Historical Dictionary of Malawi Part 9

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GWENGWE, JOHN. This educator, author, and politician was trained as a teacher at the William Murray Teachers Training College, Lilongwe, and the Jeanes Training Centre, Domasi. He taught at several schools in the central region before becoming an inspector of schools in the early 1960s. In 1966, he was appointed junior minister in the Ministry of Education; later, he became minister of trade and industry. In 1970, he fell out of favor with Dr. Kamuzu Banda and retired from politics. Gwengwe is best known as an author of short stories and novels in chiChewa, and as a major promoter of local literature.

H.

HALL, AUBREY VICTOR (?1955). Founder of Hall's Holdings Limited, Aubrey Hall went to Nyasaland from Great Britain in 1923 in the service of the Central African Transport Company. Ten years later, he opened Hall's Garage, which sold and serviced cars; this business developed into a larger enterprise, Hall's Holding Ltd., which, by the late 1960s, had branches in the central and northern regions of Malawi. A prominent member of the European settler community in Nyasaland and a founding member of the Nyasaland Society (now the Society of Malawi), Aubrey Hall served as mayor of Blantyre, president of the Chamber of Commerce, chairman of the Nyasaland Society for the Blind, president of the Blantyre Sports Club, and president of the Nyasaland Golf Union.

HARA, SAMUEL. A preacher from Emawoleni village, Mzimba district, he translated, without a.s.sistance, the Holy Bible from Bishop Colenso's Zulu version into ciTumbuka. Published posthumously, this was the first time such a task had been undertaken in the Livingstonia synod, and it remained in regular use until the 1960s.

HAYES, GEORGE DUDLEY (19041981). Businessman and conservationist, Hayes was born in Kent, England. As a young man, he went to Malawi where he became a planter, working for the A. L. Bruce Estates at Magomero. In 1931, he became an independent contractor, working on roads, locust control, and guarding farms from ravaging elephants. Later, he joined the civil service as an agricultural supervisor and was posted to Chikwawa, marking the beginning of a long a.s.sociation with the Lengwe National Park of which he was made warden in 1939. During World War II, he served with the King's African Rifles (KAR) and, in 1945, he established Antipest, a pest control company. A keen environmentalist and conservator, in 1947 he became founding secretary treasurer of the National Fauna Preservation Society of Malawi and continued to lead the organization until early 1981. Another major interest of Hayes was the Society of Malawi of which he became a committee member in 1951. He became its vice chairman and chairman in 1963 and 1973, respectively, and edited its journal, the Society of Malawi Journal, from 1951 until his death in 1981. George Hayes also wrote the Guide to Malawi's National Parks and Game Reserves (1979).



HEALTH SERVICES. Christian missionaries introduced Western medicine into the Lake Malawi region in the 19th century. Until that time, matters of health were the sole domain of indigenous specialists. Although men tended to dominate the field, women too distinguished themselves as doctors; generally, child birth was the preserve of female experts. It was strongly believed that in many cases the ability to heal was hereditary, pa.s.sing from generation to generation, so much so that particular families were known as healers. One could also train in healing by apprentices.h.i.+p to a healer. Famous healers would receive patients from far afield and, because of this, they would provide accommodation for their wards. Even with the increasing popularity of Western medicine in the 20th century, traditional medical practice continued to feature prominently in most Malawian societies. In some situations, it functioned parallel to modern health systems and, in others, the two worked hand in hand.

Missionaries and mission stations were the first point of contact between Western medicine and Malawian societies. Besides a church and a school, almost every mission station had a health clinic. The first doctors to work in Malawi were missionaries; they were also the first to conduct surveys of the various diseases that afflicted the people. Doctors in this category include Robert Laws, the Elmslies, David Kerr Cross, George Prentice, Jane Waterston, William Murray, and William Wigan. The first Malawian medical personnel were trained at mission hospitals such as Blantyre, Nkhotakota, Nkhoma, and Livingstonia, and they formed the core of medical support staff in the government health system. Although the beginnings of the latter can be traced to June 1891 when Dr. Sorabji Boyce was appointed as the government doctor, only in the early 1900s did the government build facilities where people could seek medical help. At the start of World War I, there were five hospitals in the colony: Karonga, 2 beds; Fort Johnston (Mangochi), 6; Zomba, 46; Blantyre, 12; no figures are available for Port Herald (Nsanje), and Dedza. In 1930, the Colonial Development Fund allocated 78,284 sterling for the expansion of the health system, and, four years later, new hospitals were built at Karonga, 50 beds; Mzimba, 30; Kasungu, 30; Nkhotakota, 50; Dowa, 30; Lilongwe, 30; Fort Manning (Mchinji), 30; Chiradzulu, 30; Zomba, 100; Mulanje, 50; Thyolo, 50; and Chikwawa, 30. Wards were added to the units at Dedza, Fort Johnston, and Port Herald. This development increased hospital beds from 170 to 634. In Blantyre, Zomba, and Lilongwe there were hospitals specifically for Europeans.

Health services were disrupted during the two world wars as medical personnel, European and African, were seconded to the army. After the war, few hospitals were built but more day health centers manned by African medical a.s.sistants were established in many rural areas. By 1950, the population of Nyasaland was 2.5 million and the number of beds in government medical facilities for Africans had increased to 1,115. The special psychiatric hospital built at Zomba before the end of World War I was expanded, and a new leprosy residential treatment center was in the process of being built at Kochilira in Fort Manning (Mchinji) district. Campaigns against smallpox (started at the end of the 19th century) continued, and with the advancement of medicine there was also a more effective treatment of malaria, yaws, and tuberculosis.

After 1953, the health services became the responsibility of the federal government. This increased the budget, leading to the construction of additional wards in hospitals and, by 1957, there were 1,797 beds in government hospitals. In spite of this, overcrowding remained a feature at all hospitals in Malawi, including those managed by Christian missions, which at the time had a combined total of 1,600 beds. In 1958, the Queen Elizabeth Hospital opened in Blantyre. It was well equipped, had 412 beds, and it replaced Zomba Hospital as the princ.i.p.al referral hospital in the country.

As a result of the dissolution of the Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland in 1963, the Medical Department reverted to the Nyasaland government. Many doctors, including specialists, returned to Southern Rhodesia. At independence, in July 1964, Malawi had an acute shortage of doctors; there were only 14 doctors working for the government and of these only one was a Malawian. Foreign doctors were recruited, mainly from Israel, Great Britain, and the Netherlands, as part of aid programs to Malawi. In the meantime, it was expected that Malawian medical students training abroad since the early 1960s would return in 1969. In fact, very few did and, by 1972, there were only 12 Malawian doctors in government service. The reliance on foreign doctors and those working at mission hospitals continued. While Zomba Hospital remained the base for the school for state-enrolled nurses, a new school to train state registered nurses opened at Queen Elizabeth Hospital in 1965. In addition, the medical a.s.sistants' college at Lilongwe and the numerous mission hospitals, which also trained state-enrolled nurses, provided the medical personnel, which is still the backbone of health care in Malawi.

