some reflections', p. 13.
57. Ross, 'Some reflections', pp. 13-14.
58. Interviews with Clement Salima and Pat Banda; M. Q. Y. Chibambo, Ekwendeni, Rumphi, 25 October 1994; and Kelvin Gwebe-Nyirenda. These four informants confirmed that they had heard rumours that Dunduzu had plans to form another party.
59. The Nkula Falls Scheme was to be a federal project and so to support it would have been inconsistent with the MCP's policy of non-recognition of federal overrule.
60. Interview with Nyasulu.
61. Nyasaland Times, 25 September 1962. Apparently, Alan Hart and John Westoby were given police protection following an assault on Hart at a special press conference at MCP Headquarters at which Dr Banda denied the story.
62. CAA, in MNA F248 Mfilm 2975 M1/1/NY/5. Military Intelligence Appreciations 1962-3, Paul Lewis to Army Headquarters, Salisbury, 14 September 1962.
63. Ibid., Paul Lewis to Army Headquarters, Salisbury, 10 October 1962.
64. CAA, in MNA F120 Mfilm 726, L343/2. Situation Reports June 1961 to March 1962. Intelligence Report for the week ending 28 August 1961; Intelligence Report for the week ending 3 October 1961.
65. T. David Williams remarks that Du's endorsement was critical in winning Dr Banda 'liberal intellectual' support in Britain and the United States. On the other hand, unlike many informants cited here, Williams believed the two were a 'long way from any open breach' in 1962. Williams, Malawi, p. 207.
66. Nyasaland Times, 11 September 1962.
67. Jackson (ed.), Economic Development in Africa.
68. Chisiza, 'The Temper, Aspirations and Problems', p. 8.
69. Ross, 'Some Reflections'; Interview with Jake Muwamba, Mandala, Blantyre, Blantyre District, 25 November 1994.
70. Thanks go to Mr Chodzi of the Malawi National Archives for digging up this file. MNA. Secretariat Transmittal List, Inquest Case File No. 2 of 1962, Dunduzu Kaluli Chisiza, Date of Inquest 19 September 1962, 14-3-2R, 22.
71. Ibid., Witness Number 6 Beston Chitowe.
72. The vehicle was listing toward the passenger's side. Few vehicles in Malawi in 1962 were equipped with seat belts. Personal Communication: Owen Kalinga, 19 February 1997.
73. MNA. Inquest Case File No. 2 of 1962, Dunduzu Kaluli Chisiza, Witness No. 8 Thomas Chilunga Sgt. 2726.
74. Inquest Case. Witness No. 9 Timothy Kasonda Constable 3528; Witness 12 Welton Harry Kachale Medical Assistant, Zomba Hospital; Witness 13 Hilda Muhango, Nurse Zomba General Hospital.
75. Inquest Case. Exhibit A, Post Mortem Examination, Dr R. B. Mehta, 3 September 1962.
76. Inquest Case. Witness 2 Ravindrarai Bhogilal Mehta, MBBS Bombay, Federal Government Medical Officer Zomba General Hospital.
77. Inquest Case. Exhibit M Motor Vehicle Accident Report, B. Loudon, 3 September 1962, Stamped 5 September 1962.
78. Inquest Case. Exhibit N.
79. Inquest Case. Witness No. 3 Michael Tadman Assistant Superintendent of Police.
80. Inquest Case. Witness No. 4 James Baird Loudon, Motor Vehicle Examiner; Exhibit J.
81. Nyasaland Times, 7 September 1962.
82. Personal Communication with Dr Martin Queen, Forensic Pathologist, Coroner's Office, Toronto, Ontario, 18 September 1997.
83. For recent treatments of rumours as evidence in African history see, Mwelwa C. Musambachime, 'The impact of rumor: the case of the Banyama (vampire men) scare in Northern Rhodesia', International Journal of African Historical Studies, 21, 2 (1988); Luise White, 'Vampire priests of Central Africa: Africa and debates about labour and religion in colonial Northern Zambia', Comparative Studies in Society and History, 34, 4 (1993); ' "Firemen do not buy people": media, villains and vampires in Kampala in the 1950s', Passages, 811 (1994); 'Between Gluckman and Foucault: historicizing rumour and gossip', Social Dynamics, 20, 1 (1994); 'Tsetse visions: narratives of blood and bugs in colonial Northern Rhodesia, 1931-9', Journal of African History, 36, (1995).
