James Ralph Nthinda Chinyama

James Ralph Nthinda Chinyama
President of the Nyasaland African Congress
In office
August 1950 – December 1953
Preceded by Charles Matinga
Succeeded by James Frederick Sangala
Personal details
Nationality Malawian

James Ralph Nthinda Chinyama was a leading member of the Nyasaland African Congress (NAC) during the period of British colonial rule in Nyasaland, which became the independent state of Malawi in 1964.

Early years

Chinyami was the son of Filipo Chinyama, who had been executed for leading the Ntcheu arm of the 1915 uprising led by John Chilembwe. He became an independent tobacco grower and businessman in the Lilongwe District of the Central Province.[1] In 1927, Chinyama helped George Simon Mwase to found the Central Province Native Association.[2] By 1933, Chinyami was leader of the Native Association of Lilongwe, which had been formed to represent the views of the indigenous people of the area to the colonial administration.[3] In 1950, Chinyama was President of the African Farmers Association, which represented the interests of the most prosperous farm owners.[4]

NAC President

The Nyasaland African Congress, an umbrella organization for Native Associations launched in 1943, had been struggling due to a dispute with the President, Charles Matinga. In January 1950, Matinga was expelled due to suspected misuse of funds.[5] Chinyama was elected President of the NAC at a meeting in Mzimba in August 1950. James Frederick Sangala was elected Vice-President. Chinyama's election marked a turning point in the composition of the Congress, with prosperous farmers and small businessmen taking the place of the civil servants, clergy and teachers who until then had led the movement.[5] After the meeting, Chinyami organized a tour of the Central and Southern provinces to publicize the Congress.[1]

In a meeting in London in April and May 1952, the British formed a plan to combine Nyasaland with Southern Rhodesia and Northern Rhodesia to form the Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland. Chinyama and other Africans were invited to attend, but only as observers. They declined the offer.[6] In 1953 the new federation came into being. It was deeply unpopular with NAC members, who saw it as a betrayal of the compact under which the Colonial Office would place the interests of Africans first in Nyasaland. Some of the younger members of the Congress called for radical protests. Chinyama, perhaps remembering the Chilembwe rising of 1915 which had led to his father's death, held back. Rioting and non-cooperation was ruthlessly suppressed, with an official death toll of eleven.[7] Chinyama publicly condemned the riots, not wanting the NAC to be associated with them.[8] Chinyama resigned from his position and was replaced by James Sangala in January 1954.[9]

Later years

In 1956 under a new constitution the Legislative Council was to consist of eleven officials and eleven non-officials. Of the non-officials, five were Africans chosen by the three Provincial Councils. Chinyama was one of those chosen.[10] In 1959, Hastings Banda had assumed the leadership of the Congress and was making populist speeches around the country that were to lead to his arrest later in the year. Chinyama was considered by this time to be a "quisling" for having cooperated with the colonial government.[11] By September 1960, with elections being organized under universal suffrage as a step towards independence, Chinyama had passed into political oblivion.[12]

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 Power 2010, pp. 57.
  2. ↑ Hill & Garvey 2006, pp. lxviii.
  3. ↑ Rotberg 1965, pp. 123.
  4. ↑ L'Hoiry 1988, pp. 106.
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 Ross 2009, pp. 69.
  6. ↑ Baker 1994, pp. 294.
  7. ↑ Power 2010, pp. 76-77.
  8. ↑ L'Hoiry 1988, pp. 108.
  9. ↑ L'Hoiry 1988, pp. 109.
  10. ↑ Baker 2006, pp. 14.
  11. ↑ Murphy 2005, pp. 14.
  12. ↑ Baker 2001, pp. 14.

Sources