In the 1970s, a plan for the development of health services was implemented on the basis of the World Health Organization (WHO) recommendations, and it called for the expansion of health facilities in areas of agricultural projects, the replacement and renovation of existing antiquated hospitals, and the establishment of a network of basic health centers from which to conduct preventative health services. In 1977, a new 250-bed general hospital was opened in Lilongwe as well as a new Medical Auxiliary Training School, which greatly relieved staff shortages of clinical officers and pharmacy and laboratory a.s.sistants. Four new hospitals were completed (198687) at Salima, Mchinji, Karonga, and Ntchisi. Doctors continued to be trained outside Malawi, and the several government and mission schools also continued to train nurses, midwives, medical/health a.s.sistants, and health inspectors. As the population of Malawi grew in the 1980s, the shortage of doctors became evident: one doctor for every 52,961 persons. It was largely in response to this problem that the University of Malawi established a new medical college in Blantyre in 1988.

Although this development has increased the number of doctors working in Malawi, it has not solved the problem of a shortage of health providers at all levels. Among other issues, conditions of service in the Ministry of Health have led to a brain drain, mainly to South Africa and Great Britain. In 2007, the Malawi Ministry of Health reported that 62 percent of health-related positions-nurses, clinical officers, doctors, including specialists-remained vacant. Although graduates of the medical college were being posted to district hospitals, some of which had never been manned by qualified medical doctors before, it was hoped many health workers would stay to work in Malawi and significantly reduce the medical provider-to-patient ratio.

In the early 1990s, the Malawi government embarked on an ambitious Ten Year Health Plan in which it expected to establish a primary care center (rural hospital) for every 50,000 persons; a health subcenter for every 10,000; and a health post for every 2,000. Expanded health services for maternal and child care was also a critical need being addressed in the plan. In 1989, the infant mortality rate was 150 for every 1,000 live births; this had been projected to drop to 110, but the expectation was dashed with the publication in 1990 that malnutrition, AIDS, and malaria had resulted in a rise in the mortality rate to 178 for every 1,000. Health officials no longer antic.i.p.ated the decline to occur soon. The number of maternal deaths was expected to drop from 16 to 10 per thousand by expanding pre- and postnatal services. The plan also included the use of contraceptives, of which usage was expected to increase.

Despite the fact that Malawi received foreign aid to execute these programs, the economic situation within the country restricted their full implementation. The post-Banda government of Bakili Muluzi tried to effect the projects but was hampered by a shortage of personnel and inadequate finances. The devaluation of the Malawi kwacha led to a rise in the cost of equipment and medicine, most of which is imported. Some hospitals and health centers did not even have the basic medicine to treat malaria. However, there were also accusations of corruption and mismanagement on the part of some health authorities. By 1998, the new government had modified the plans. While it would continue to emphasize primary health care services, it would provide them through the Essential Health Package (EHP), a cost-effective approach that involved, inter alia, enlarging the immunization, reproductive health, and nutrition programs. As part of the EHP, the per capita annual budget allocated for drugs and vaccines would be maintained at US$1.25 per person, and a revolving drugs fund, managed by the rural communities themselves, would be established at clinics, thereby ensuring that the 20 percent of the population not covered previously would have access to health facilities. The EHP system went into effect in 2002, and although not fully implemented, it has helped to manage some important diseases such as malaria as well as diarrhea and respiratory ailments. The approach has made health care more available and widespread and, according to the World Bank, more equitable than that in many African countries. It has also enabled health providers to fight the problem of HIV/AIDS.

Although the Ministry of Health budget increased from US$60.2 million in 20023 to US$117.95 within 20067, it represented only 10.8 percent of the total annual government budget. In 20089, the ministry's share was 10.3 percent, and in 200910, it was 8.9 percent. External donors, mainly the governments of Great Britain and Norway, the World Bank, the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), and the Global Fund for AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria, provide 43 percent of Malawi's health expenditure. In addition, while the government provided 62 percent of health services, the Christian Health a.s.sociation of Malawi (CHAM) provides 37 percent and the nongovernmental organizations/private sector the remaining percentage.

Civil society feared that the government's expulsion of the British high commissioner in May 2011 would badly affect health services. The British Foreign Office announced that following the forced departure of its envoy, it was reviewing its bilateral relations with Malawi, which would also inevitably mean a reduction of financial a.s.sistance. In the recent past, British aid to Malawi included salaries of many levels of health workers. See also CHOLERA; HERBALIST a.s.sOCIATION OF MALAWI; MALAWI AGAINST POLIO; MALAWI HEALTH EQUITY NETWORK.

HENDERSON, HENRY (18431891). Founder of Blantyre Mission, Henry Henderson was the son of a church minister and was born in Pers.h.i.+re, Scotland. After a brief period at Edinburgh University, he worked briefly in Queensland, Australia, and although a layman, in 1875 he volunteered to be the established Church of Scotland's representative accompanying the Free Church of Scotland mission, which set out to establish a mission in the Lake Malawi region in memory of David Livingstone. In 1876, Chief Kapeni gave a site to Henderson on which to develop the Blantyre Mission of the Church of Scotland. The period between 1876 and 1880 was particularly difficult because of the unrealistic policies that guided the mission's relations with the local people and because of the indiscipline of some of Henderson's colleagues at Blantyre. In 1881, some missionaries were dismissed from service, including Rev. Duff Macdonald, who had headed the Blantyre Mission since 1878. When the mission started afresh under Rev. David C. Scott, Henderson continued to work at Blantyre and played a major role in the establishment of substations at Zomba, Domasi, and Mulanje. He died at Quilimane, Mozambique, on 12 February 1891, while on the journey back to Scotland. A river steamer, the Henry Henderson, purchased by the mission in 1892, was named in his honor. The steamer, operating on the s.h.i.+re, was used as a floating school and church and was manned by African graduates of the Blantyre Mission. The educational establishment, the Henry Henderson Inst.i.tute (HHI), was also named after him.

HENRY HENDERSON INSt.i.tUTE (HHI). Fondly referred to as the HHI, this is an educational establishment at the Blantyre Mission of Church of Scotland Mission station named after Henry Henderson. Here, a primary school, a teacher training college, a theological college, and a center concentrating on technical subjects, such as carpentry, bricklaying, printing, and, later, mechanical skills, was developed. The inst.i.tute was also the home of the mission's print department, which was responsible for printing a variety of publications including religious ones, school textbooks, and government and private newspapers and weeklies. Like its counterpart, the Overtoun Inst.i.tution of the Livingstonia Mission, the HHI played a most significant role in religious, educational, and political developments in Malawi. In the late 1950s, a secondary school was added at the inst.i.tute.