84. For recent treatments of rumours as evidence in African history see, Mwelwa C. Musambachime, 'The impact of rumor: the case of the Banyama (vampire men) scare in Northern Rhodesia', International Journal of African Historical Studies, 21, 2 (1988); Luise White, 'Vampire priests of Central Africa: Africa and debates about labour and religion in colonial Northern Zambia', Comparative Studies in Society and History, 34, 4 (1993); ' "Firemen do not buy people": media, villains and vampires in Kampala in the 1950s', Passages, 811 (1994); 'Between Gluckman and Foucault: historicizing rumour and gossip', Social Dynamics, 20, 1 (1994); 'Tsetse visions: narratives of blood and bugs in colonial Northern Rhodesia, 1931-9', Journal of African History, 36, (1995).
85. For recent treatments of rumours as evidence in African history see, Mwelwa C. Musambachime, 'The impact of rumor: the case of the Banyama (vampire men) scare in Northern Rhodesia', International Journal of African Historical Studies, 21, 2 (1988); Luise White, 'Vampire priests of Central Africa: Africa and debates about labour and religion in colonial Northern Zambia', Comparative Studies in Society and History, 34, 4 (1993); ' "Firemen do not buy people": media, villains and vampires in Kampala in the 1950s', Passages, 811 (1994); 'Between Gluckman and Foucault: historicizing rumour and gossip', Social Dynamics, 20, 1 (1994); 'Tsetse visions: narratives of blood and bugs in colonial Northern Rhodesia, 1931-9', Journal of African History, 36, (1995).
86. For recent treatments of rumours as evidence in African history see, Mwelwa C. Musambachime, 'The impact of rumor: the case of the Banyama (vampire men) scare in Northern Rhodesia', International Journal of African Historical Studies, 21, 2 (1988); Luise White, 'Vampire priests of Central Africa: Africa and debates about labour and religion in colonial Northern Zambia', Comparative Studies in Society and History, 34, 4 (1993); ' "Firemen do not buy people": media, villains and vampires in Kampala in the 1950s', Passages, 811 (1994); 'Between Gluckman and Foucault: historicizing rumour and gossip', Social Dynamics, 20, 1 (1994); 'Tsetse visions: narratives of blood and bugs in colonial Northern Rhodesia, 1931-9', Journal of African History, 36, (1995).
87. For recent treatments of rumours as evidence in African history see, Mwelwa C. Musambachime, 'The impact of rumor: the case of the Banyama (vampire men) scare in Northern Rhodesia', International Journal of African Historical Studies, 21, 2 (1988); Luise White, 'Vampire priests of Central Africa: Africa and debates about labour and religion in colonial Northern Zambia', Comparative Studies in Society and History, 34, 4 (1993); ' "Firemen do not buy people": media, villains and vampires in Kampala in the 1950s', Passages, 811 (1994); 'Between Gluckman and Foucault: historicizing rumour and gossip', Social Dynamics, 20, 1 (1994); 'Tsetse visions: narratives of blood and bugs in colonial Northern Rhodesia, 1931-9', Journal of African History, 36, (1995).
88. Musambachime sums up the function of rumours nicely, 'The impact of rumour', p. 203.
89. These interviews were conducted as part of an on-going research project concerning politics in colonial Malawi from 1944 to 1964. Informants were deliberately selected for their activities in party and informal politics during this period. Most interviews were done in Malawi between September 1994 and May 1996.
90. For the full account see, Commission of Inquiry Mwanza Road Accident, Verbatim Report of Proceedings, 11 July 1994 to 14 December 1994, and Commission of Inquiry Mwanza Road Accident Report, signed 23 December 1994. I anticipated considerable contamination of interview results. While there certainly was some 'feedback' resulting from the Mwanza case, there was much less than expected.
91. For the full account see, Commission of Inquiry Mwanza Road Accident, Verbatim Report of Proceedings, 11 July 1994 to 14 December 1994, and Commission of Inquiry Mwanza Road Accident Report, signed 23 December 1994. I anticipated considerable contamination of interview results. While there certainly was some 'feedback' resulting from the Mwanza case, there was much less than expected.
92. In fact, not only did the prosecution fail to produce any evidence which linked the defendants to the crime, the defence presented a counter-scenario which placed the late John Ngwiri at the centre of a conspiracy to murder. See Van Donge, 'The Mwanza Trial'.
