Leadership in Times of Political Tension (Part 2)

On 21st February, 1974, Reverends KJ Mgawi and YA Chienda, Moderator and General Secretary of Nkhoma Synod, respectively, were summoned to meet the President, Dr Kamuzu Banda in Zomba. The Regional Ministers for the North and the Centre, Mr Chibambo and Mr Kumbweza Banda, respectively, had also been called to the meeting. Another person attending that meeting was Rev Kauta Msiska, the Principal of the Nkhoma Theological College.

The matter for which they had been summoned was that Mr Chibambo had received two letters from Rev Kauta, which were accusatory of Reverends Burger and Steytler, South African missionaries working in the Nkhoma Synod, and alleging that Nkhoma Synod was refusing to move the Theological College to Zomba.

Regarding the alleged refusal by Nkhoma Synod to move the Theological College to the university town of Zomba, Kamuzu said he fully understood such misgivings, as he had himself witnessed the difficulties of trying to annex a theological college to an American university (Brown, 2007). He, therefore, referred the matter back for further consultation. During the meeting, Rev Mgawi and Rev Chienda expressed their surprise that such a matter was reported to political leaders and not the Theological Board.

On their return to Nkhoma, Reverends Mgawi and Chienda requested an extra-ordinary meeting of the General Synod Theological Board, where Nkhoma Synod was to sate clearly that they had no problems moving to Zomba, and that they were already engaged in fundraising activities for purposes of implementing the move.

On 4th March, 1974, the Nkhoma Synod duo, Rev Mgawi and Rev Chienda were summoned to the Malawi Congress Party Headquarters to appear in the office of the Administrative Secretary, Mr Albert Muwalo Nqumayo. The general secretaries and moderators of Blantyre and Livingstonia syonds had also been asked to come. In attendance were all the three regional ministers and other party functionaries. Also present at that meeting were Rev Kauta Msiska and two students from the Theological College.

The two students had reported to the party that Rev Kauta had taken offence at their wearing of lapel badges depicting the face of Dr Kamuzu Banda. The hearing found Rev Kauta guilty of having commited a 'serious' offence. Brown (2007) reports that Rev Kauta actually admitted having made a mistake. He was accordingly ordered to lay down his post as Principal of the Theological College, and he left Nkhoma on 6th March, 1974.

Later the same year, the all-powerful Malawi Congress Party expelled from the party Mr Alison Reuben Nyanda, who was then Education Sectretary of the Synod, on allegations of double dealing within the party. The directive also came from the office of the Administrative Secretary, Albert Muwalo Nqumayo. Consequently, Mr Nyanda had to relinquish his post and he went to live at his home near Lumbadzi.

In 1975, two more South African missionaries, namely Reverends C Burger and P Botha were deported from Malawi. The issue at hand was that Rev Botha had began to carry out missionary work in Mozambique, operating from Dedza. He once organised a truck load of maize to feed some Mozambicans who were threatened with hunger. While in Mozambique, he came across an NGO team on a fact finding mission, who asked him if there was famine in Mozambique and he said there was. This displeased the Frelimo government, who denied the existence of famine anywhere in Mozambique. They (the Frelimo government) went ahead to launch an official complaint to the Malawi Government. This led to the immediate deportation of Rev Botha and, by association, Rev Burger, whom the government found out to be Rev Botha's immediate superior, being the Liason Officer between the Nkhoma Synod and the Mission office of the Dutch Reformed Church in South Africa..

Rev Chienda intervened by launching an appeal to His Excellency, Dr Kamuzu Banda for the matter to be reviewed. Although no immediate results were forthcoming, Kamuzu did allow the return of Rev Burger in 1983.