HERBALIST a.s.sOCIATION OF MALAWI (HAM). Formed in 1963 as the Traditional Mediciners of Central Africa (in chiChewa, Ochiritsa), the HAM is the largest umbrella organization of the pract.i.tioners of traditional African medicine and has about 75,000 members, including approximately 5,000 traditional birth attendants. Guided by a const.i.tution, the HAM is registered with the Ministry of Health, and it determines the fees its members charge for the various ailments they treat. The University of Malawi encourages HAM members to take samples of their plant medicines for testing of their biological composition, and those who do so are awarded testimonials. As a way of gathering information on health activities in rural areas, the Ministry of Health requests HAM members to complete forms detailing their activities. See also HEALTH SERVICES.

HETHERWICK, DR. ALEXANDER (18601939). Born in Scotland on 12 April 1860, he attended Aberdeen University where he majored in cla.s.sics, mathematics, physics, and theology. He joined the foreign mission effort of the Church of Scotland at the age of 23 and was posted to Blantyre in the s.h.i.+re Highlands where he was to work closely with Dr. David C. Scott. In 1898, Hetherwick succeeded Scott as head of the Blantyre Mission. Unlike Scott, Hetherwick was conservative, a supporter of British rule, and perceived the role of Christian missionaries as that of a conscience for the administration. His views of Africans, regularly printed in the Mission publication, Life and Work, tended to be paternalistic: the European was there to govern and to teach the African. Highly regarded throughout the Protectorate, in the period 190713, Hetherwick was the missionary representative in the Legislative Council (LEGCO) where he often spoke on behalf of African interests. He retired in 1927 and died on 3 April 1939.

HEWE. Situated in northwestern Rumphi district on the border with Luangwa Valley, Zambia, this area falls under the traditional authority of the Katumbi of the Chawinga clan. Hewe is in the location of the Vwaza marsh, which it shares with Zambia and is also the home to large herds of elephants and other animals.

HILTON YOUNG COMMISSION. Appointed in 1927 and chaired by Sir Edward Hilton Young, the commission sought to determine whether a closer union in East Africa was possible, and whether a closer a.s.sociation might be sought between the Rhodesias and Nyasaland. Commissioners toured Northern Rhodesia and Nyasaland and listened to a variety of pet.i.tioners. In their 1929 report, members of the commission stated that any closer a.s.sociation should be one that could benefit the Africans, not merely the settler element. The settlers had no feelings of responsibility toward the Africans and argued that it was up to the British government to protect their African wards. Lastly, the commission reported that, while there might be economic advantages to linking the Protectorates, the British government should not make any plans tying the central African territories together, especially at that time. The settlers rejected the African paramountcy concept and, in the 1930s, began efforts to amalgamate the territories. See also FEDERATION OF RHODESIA AND NYASALAND.

h.o.m.os.e.xUALITY. h.o.m.os.e.xuality is illegal in Malawi, and under Sections 153 and 156 of the Malawi Penal Code of 1930, a carryover of the British colonial legal system, h.o.m.os.e.xual acts or suspicion of h.o.m.os.e.xuality can be prosecuted on charges of "unnatural" offenses. This has been the att.i.tude of governments throughout postcolonial Malawi. In this, the governments have had the full support of the majority of Malawians who refuse to accept that their own people can be h.o.m.os.e.xuals and insist on pointing out that such a s.e.xual orientation is attributable to foreign influences. As the case of Steven Monjeza and Tiwonge Chimbalanga demonstrated, leading politicians of all parties, churches, and Islamic establishments were generally vehemently opposed to any relaxation of the Penal Code relating to h.o.m.os.e.xuality. There have been other less-publicized cases of suspected h.o.m.os.e.xuals appearing in courts, and the att.i.tude has continued to be hostile toward the accused. Only a few organizations, such as the Centre for Human Rights and Rehabilitation and the Centre for the Development of People, have advised understanding and moderation in this matter and have spoken on behalf the defendants. According to some reports, a clandestine a.s.sociation of gay Malawians exists, and in reaction, an organization to suppress h.o.m.os.e.xuality emerged in August 2010.

HORA. This mountain in central Mzimba is a.s.sociated with some of the early Stone Age settlements in the Lake Malawi region. In 1975, it was the site of a Tumbuka rebellion against Ngoni authority; Baza Dokowe, the leader of the Tumbuka, fled to Kasungu. Hora was also to become one of the important outstations of the Livingstonia Mission.

HUGGINS, G.o.dFREY MARTIN, 1ST VISCOUNT MALVERN (18831971). First prime minister and minister of defense of the Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland, G.o.dfrey Huggins was born in England in 1883 and trained as a medical doctor before immigrating to Southern Rhodesia (Zimbabwe) in 1911. In 1924, he was elected to Parliament as a member of the segregationist Reform Party of which he became leader. A strong believer in closer union between the Rhodesias and Nyasaland, Huggins rose to be prime minister of Southern Rhodesia and, from that position, spearheaded the campaign for a federation of the three British colonies. In 1953, he became the prime minister of the Federation, relinquis.h.i.+ng the position three years later, and was given a life peerage under the t.i.tle of Viscount Malvern.

HUMAN RIGHTS. For most of the postcolonial era, Malawi's record in human rights and respect for civil liberties has been poor in many respects. On the positive side, according to the Const.i.tution adopted at independence in 1964 and the one revised in 1994, there is no state religion, and there are no restrictions on religious observances that do not impinge on government authority. However, during Dr. Hastings Banda's presidency, the Jehovah's Witnesses came under pressure to identify with the program of the Malawi Congress Party (MCP) and, when they refused to conform, they were persecuted. Some were imprisoned, others went underground, and many others sought refuge outside the country.

Freedom of speech and the press were also much curtailed during Hastings Banda's rule. Criticism of the government and its policies was not tolerated, and this extended to Parliament where expression of total loyalty to the president was expected. The media (radio stations and, at the time, two newspapers) operated under informal but strict self-censors.h.i.+p; journalists were jailed for publis.h.i.+ng articles that met with official displeasure. At the university level, freedom of inquiry existed but did not include explicit criticism of the government. Freedom of a.s.sembly was also limited in Dr. Banda's Malawi. Individuals and organizations were generally free to meet and a.s.sociate provided the purpose was not to speak against the government.

External and internal travel was also affected by the regulations of the government and the MCP. For most of the postcolonial period, civil servants and others working for parastatals could not leave the country, even for officially sponsored conferences and seminars, without the permission of the government. Legal provision existed for restricting the movement of those convicted of criminal or political offenses. Formal emigration was neither restricted nor encouraged and, with the exception of a small group of political dissidents and of the Jehovah's Witnesses, there was no large-scale outward flow of Malawi refugees from the country. Still, many in the latter category went into exile.

More serious was the situation regarding arbitrary arrest and detention. Under the Preservation of Public Security Act, the president could order the arrest, search, and detention of any person whom the government deemed capable of causing trouble in Malawi. A person arrested under this law could be detained by the police without trial in a court of law. At any given time, a number of individuals were detained arbitrarily for real or perceived offenses against the party or government. Political detainees were often beaten, and the length of confinement was uncertain; the usual cause was suspected disloyalty to the president and the MCP. Forced labor was not normally practiced, but at times could be used as a form of criminal punishment.

