Malawi and Scotland Together in the Talking Place Since 1859

9. Achieving Independence

ϭϱϲ  9. Achieving Independence The State of Emergency in Malawi After the failure of its initial programme of civil disobedience, the Nyasaland African Congress concentrated its efforts on the Nyasaland Legislative Council where some of its articulate young leaders, like Masauko Chipembere and Kanyama Chiume, demanded Malawi’s withdrawal from the Federation. To the surprise and dismay of the Government, Hansard became a best seller as African readers developed their political consciousness by reading the speeches which their leaders had made in “Legco”. The opposition to Federation steadily hardened in Malawi. In 1957 matters came to a head. In the Federal Parliament, the Constitutional Amendment Bill and the Federal Electoral Bill, both provisions which would weaken African representation in the Federal Parliament, were passed into law despite the opposition of the African Affairs Board. This was the last straw for Andrew Doig: “The action of the Governments in insisting upon a fundamental change to the Federal Constitution while African support has still not been won for the Federation at all … forms a course of action I could not possibly defend or commend to the African and I feel compelled in the interests both of the Africans and of the peace of these territories to protest further by my resignation.”1 To make matters worse, the Federal Prime Minister Roy Welensky had concluded a deal with the British Government that in 1960 a review of the Federal arrangements would take place with a view to the Federation being granted Dominion status – a move which would further entrench white supremacy. The African people of Nyasaland now felt utterly betrayed by the British Government and the political temperature rose to boiling point. Meanwhile in Scotland public opinion had been kept well-informed by the work of the Scottish Council on African Questions. Its Secretary Kenneth Mackenzie, who had served as a missionary in Malawi and Zambia, had an extraordinary gift of holding together people of different backgrounds and political persuasions.2 ϭϱϳ  Hence there was a remarkable degree of cross-party consensus in Scotland that the direction being taken by the Federation was a betrayal of the people of Malawi. The Nyasaland African Congress now decisively stepped up its campaign for independence. Given the youth of its most articulate leaders, it took the strategic decision to recall Dr Hastings Kamuzu Banda, who had long been an overseas “elder statesman” in the Congress movement, to lead the campaign. As a man of mature age and considerable accomplishment he could hold the respect of village elders in a way that younger leaders, regardless of ability, never could. Congress built up a messianic expectation around his arrival and soon he was touring the country to address massive crowds, promising to secure Nyasaland’s withdrawal from the Federation and to make swift progress towards independence. In the course of Banda’s nationwide tour, an incident occurred which reveals the strength of the Scotland-Malawi connection and the personal relationships in which it was grounded. As Banda reached the north of Malawi, the Livingstonia Presbytery was meeting at Muhuju, at the foot of the Henga Valley. The Presbytery agreed that Dr Banda should be invited to address their meeting. When it came to the question of how to deliver the invitation, the Presbytery turned to the Scottish missionary Fergus Macpherson, Principal of the Overtoun Institution at Livingstonia: “We do not know him. You do. So you should carry our invitation.”3 This recalled the fact that Banda had been a close family friend of the Macphersons during his years in Edinburgh. When Macpherson appeared at a political gathering with the invitation, Banda immediately accepted it – much to the consternation of his accompanying Congress officials - and the two set off together for Muhuju, followed by the Congress landrover. Banda decided that he would address the Presbytery in English so the Moderator asked Macpherson to translate into Chitumbuka. The latter recalls that: “Much of his address was about my late father and about Banda’s happy relationship with my family in Edinburgh. Then in a word, he summarised his political message and sat down to hearty applause.”4 ϭϱϴ  Before long the two men were heading up on to the plateau at Livingstonia where Banda was delighted to accept the hospitality of his old friend and spend the night at the famous “Stone House”, originally the residence of Robert and Margaret Laws, which was the Principal’s residence. As the Congress...