93. Interviews with Manson Mjuma Chiumia, Katawa, Mzuzu, Rumphi District, 27 October 1994; Jake Muwamba; Dr Harry Bwanausi, Mjamba, Blantyre, Blantyre District, 21 February 1996; and Harry Jonga, Lunzu, Blantyre District, 4 March 1996.
94. Interviews with Violet Chavula [née Mlanga], Chigodi Women's Centre, Blantyre, Blantyre District, 27 February 1996; and Manson Mjuma Chiumia.
95. Interview with Phillip Mwakisongo, Kafikisila Village, TA Kyungu, Karonga District, 27 October 1995.
96. Interviews with Harry Bwanausi; and Ceciwa [Dinah] Bwanausi Khonje, Njamba, Blantyre, Blantyre District, 11 April 1996.
97. Interview with Vera Chirwa, Chancellor College, Zomba, Zomba District, 22 March 1996.
98. Interviews with Henry Katsonga, Chimwankhunda, Blantyre District, 5 October, 1994; Ceciwa Bwanausi Khonje; and Vera Chirwa. Mrs Chirwa remembers that her husband Orton told her that he had seen the body and that it had a large bandage over the forehead wound. She says that at the time he was worried. Ceciwa Bwanausi added that her brother Augustine (then Minister of Internal Affairs) was also worried by the 'accident'.
99. Interview with Roben Inwood Phetembe Ziba, Embangweni Mission, Mzimba District, 10 November 1995.
100. Interview with Henry Katsonga. Jan Kees Van Donge noted a similar tendency on the part of the prosecution in the Mwanza trial to assume that the defendants' guilt was self-evident. This, he argues, was a central feature of the case from beginning to end.
101. In 1963, Gomile Kuntumanje was Parliamentary Secretary for the Ministry for Natural Resources and Surveys. He held a seat in the 1964 elections for Zomba Northeast and the day after the 'rebel ministers' first confronted Kamuzu in August 1964, his appointment as Minister for Southern Region was announced in the Daily Times, an interesting coincidence. Qabaniso Chibambo and R. B. Chidzanja appointed Ministers for Northern and Central Regions, respectively. Nyasaland Times, 26 November 1963; Daily Times, 7 April 1964; 25 August 1964.
102. In 1963, Gomile Kuntumanje was Parliamentary Secretary for the Ministry for Natural Resources and Surveys. He held a seat in the 1964 elections for Zomba Northeast and the day after the 'rebel ministers' first confronted Kamuzu in August 1964, his appointment as Minister for Southern Region was announced in the Daily Times, an interesting coincidence. Qabaniso Chibambo and R. B. Chidzanja appointed Ministers for Northern and Central Regions, respectively. Nyasaland Times, 26 November 1963; Daily Times, 7 April 1964; 25 August 1964.
103. In the late 1960s a series of grisly murders took place near Blantyre. It was said that nocturnal visitors were injecting 'sleeping potion' into people's houses. As the victims slumbered helplessly, the attackers entered the houses, removed the genitalia of victims and 'sucked' their blood. Gomile Kuntumanje began to spread the rumour that Dr Banda engineered these murders in order to sell the blood to South Africa. On one level, this might be interpreted as a popular critique of Banda's foreign policy at the time. The regime, on the other hand, regarded it as a crude attempt by Kuntumanje to discredit Dr Banda and seize control. Kuntumanje was to die in one of Banda's prisons. For a brief account see, Carolyn McMaster, Malawi Foreign Policy and Development (Julian Friedmann Publishers, London, 1974), pp. 111-112.
104. Interview with Kelvin Gwebe-Nyirenda.
105. Interviews with M. Q. Y. Chibambo; Roland Manda, Mzuzu Borna, UDF Headquarters, Mzimba District, 24 October 1995; Francis Dumba Chandiona Ngwira, Nkorongo Village, GVH Mwandovi, T. A. Wasambo, Chilumba, Karonga District, 1 November 1995; Kaphombe Visusgo Nyasulu; and Kelvin Gwebe-Nyirenda. This might sound like another example of Mwanza feedback, except that two of these accounts were recorded before the results of the enquiry were released to the general public and there is no reason to suspect that either informant was privy to the commission's findings before the official release. One informant directly compared the Chisiza and Mwanza incidents and another made reference to the use of 'hammers' something none of the accounts taken before Mwanza mentioned. This leads one to conclude that this element of the story was a recent addition.