Those charged with criminal offenses could not count on a fair trial. They might be tried in the traditional or modern court system; lawyers were not permitted to a.s.sist defendants in the former, but legal counsel was permitted in the latter. The right of appeal existed in both courts. The modern judiciary was independent of the executive branch, although the president appointed the chief justice, who in turn was involved in the appointment of the other justices. On the other hand, traditional court justices were appointed by the president. There was little executive interference in traditional court cases, and death sentences were carried out without publicity. However, certain political cases were always directed to the traditional court system because, without the normal strict rules of evidence, a pro-government result was predictable. The post-Banda Parliament abolished the traditional courts justice system, and increasingly, appointments in the judiciary have become the domain of the judicial commission, which the state president appoints. The chief justice continues to be appointed by the president.

Under Hastings Banda, the death penalty was mandatory for murder and treason and could be imposed for armed robbery. Police beatings at the time of detention or arrest, though not officially condoned, occurred. Prison terms of hard labor were and still are the norm for common criminals; during Banda's rule, political detainees usually received less hard or degrading treatment. The human rights situation became so bad in early 199193 that some foreign donors reduced aid to Malawi on the grounds that the Banda government's record in this area was abysmal. This action played a significant role in forcing Banda to accept the principle of multiparty democracy, leading to the free elections in 1994.

In the post-Banda order, freedom of speech and a.s.sociation was recognized as a right: there are two daily newspapers and several weeklies, and all have editorial policies as dictated by the owners.h.i.+p; there are more than five political parties, and many active labor unions. Another feature of the post-Banda period is the number of active human rights and civil rights organizations operating freely in the country. These nongovernmental organizations include the Centre for Human Rights and Rehabilitation (CHRR), the Legal Resources Center (LRC), and the Consumer a.s.sociation of Malawi (CANA). Above all, there is the Human Rights Commission of Malawi. These and others in this field issue reports regularly on human rights in Malawi.

Human rights organizations observe that although there is a marked measure of freedom of expression and a.s.sociation, there is much concern about police conduct when arresting and interviewing people. Their reports also indicate that there are times when the police arrest members of the opposition parties, charging them under laws that go back to the Banda era, and sometimes denying them bail.

Prison conditions continue to be generally very poor, and organizations such as the Red Cross have been critical of this aspect of the United Democratic Front (UDF) government. In recent times, some prisons, including the Central Prison in Zomba and that at Chichiri in Blantyre, have not had enough food to feed the inmates. In 1998 and 1999, the British government offered money to buy food for prisoners. Most prisons are old and require modernization, and the poor conditions have not changed much under the Bingu wa m.u.t.h.arika government. According to the 2008 report of Amnesty International, there were 111,000 prisoners in a prison built for 5,000 inmates and, in 2007, 110 died. The report also observed that 17 percent of those incarcerated were yet to be tried, and that although the death penalty was abolished in 1994, a fact that the country's High Court reaffirmed in April 2008, 28 inmates were on death row.

In their 20079 reports, Malawi and international-based human rights organizations also commented on the fact that, although the establishment of the Ministry of Women and Child Development was a major advance, the rights of children and women remained a major concern. Domestic abuse of women was common, and despite the pa.s.sing of the Domestic Act in the National a.s.sembly, women continue to be victimized. To combat the abuses of children, child protection workers have been trained by the United Nations Children Fund (UNICEF) and the Ministry of Women and Child Development, and the National Plan of Action for Orphans and vulnerable children was set up in 2005.

A more recent concern of human rights activists in Malawi has been the issue of h.o.m.os.e.xuality, which is illegal in Malawi, and any person deemed to be a practicing h.o.m.os.e.xuality or to be promoting the rights of gay people falls under scrutiny of the law. One effect of this is that gays and gay organizations operate clandestinely. In January and February 2010, human rights organizations such as Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International protested strongly at the arrest of Steven Monjeza and Tiwonge Chimbalanga for holding a traditional engagement ceremony a few weeks earlier. In early February 2010, the police arrested a gay activist, Peter Sawali, for displaying posters on gay rights. All this happened despite the fact that Malawi has ratified international agreements that protect the rights of individuals. The treaties in question include the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and the African Charter on Human and Peoples' Rights. See also FOREIGN AID.

HYNDE, R. S. He originally came to Nyasaland as a Church of Scotland missionary a.s.signed to Domasi but soon engaged in agriculture, planting tea and tobacco. As general manager of the Blantyre and East Africa Company (190118), Hynde vigorously encouraged the cultivation of tobacco. He was editor of the Central African Planter, renamed the Nyasaland Times in 1907, and often expressed his pro-European planter views in these publications. Politically active, Hynde also served on the Blantyre Town Council.

I.

ILALA II. Like the SS Ilala, it was named after the place where David Livingstone died in 1873 and has been the main transport vessel on Lake Malawi since 1951, carrying pa.s.sengers from numerous ports between Karonga and Monkey Bay. Built by Yarrow and Company Ltd. of Glasgow, Scotland, at the cost of 120,000 sterling, and to ensure its stability, especially in view of the sinking of the MV Viphya in 1946, it went through wide-ranging tests at the National Physical Laboratory before it was transported to Malawi in pieces, and then rea.s.sembled at the Monkey Bay dry docks of the Nyasaland Railways. The MV Ilala II is 172 feet long, has a total tonnage of 220, is 30.5 feet wide, has a load draft of 7 feet and 4 inches, a deadweight cargo capacity of 100 tons, and can carry as many as 365 pa.s.sengers, with a crew of 38, and is divided into three cla.s.ses.

IMPERIAL TOBACCO COMPANY (ITC). Popularly known as the ITC, this British owned company opened its factory in Limbe in 1908, the year the railway line to the latter city was completed. As the company expanded its activities to include tobacco farms in Blantyre, Zomba, and elsewhere, its Limbe headquarters became one of the major employers of labor in the BlantyreLimbe area. In the late 1960s, the company was reorganized and changed its name to the Imperial Tobacco Group (ITG). However, by the late 1990s, it had closed its operations in Malawi, and most of its Limbe headquarters became the center of operations of the Illovo Sugar Ltd. of Malawi.

INDIANS. See ASIANS.

INDIRECT RULE SYSTEM. This system of colonial administration originally espoused by Lord Frederick Lugard in his numerous publications, including the Dual Mandate in Tropical Africa (1922), sought to rule the African peoples through their indigenous political inst.i.tutions. In Malawi, aspects of the system were introduced under the District Administration (Natives) Ordinance of 1912, but it was not until the Native Authorities Ordinance of 1933 that a more serious attempt was made to execute and spread this method of rule.

INSt.i.tUTE FOR POLICY INTERACTION (IPI). Established in 2001, this nongovernment organization with no religious or political affiliation aims to advance full democratic partic.i.p.ation of Malawians of all walks of life in the decision-making process that affects their everyday lives. Through research and dissemination of information it seeks to empower Malawians and ensure accountability in government and public service as a whole. It is also acting as an advocacy, a consultancy, and conflict resolution organization, and it regularly publishes research reports on all aspects of governance. Its chairperson is Dr. Nandini Patel, a former academic at Chancellor College, University of Malawi, and its executive director is Rafiq Rajat.

INTEGRATED RURAL DEVELOPMENT PROJECT (IRDP). Financed largely by the World Bank, this program of the 1960s and early 1970s aimed at bettering the socioeconomic welfare of people in Malawi through projects that incorporated agriculture, health, transport, forestry, and veterinary sectors. The IRDP proved to be expensive to implement, tended to promote the distinction between small-scale producers and the large-scale ones, and did not allow much input in the decision-making process from those it was meant to help. In 1978, the project was replaced by the National Rural Development Program (NRDP).

INTERNATIONAL MONETARY FUND (IMF). See ECONOMY.

IRON AGE. See PREHISTORY.

ISLAM. It is estimated that between 12 and 17 percent of the population profess to be Muslims, as compared with about 70 percent who acknowledge Christianity as their religion. Swahili-Arabs brought their Islamic religion with them when they arrived in the area in the 19th century. As tradermerchants they were not active proselytizers; the most numerous conversions occurred after Harry Johnston ended the slave trade in the 1890s. In addition to the Arab-Swahili traders, two Muslim teachers, Shaykh Abdallah Mkwanda and Shaykh Sabiti Ngaunje, are identified with the spread of Islam in Malawi, with most of the conversions taking place among the Yao and the lakeside Chewa.

Conversion to Islam required observance of the Ramadan feast, acceptance of circ.u.mcision, and the imitation of some rituals and prayers. Islam offered an advance in social status beyond traditional faith, and it provided an alternative for those Africans seeking some status among the Europeans. Those converts who became teachers (waalimu) often settled in villages where they earned money tutoring students. Some Muslim villages had Koranic schools, but instruction was often superficial because of poorly prepared teachers.

Islam was viewed by Christian missionaries as a threat. Missionary tracts often wrote about Islamic aggression, which could unite Africans into hostilities. Their concern that Islam would encourage uprisings turned into near hysteria at the outset of World War I when the colonial government was already apprehensive over German attempts to turn Muslim followers against their British rulers. However, as the Germans lost the East African campaign the Muslim scare subsided. The number of Islamic schools and mosques was nevertheless limited by the Protectorate government as a result of a belief that Muslims had encouraged the Chilembwe uprising. Throughout the colonial period, therefore, Islam developed slowly.

The situation has changed since the early 1980s, when money from Islamic countries, mainly Saudi Arabia and Kuwait, helped to establish a major center of learning near Mpemba, outside Blantyre; smaller educational bases were set up in other locations including Balaka and Mangochi and, through such centers, Islamic literature was disseminated. Modern mosques were also built in different parts of the country, including Chitipa, where the Muslim presence had until then been insignificant. In addition, some Malawian Muslims were sent to North Africa and the Middle East to further their educations. Even though Dr. Hastings K. Banda was not particularly friendly to the Islamic world, he allowed the proliferation of Islamic activities on condition that there was no interference in Malawian politics.

Islamic nations gave some financial backing to the United Democratic Front (UDF) Party headed by Bakili Muluzi, the first Muslim to be elected president in a southern African country. During the Muluzi presidency, some Christian denominations complained of the increasing influence of Islam in a country that since the late 19th century has been primarily identified with Christianity. Following the 1999 elections, mosques and Muslims were objects of violent acts in parts of northern Malawi because some people attributed the success of president Muluzi and the UDF in the elections to financial aid emanating from external Islamic sources. The violence was condemned by many, including the Anglican Bishop of Mzuzu, who contributed US$1,000 toward the reconstruction of the mosques.

In the period leading to the 2004 elections, a coalition of Christian denominations opposed the candidature of Bakili Muluzi on many grounds, including what the alliance considered to be the undue influence of Islam in Malawi, which they attributed to him and his international connections. Although in the end Muluzi withdrew his candidature, Muslims in Malawi remain a vocal and powerful community. The Islamic Information Bureau and Radio Islam disseminate information pertaining to Islam and Muslims in Malawi and abroad. Radio Islam also has daily commentaries that often present critiques on society, the Malawi government, and on international affairs. In 2008, the Information Bureau and Radio Islam challenged the census report for stating that there were 1,690,087 Muslims in Malawi as opposed to 10,770,227 Christians, and in 2009, the chairman of the Muslim a.s.sociation of Malawi complained publicly that with two Muslim ministers in the new government of Bingu wa m.u.t.h.arika, Muslims were underrepresented in his 43-person cabinet.

Islamic nongovernmental organizations, such as the Islamic Zakaat Fund, Islamic Relief, Bilal Trust, and Muslim Women's Organization, are active in the country. They have established Islamic educational inst.i.tutions in many parts of the country, including Blantyre, Zomba, Mangochi, and Salima. The Maryam Girls Teachers Training College, established to train female teachers at that primary school level, has received financial a.s.sistance from the Bilal Trust. Foreign funding for numerous Islamic projects has come from, among other countries, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, and Libya.

J.

JACKSON COMMISSION AND REPORT. This was the report of the Land Commission of 1920, headed by Judge Edward Jackson, which was appointed to inquire into the problem of land, especially in the s.h.i.+re Highlands. From the days of Sir Harry Johnston, European settler farmers had come to occupy the best arable land in the area between Zomba and Mulanje, limiting the ability of the growing African population to expand agricultural activities. After the war, more European settlers arrived, expecting land in the same area; some Europeans, including the older residents, were even applying for land that had been reserved for African use. Meanwhile, it was feared that African unhappiness with the evolving situation would lead to political unrest, and the government was also concerned that many indigenous people would join the labor force across the Zambezi. The Jackson Commission was to recommend solutions to the problem. Among its recommendations was fixed tenure for Africans as opposed to the usual communal owners.h.i.+p of land. It also recommended that, since scarcity of land was a fact, Africans should be allowed tenancy on European estates on favorable terms. However, it also considered labor tenancy as inevitable.

JAFFU, GEORGE. The first Malawian head of civil service and secretary to the president and cabinet, Jaffu was born and raised in Mangoche district. After completing secondary school, he worked in the civil service and, in 1963, became one of the first students to attend the eight-month-long crash course for administrators at the Inst.i.tute of Public Administration, Mpemba. He also spent a year at Oxford University and, upon his return, he occupied several senior positions in the civil service before taking over from Bryan Roberts as secretary to the president and cabinet. In 1975, he was replaced by John Ngwiri, and he joined Lonrho, where he would become its chief executive in Malawi. Later, he became the chairman of the Nico Holdings Ltd.

JALASI. Jalasi is an area in Mangochi district ruled by Yao chiefs of the same name. In the late 19th century, Jalasi most strongly fought off British authority in his area. In 1891, he defeated British troops and, in February 1895, he, Kawinga, and Matapwiri joined to remove the British from the s.h.i.+re. But later that year, he and other chiefs north of Zomba were forced to surrender to colonial rule.