106. Interviews with Daniel Mchawe Mkandawire, Quarry House, Livingstonia, Rumphi District, 20 October 1994; Clement Salima and Reverend Pat Banda; Francis Dumba Chandiona Ngwira; M. Q. Y. Chibambo; Kelvin Gwebe-Nyirenda; and Kaphombe Visusgo Nyasulu.
107. Andrew Ross alludes to the same scheme which was the proposal to federate Zambia, Tanganyika and Nyasaland in a later draft of the paper already cited. Andrew Ross, 'Some reflections', p. 4; Interview with Kelvin Gwebe-Nyirenda. Mr Gwebe-Nyirenda also mentioned Nkula Falls as a source of disagreement as did Kaphombe Nyasulu.
108. Interviews with Clement Salima and Pat Banda; M. Q. Y. Chibambo; Kelvin Gwebe-Nyirenda; and Kaphombe Visusgo Nyasulu.
109. In truth, a more unlikely pair of co-conspirators one could not find in 1962. Orton and Kanyama were on very cool terms indeed until the 1964 crisis drew them into a weird alliance. They had not even been into each other's houses in Zomba until the Cabinet Crisis. This is confirmed by Kanyama Chiume himself and Vera Chirwa made this clear also. Interviews with Kanyama Chiume, Namiwawa, Blantyre, Blantyre District, 13 January 1995, and Vera Chirwa.
110. Short, Banda, p. 203.
111. Chiume, Autobiography of Kanyama Chiume, p. 194.
112. A number of informants used the reciprocal form of kutha ('to finish') to describe this playing off of one person against another. The suffix 'na' appended to the verb (giving kuthana) literally means 'to finish each other'. Most written accounts trace this leadership strategy to the Cabinet Crisis of 1964 when Dr Banda deliberately and successfully used it to rally the majority of members of parliament to his side against the 'rebel ministers'. The Cabinet Crisis resulted from disagreements between Dr Banda and the majority of Cabinet members of specific issues of political policy, both foreign and domestic, but ministers also criticized Dr Banda's dictatorial style of rule and made charges of nepotism against him. Rotberg, however, says that differences of opinion within the leadership 'were apparent at the time of independence' and that 'for long' Banda's cabinet members had resented Dr Banda's treatment of them. He does not state for how long these feelings were present, Rotberg, The Rise of Nationalism, p. 317; Short, Banda; Williams, Malawi. 98. Ross, 'Some Reflections'; Personal communication John McCracken, March 1996.
113. A number of informants used the reciprocal form of kutha ('to finish') to describe this playing off of one person against another. The suffix 'na' appended to the verb (giving kuthana) literally means 'to finish each other'. Most written accounts trace this leadership strategy to the Cabinet Crisis of 1964 when Dr Banda deliberately and successfully used it to rally the majority of members of parliament to his side against the 'rebel ministers'. The Cabinet Crisis resulted from disagreements between Dr Banda and the majority of Cabinet members of specific issues of political policy, both foreign and domestic, but ministers also criticized Dr Banda's dictatorial style of rule and made charges of nepotism against him. Rotberg, however, says that differences of opinion within the leadership 'were apparent at the time of independence' and that 'for long' Banda's cabinet members had resented Dr Banda's treatment of them. He does not state for how long these feelings were present, Rotberg, The Rise of Nationalism, p. 317; Short, Banda; Williams, Malawi. 98. Ross, 'Some Reflections'; Personal communication John McCracken, March 1996.
114. A number of informants used the reciprocal form of kutha ('to finish') to describe this playing off of one person against another. The suffix 'na' appended to the verb (giving kuthana) literally means 'to finish each other'. Most written accounts trace this leadership strategy to the Cabinet Crisis of 1964 when Dr Banda deliberately and successfully used it to rally the majority of members of parliament to his side against the 'rebel ministers'. The Cabinet Crisis resulted from disagreements between Dr Banda and the majority of Cabinet members of specific issues of political policy, both foreign and domestic, but ministers also criticized Dr Banda's dictatorial style of rule and made charges of nepotism against him. Rotberg, however, says that differences of opinion within the leadership 'were apparent at the time of independence' and that 'for long' Banda's cabinet members had resented Dr Banda's treatment of them. He does not state for how long these feelings were present, Rotberg, The Rise of Nationalism, p. 317; Short, Banda; Williams, Malawi. 98. Ross, 'Some Reflections'; Personal communication John McCracken, March 1996.