JARDIM, JORGE (19201978). This politically astute Portuguese businessman based in Beira, Mozambique, and a close confidant of the Portuguese leaders.h.i.+p, including Dr. Antonio Salazar, is credited with turning (in late 1961) Dr. Hastings Banda's hard-line views on settler colonialism in southern Africa into accommodation and cooperation. Initially, he secretly met Banda in Blantyre, but later, in 1962, he arranged for the Malawi leader to visit Portugal where relations between the two countries were strengthened. Jardim's plan was to ensure that Banda withdrew support for the Mozambican liberation movements, thereby ensuring that they did not use Malawi as a launching pad for attacks on the Portuguese colony. For his part, Banda was a.s.sured of continued access to Beira and, even more, of building a rail connection with the northern Mozambique port of Nacala. It is said that discussions took place concerning possibilities of ceding part of northern Mozambique to Malawi. Jardim was closely connected with the Resistencia Nacional Mocambicana (RENAMO), and his influence on Banda continued even after he left Mozambique, following the successful war of independence.

JEHOVAH'S WITNESSES. Spreading mainly from the United States through South Africa, this fundamentalist religious sect has been active in Malawi since the early 1900s, and colonial authorities were suspicious of it because of its millennial message, which they feared had subserve implications. Preachers such as Eliot Kamwana Chirwa were watched closely because of their a.s.sociation with the Watch Tower/Jehovah's Witness movement. Adherents rejected any allegiance to political parties or the government, and in Dr. Hastings Banda's Malawi, the Jehovah's Witnesses were banned and followers subjected to violence. As the Malawi Congress Party (MCP) prepared for independence in 1964, members of the Jehovah's Witnesses refused to register as voters and tried to dissuade others from joining the party politics. In Mulanje district, violence broke out between the Jehovah's Witnesses and the Youth Leaguers (see YOUTH). In 1967, the Jehovah's Witnesses were again subject to hara.s.sment. They still refused to join the party, they continued to proselytize those who were not interested, and they attempted to dissuade people from paying taxes. When the Jehovah's Witnesses opposed party efforts to register voters and renew party members.h.i.+p cards, the Malawi government retaliated by allowing Youth Leaguers to a.s.sault Jehovah's Witnesses.

The sect was banned in October 1967 and violence followed, with charges of arson, rape, and a.s.sault levied against Youth Leaguers. Until 1973, the Jehovah's Witnesses were not interfered with, but their continued opposition to the MCP resulted in a wave of persecutions from which nearly 20,000 adherents fled to Zambia and Mozambique. Unfavorable world publicity and the fact that Zambia found them equally unwelcome led to their repatriation. In 1975, about 2,000 were arrested and jailed for belonging to a banned organization. Two years later, nearly all of the Jehovah's Witnesses were released. In 1991, several hundred Mozambican refugees were deported because of their affiliation with the sect. Post-Banda governments have respected freedom of a.s.sociation, including religious affiliation, with the result that the Jehovah's Witnesses have practiced their faith undisturbed and have in fact multiplied in number. See also RELIGION.

JERE, GWAZA. Was a respected nduna (counselor, minister) of Zw.a.n.gendaba, and it was his wise counsel that helped the Ngoni to go through the difficult period following the death of their leader in around 1848. Also around that time, a succession dispute arose, leading to a split among the Ngoni. Gwaza kept the main party together by acting as a regent while the problem was solved and by his presiding over the peaceful emergence of Mhlahlo M'mbelwa Jere as the rightful successor, followed by his installation in the Henga Valley in around 1857.

JERE, ISAIAH MURRAY MOPHO, INKOSANA. A highly respected Ngoni historian, political activist, and church elder, Mopho Jere was born near Ekwendeni, Mzimba district, and educated at the local mission station. In 1928, he became a clerk in the medical department, in Zomba, where he also became secretary of the Representative Committee of the Northern Province Native a.s.sociation (RCNPNA) and as the Church of Central Africa Presbyterian's (CCAP) representative elder in Zomba of Christians from the area dominated by the Livingstonia Mission. In the 1930s, Jere also served as president of the RCNPNA. He died in April 1979.

JERE, MAKAMAKA MAXON, INKOSI M'MBELWA III (?1983). Son of Lazalo Jere, M'mbelwa II, who succeeded his father as inkosi ya makosi (king of kings) in 1960 and guided the northern Ngoni through some of the most tense years in the postcolonial history of Malawi. Following the Cabinet Crisis of 1964, he made sure that peace reigned in his domain, in spite of the number of his subjects who fell victim to President Hastings Banda's abuse of human rights. In 1970, he was appointed to the National Traditional Court, but his refusal to be on the panel hearing the case of Orton and Vera Chirwa on grounds that he was disqualified to do so because Mrs. Chirwa was his subject, displeased the government and the Malawi Congress Party (MCP).

JERE, MBALEKELWA CHIMTUNGA, INKOSI (?1924). Originally known as Mbalekelwa, Chimtunga succeeded his father, M'mbelwa I, in April 1897. Generally considered weak when compared with his father and with Mkhosi Lazalo Jere, his son, who was to succeed him, Chimtunga was the Ngoni ruler when Alfred Sharpe succeeded in bringing the northern Ngoni under British jurisdiction in 1904. In spite of this, the colonial government remained suspicious of the Ngoni, especially their fierce independent mindedness and their unity under Chimtunga. The opportunity to deal with them came at the beginning of World War I when Chimtunga refused a government request to contribute to the war effort by providing carriers and food. Hector C. Macdonald, the local government resident (later known as district commissioner), accused him of siding with the Germans and John Chilembwe. In January 1915, Chimtunga was arrested, dethroned, and exiled to Chiromo in the Lower s.h.i.+re area where he remained under detention until 1920. In the meantime, the government reduced, and then withdrew, financial a.s.sistance to Ngoni chiefs, all of whom had stood by Chimtunga. Much to their displeasure, the government then applied to their area the District Administration (Native) Ordinance of 1912, which meant that the authority of the Ngoni leader was now greatly diminished. Upon his return to Mzimba, his official t.i.tle was that of village headman, a much lesser designation than what he had held before his detention.

JERE, MHLAHLO, M'MBELWA I, INKOSI (c. 18401891). Mhlahlo, as he was known before he took the name, M'mbelwa, was the son of Zw.a.n.gendaba by his wife Munene Nzima who had become the inkosikazi (chief wife) after Soseya, mother of Mputo (Mpezeni), was disgraced because of suspicion that her family of the house of Lompetu wanted to poison her husband. Most likely born in 1840 at Mabili in the vicinity of present day Embangweni during the Ngoni journey northward, M'mbelwa was installed as the successor to his father in 1857 in the area of Ng'onga in the Henga Valley, this time during their southward movement. With him as the new leader, the main Ngoni group moved to several places, including Choma (not far from Mzuzu) and Njuyu before establis.h.i.+ng their headquarters at Edingeni in central Mzimba.

However, even before the emergence of Edingeni, M'mbelwa and his advisors began to organize the Ngoni and the conquered into six chiefdoms, each headed by a descendant of Zw.a.n.gendaba: Mtwalo, Mpherembe, Mzukuzuku, Mabilabo, Chinde, and Mzikubola. M'mbelwa remained as the paramount ruler. They expanded farther and, by the late 1870s, when the Livingstonia missionaries first established contact, their new territory was vast, covering almost all the present-day Mzimba district. It was M'mbelwa who handled the sensitive task of dealing with the missionaries and also had to tackle the more difficult diplomatic problem of fending off the colonial government's determination to establish authority over the Ngoni. By the time of his death in August 1891, the British had still not succeeded in this ambition. M'mbelwa was buried near Njuyu, and his grave site is an official national monument.

JERE, MKHOSI LAZALO, M'MBELWA II, INKOSI (18941959). Son of Chimtunga Jere, Lazalo Mkhosi was born at Mzalangwe in 1894, went to school locally, and then to Khondowe where he pa.s.sed Standard 6, then the highest educational qualification an African could attain in the colony. In 1913, he was employed as a clerk at the district commissioner's office at Mzimba and, from 1917 to 1919, was a clerk at Chiromo in the Lower s.h.i.+re. For the next nine years, he was a clerk in the Rhodesia Native Bureau office at Fort Jameson in Northern Rhodesia. On 11 May 1928, four years after the death of Chimtunga, Ngoni kingmakers installed Mkhosi Lazalo as their traditional leader, with the government t.i.tle of princ.i.p.al headman.

However, this was not enough for the northern Ngoni who, like the Maseko Ngoni in the central and southern provinces, wanted their ruler to a.s.sume the government-recognized t.i.tle of paramount chief. Charles Chinula, Mkhosi Lazalo Jere's princ.i.p.al advisor on matters concerning the colonial government, together with the Mombera Native a.s.sociation, actively campaigned for their chief's status to be changed. They got their wish for, under the Native Authority Ordinance of 1933, the government acknowledged M'mbelwa as the supreme (paramount) chief of the northern Ngoni; similarly, Gomani II became paramount chief in Ntcheu district. In fact, the two were the only traditional authorities in the colony to have this designation. At the suggestion of Rev. Andrew Mkochi and the newly formed M'mbelwa Administrative Council, Lazalo a.s.sumed the t.i.tle inkosi ya makosi (king of kings). The success of the council (193361) was largely due to the guidance and administrative abilities of M'mbelwa II.

Throughout his reign, M'mbelwa II played an active role in matters of regional and national importance. He supported actively the Mombera Native a.s.sociation of which he was president from 1929 to 1931. In 1938, he presented evidence to the Bledisloe Commission, opposing the amalgamation of the Rhodesias and Nyasaland; in 1944, he visited Nyasaland soldiers in the East African Command and, three years later, he went to Salisbury (now Harare) to meet the British monarch; in 195253, he and other chiefs traveled to England to register their opposition to the Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland. He was a founding member of the Chiefs Council and of the Supreme Council of Chiefs and Congress. Although a recipient of six medals, M'mbelwa II was a strong opponent of colonialism and always identified himself with nationalist sentiments.

JERE, MTWALO I, INKOSI (c. 18381890). Son of Zw.a.n.gendaba and brother of Mhlahlo M'mbelwa, Mtwalo was born around 1838 during the Ngoni's epic journey northward. He would be a pillar of Ngoni stability during the uncertain years before the installation of Mhlahlo as successor to Zw.a.n.gendaba, and he was a reliable advisor to the latter in the period leading to the settlement of the main party in present-day Malawi. a.s.signed the northern section of their new domain, Mtwalo's initial seat was at Ekwendeni, which was replaced by Ezondweni later. Known for his lack of enthusiasm for Christian missionary work and for his hardhearted att.i.tude toward the indigenous peoples among whom the Ngoni settled, Mtwalo died in 1890, only a year before the death of M'mbelwa.

JERE, MUHABI AMON, MTWALO II, INKOSI (c. 18731970). Son of Mtwalo I, of Zw.a.n.gendabas's Muhabi, Jere was born around 1873 at Uswesi, Ekwendeni, and succeeded his father as inkosi (chief) on 15 June 1896. When, in 1886, the Ngoni gave official sanction to Church of Scottish missionaries to embark on their work, Muhabi and his elder brother, Yohane, were among the first pupils to attend the school at Ekwendeni. He went on to Livingstonia, completed Standard 6, and trained as a teacher. Meanwhile, in 1896, he married another Christian convert, Emily Nhlane, daughter of Chipatula Nhlane; not only was he the first Ngoni chief to marry according to Christian rituals, his was also among the first such weddings at Ekwendeni Mission.

In the same year, Amon Jere succeeded his father as inkosi, taking the t.i.tle Mtwalo II. In 1903, he was suspended from the Church of Scotland for taking another wife, but he remained a Christian and later joined the Chipangano, one of the African Initiated Churches, for which he would become an evangelist. Not only did he leave the Scottish missionaries' church, he also stopped teaching and concentrated on his chiefly duties. When the Ngoni country finally came under British rule in 1904, Mtwalo, like all other Ngoni chiefs, began to receive a government stipend. Amon Jere was a founding member of the Mombera Native a.s.sociation and was its president in 192224 and in 192425. When he died on 1 April 1970, he was 97 years old, had lived in precolonial and postcolonial Malawi, and had been inkosi for 74 years. Since he had no children, he was succeeded by his grandnephew (grandson of Yohane), Baiwell Jere, who on his installation in September 1971, a.s.sumed the t.i.tle Mtwalo III.

JERE, TIFAPI, MZUKUZUKU, INKOSI (19202003). A descendant of one of the sons of Zw.a.n.gendaba, Tifapi Jere is one of the five inkosi (chief) under M'mbelwa. Educated at Loudon Mission, this chief, noted as a historian of the Ngoni and for his oratory and organizational abilities, worked as a protocol officer in the Ministry of External Affairs before retiring to his Ephangweni headquarters to concentrate on his chiefly duties. In Hastings Banda's time, Mzukuzuku was frequently the leader of the Mzimba Ingoma dancers who often entertained him and whom the president regarded as the "real warriors." Mzukuzuku was a justice in the National Traditional Courts system, which has since then been abolished. He was also a longtime member of the National Monument Commission.

JERE, Zw.a.n.gENDABA, M'MBELWA IV (1955 ). Son of Maxon and grandson of Lazalo Mkhosi Jere, Zw.a.n.gendaba Jere was educated at Edingeni Primary School and Mzuzu Secondary School before working for Press Holdings. In December 1984, he succeeded his father as head of the Ngoni in northern Malawi, a position that is much respected nationally.