115. A number of informants used the reciprocal form of kutha ('to finish') to describe this playing off of one person against another. The suffix 'na' appended to the verb (giving kuthana) literally means 'to finish each other'. Most written accounts trace this leadership strategy to the Cabinet Crisis of 1964 when Dr Banda deliberately and successfully used it to rally the majority of members of parliament to his side against the 'rebel ministers'. The Cabinet Crisis resulted from disagreements between Dr Banda and the majority of Cabinet members of specific issues of political policy, both foreign and domestic, but ministers also criticized Dr Banda's dictatorial style of rule and made charges of nepotism against him. Rotberg, however, says that differences of opinion within the leadership 'were apparent at the time of independence' and that 'for long' Banda's cabinet members had resented Dr Banda's treatment of them. He does not state for how long these feelings were present, Rotberg, The Rise of Nationalism, p. 317; Short, Banda; Williams, Malawi. 98. Ross, 'Some Reflections'; Personal communication John McCracken, March 1996.
116. Interviews with Mikeka Mkandawire, and Kanyama Chiume. Mikeka Mkandawire, who was still loyal to Dr Banda in 1994, mentioned how Dr Banda initially tried to discourage the spread of malicious rumours by insisting that people should confront each other directly with accusations. Kanyama Chiume, often accused of fostering dissent among party members, including Mikeka Mkandawire, also mentioned this practice. By the 1964 Cabinet Crisis, Dr Banda had come to rely heavily on such rumours and anonymous letters alleging political impropriety.
117. Interviews with Vera Chirwa and Kanyama Chiume.
118. Chipembere defended Kanyama in his speech to Parliament saying that Chiume had offered to return to Nyasaland in 1959 to enter detention. Chip said that Dr Banda 'honoured us by consulting us [Yatuta, the late Dunduzu Chisiza and himself]' and all agreed 'that Chiume must not return, he must continue to do his work abroad, the work of publicizing our cause . . . that is why, Mr Speaker, why this strong and nationalistic son of Africa didn't go to jail. Those who didn't know the facts had better know them now.' Hansard, Second Meeting, First Session, 9 September 1964, p. 91.
119. Interview with Kanyama Chiume.
120. Yatuta Chisiza was killed in an abortive raid into Malawi in October of 1967.
121. Interviews with George Akogo Kanyanya and F. S. K. Chiwona, Area 43, Lilongwe, Lilongwe District, 13 November 1995.
122. Interview with Nyemba Mbekeani, Mkulumadzi Bakery, Limbe, Blantyre District, 29 January 1996.
123. Interview with Bernard Chipumazi Gondwe, Tijepani [Dorothy] Nyagondwe, Nyamsukwa [Mrs Ngambil], Pusi Trading Centre, VH Mponda, Kaporo, Karonga District, 28 October 1995.
124. J07. Interview with Cairns N. Mwamulima, Kafikisila Village, TA Kyungu, Karonga District, 27 October 1995. Interestingly enough, the same nurse was deponed from Malawi in September of 1964. This took place at the same time as the Cabinet Crisis and was reported in The Times. She had arrived in Nyasaland in 1961 having been transferred from Harare/Salisbury and immigration officials in Malawi did not comment on her deportation. The Times, 18 September 1964.
125. Interview David Mukumphi Chirwa.
126. This was the only case where someone asked for anonymity. This tells us something about the tenacity of the Kamuzu style of doing things that s/he would fear reprisals for such statement about a sitting president. Unattributable interview October 1995.
127. This point was made in Jan Van Donge's work. He noted that the prosecution failed to 'make a case' since it assumed Dr Banda's guilt to be self-evident. 'The Mwanza Trial'.
128. The power of this belief was reiterated in July of 1996 when Macwilliam Lunguzi, former Chief of Police, co-defendant in the Mwanza Trial and rising political star after his acquittal, was killed in a head-on collision with a broken down vehicle in Central Region while returning from an MCP rally. All but Lunguzi and the driver of the vehicle sustained minor injuries in the crash, but the next day, one could hear allegations of foul play in this 'accident'. Such rumours were later denied by Mr Lunguzi's family.
129. Interview with Jake Muwamba. Mr Muwamba sat on the Mwanza Commission which found evidence of foul play in the deaths of three cabinet ministers and one Member of Parliament in 1983. Commission of Inquiry Mwanza Road Accident, Verbatim Report and Commission of Inquiry Mwanza Road Accident Report.