JIGGERS. Known as matekenya, this sand flea was first reported in Malawi in the early 1890s and almost certainly entered the region following the trade routes linking Lake Nyasa and East Africa where they had arrived from West Africa. By 1910, jiggers had spread to nearly all parts of Malawi, causing sores and, sometimes, ulcers in the toe and foot areas where the fleas burrowed and deposited their eggs. Jiggers were greatly reduced after World War II when DDT and Gammexane were used to control them, in addition to ticks and mosquitoes. See also DISEASE.

JOHNSON, WILLIAM PERCIVAL (18541928). One of the most remarkable and devoted missionaries to work in southern Africa and considered to be the man behind the success of the Universities' Mission to Central Africa (UMCA) in the Lake Nyasa (Malawi) region, Johnson joined the Anglican mission after graduating from Oxford and left for Africa in 1880. Within a short time, illness forced him back to the Great Britain. He returned in the following year, this time with another missionary, Charles Janson, who died from malaria in February 1882. Two years later, Johnson went to England where he raised money to buy a steamer, the Charles Janson, to be used as a floating mission station for the UMCA. Although in theory stationed at Likoma, he lived on the steamer and traveled the east and southern coasts of the lake most of the year, preaching, teaching, and doing some basic medical work, despite being visually impaired. Besides learning Nyanja, he taught himself Arabic so he could read the Quran, the holy book of some of the people among whom he worked. In 1886, Johnson was joined by Chauncy Maples, who had spent 10 years working on the eastern side of the lake. In 1895, Maples, newly appointed bishop of Nyasa, died in a drowning accident. When in 1901, Johnson added another steamer to those owned by the mission, he called it the Chauncy Maples in honor of his friend. In 1967, the MV Chauncy Maples was redesigned to carry pa.s.sengers and cargo, and it joined the fleet owned and managed by Malawi Railways. It is now decommissioned, although there are efforts to repair it. Author of My African Reminiscences 18751895 (1924), Archdeacon William Johnson died in 1928.

JOHNSTON, SIR HENRY "HARRY" HAMILTON, GCMG, KCB (18581927). British consul to Mozambique (188991) and Her Majesty's commissioner and consul-general to the territories under British influence to the north of the Zambezi (189196), Johnston was singularly responsible for creating the administrative machinery of the British Protectorate established in the Lake Malawi area in 1891. Born in South London on 12 June 1858, he trained as an artist but had a wide range of serious interests, including botany, zoology, history, geography, and linguistics, and he published extensively in all these fields.

Johnston had worked as consul-general in the Oil Rivers region of Nigeria before a.s.suming his appointment as consul to Mozambique in 1889. In that year, he met Cecil Rhodes who was immediately impressed by the young Johnston. Rhodes hired him to represent his company in the Lake Malawi area, which Johnston was about to visit in his capacity as British Consul to Mozambique (see BRITISH SOUTH AFRICA COMPANY [BSAC]). On his way to Blantyre, Johnston met and employed Alfred Sharpe as his vice consul. Together with another a.s.sistant, John Nicoll, they entered into several treaties with the Kololo and Yao chiefs. When, in 1891, the Foreign Office designated the area of Malawi as a British Protectorate, Johnston was appointed commissioner and consul-general; and by that time he had gathered a staff devoted to the task of developing an administration. Within a year, he had established European-type courts of justice and several departments, including police, medical, and postal services, as well as engineering and financial units. Johnston first divided the country into four districts, but, in 1893, he reorganized it into 12 administrative units. By the next year, Johnston had an armed force consisting of 370 regulars. His commandant was Major C. A. Edwards, who was a.s.sisted by Captain William Manning. Using his army during a series of several small wars between 1891 and 1895, Johnston extended British rule and established a network of bomas.

During his 1894 administrative leave, Johnston succeeded in securing the financial takeover of the Protectorate by the British Treasury. Until that time, Rhodes paid Johnston 2,000 to begin his work in central Africa and, two years later, Rhodes and his company agreed to pay 1,000 annually to Johnston to maintain a police force. Johnston was also allowed the use of the lake steamers belonging to the African Lakes Company (ALC), a firm in which Rhodes's BSAC owned a controlling interest. In 1893, Rhodes increased his subsidy to 17,500 annually in exchange for BSAC absorption of all Crown rights to land in Malawi. This financial hold of the BSAC finally ended with an agreement with the Foreign Office (1895) wherein the Treasury a.s.sumed full financial control over the area.

The Johnston administration was much preoccupied with raising local revenue to help run the government and with working out a land policy for the Protectorate. In 189293, Johnston, a.s.sisted by Sharpe and Lt. Bertram Sclater of the Royal Engineers, reviewed every land and mineral claim for authenticity and proper compensation. Funds to finance the new administration included those internally raised, such as postal fees, import duties, license fees, stamp duties, and hut taxes. The latter tax, of three s.h.i.+llings per year, was first imposed in the southern region but, by 1896, it was imposed in all districts of Malawi where British rule obtained.

Johnston was not always popular with the European missionaries, planters, and merchants who had preceded the British administration. Traders and planters, unaccustomed to any government regulations for years, objected to paying taxes and to the enforcement of laws. With the exception of Dr. Robert Laws, for whom he had great respect, Johnston disliked most missionaries. Missions, too, had enjoyed exercising "governmental" powers for several years, but now British rule had made them subordinate to Commissioner Johnston. Johnston left the British Protectorate in 1896. A prolific writer and fine naturalist, he ill.u.s.trated his encyclopedic British Central Africa published in 1897. Previously, during his 1894 leave in England, he had produced a Blue Book detailing the first three years of his administration. In 1923, he published his autobiography, The Story of My Life, and it was one of the 14 books that he wrote. Johnston died on 31 August 1927.

JONES, ARTHUR CREECH (18911964). Founder of the Fabian Bureau, Jones was the Labour Party's colonial secretary in the postWorld War II era. In 1948, he met with his friend, Hastings K. Banda, who was practicing medicine in England, and with a deputation of the Nyasaland African Congress (NAC). As a result of that meeting, construction funds were made available for the Dedza Secondary School and Domasi Teacher's College. Meanwhile, Creech-Jones a.s.sured Malawians that they would not be transferred into any a.s.sociation or federation. Those promises were not maintained by James Giffiths, who in 1950 succeeded him as secretary for the colonies.

JONES, SIR GLYN SMALLWOOD, GCMG, MBE (19081992). Formerly senior servant in Northern Rhodesia, Jones served as chief secretary to the Nyasaland government (196061), governor (196164), and governor general (196466). Jones and Hastings K. Banda established a good working relations.h.i.+p after the release of Malawi Congress Party (MCP) members, including Banda himself, detained in prison during Operation Sunrise in 1959. In July 1964, Glyn Jones became governor general and, during the Cabinet Crisis of 1964, he advised Prime Minister Banda on how to solve the rift instead of resigning from office; he also advised Banda to seek a parliamentary vote of confidence, which he was duly given. In 1965, Glyn Jones demanded that more humane treatment be given to political prisoners detained by Banda as a consequence of the Cabinet Crisis. On his retirement from colonial service in 1966, Sir Glyn Jones worked for the Malawi

Historical Dictionary of Malawi Part 9

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