Daniel Sharpe Malekebu (March 1, 1889 – October 8, 1978) was a doctor, Baptist missionary, and anti-colonial activist native to Nyasaland (modern Malawi). Malekebu was one of the first students of the Providence Industrial Mission founded by anti-colonial activist John Chilembwe. At the young age of fifteen, Malekebu ran away from home to seek higher education in the United States. He graduated from Meharry Medical College in 1917, becoming the first Malawian person to receive a medical degree.
In 1926, as a missionary with the National Baptist Convention's Foreign Mission Board, he reopened the Providence Industrial Mission for the first time since the 1915 Chilembwe uprising had caused the colonial government to shut it down. In 1929, Malekebu established the Chiradzulu District Native Association, a political forum for the native leaders of Chiradzulu to protest colonial policies. In 1945, Malekebu founded and served as President of the National Baptist Assembly of Africa, a unified organization of Baptist officials from Nyasaland, Mozambique, Northern Rhodesia (modern Zambia), Southern Rhodesia (modern Zimbabwe), and South Africa. By 1950, Malekebu's Providence Industrial Mission had become "the most powerful Christian body in Africa," with over 18,000 members and over 300 churches. In 1967, the city of Nashville, Tennessee held a service to honor Malekebu's fifty years of "service to humanity." In recognition of his important contributions, he received a ceremonial Key to the City of Nashville, the Tennessee Governor's Award for outstanding service, and a Special Letter of Commendation from the White House.
Early life
1889–1905: Childhood in Nyasaland On March 1, 1889, Daniel Sharpe Malekebu was born in the village of Chiradzulu, located in the Blantyre District of Nyasaland (modern Malawi). He was born to Lisoka Chambo and Malika Malekebu, a powerful Yao chief.Lisoka Chambo. Ancestry LibraryMalika Malekebu. Ancestry Library After John Chilembwe founded the Providence Industrial Mission in 1900, Malekebu became one of the mission's first students and converts. Malekebu's teacher at the mission school was Emma Beard Delaney, an African American missionary with the National Baptist Convention's Foreign Mission Board. During Malekebu's time at the school, Delaney informally adopted him as her houseboy and interpreter.
1905–1921: Education in the United States After Delaney returned to the United States in 1905, Malekebu decided to follow her against the will of his parents with hopes to seek a higher education. He ran away from home and walked about 400 miles to the port city of Beira, Mozambique. There, he found a job as a cabin boy on the S.S. Matebele and travelled to London, United Kingdom. From London, he found a job on the S.S. Saint Paul and travelled to the United States. He finally arrived at Ellis Island, New York on August 19, 1905. Within the next several days, he took a train to Columbus, Ohio, where he and Delaney had arranged to meet. Delaney took him back to her home in Fernandina Beach, Florida, where he stayed for the following months.
In 1906, Malekebu started his undergraduate studies at Selma University in Selma, Alabama. In 1910, he transferred to the National Training School in Durham, North Carolina, where he completed his undergraduate studies in 1913. In 1913, Malekebu began a lecture series at churches throughout the Midwest in which he rallied support for African missionary work, often educating people about African culture and history in the process. From 1913 to 1917, Malekebu studied medicine at Meharry Medical College in Nashville, Tennessee, making him the first Malawian person to graduate from medical school. From 1917 to 1918, he studied Tropical Medicine and lectured for the Anthropology Department at the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. During his time in Philadelphia, he also accepted a merit position as the chief resident physician at the Mudgett Hospital and Training School for Nurses. From 1918 to 1919, Malekebu studied theology at the Moody Bible Institute and served as an assistant minister at the Olivet Baptist Church in Chicago, Illinois.
On March 26, 1919, Malekebu married Flora Ethelwyn Zeto.Flora Ethelwyn G. Zeto. Ancestry Library. Zeto, an immigrant from the Congo Free State (modern Democratic Republic of the Congo), was the adopted daughter of African American missionary Clara Ann Howard and a graduate of Spelman College in Atlanta, Georgia. From 1919 to 1921, Malekebu and Zeto travelled throughout the South, continuing Malekebu's popular lecture series.
Career
1921–1926: Return to Africa In the aftermath of the 1915 Chilembwe uprising, the colonial government shut the Providence Industrial Mission down. The Mission's central church was demolished, and most of its leaders were either executed or imprisoned. On March 16, 1921, Malekebu and Zeto returned to Nyasaland as missionaries with the Lott Carey Foreign Mission Convention, with plans to reopen the Providence Industrial Mission. But the government detained the couple upon arrival and ordered them to leave the country, enforcing a 1920 policy which inhibited American-educated Africans from returning home. In a 1962 letter to Hastings Banda, Malekebu recalled that he was not permitted to enter because the government believed he would become "another John Chilembwe."
Malekebu and Zeto travelled from Nyasaland to Cape Town, South Africa, where Malekebu served the Shiloh Baptist Church as a minister. In 1922, the Lott Carey Convention placed the couple in Liberia, where Malekebu became a teacher at a mission school called the Ricks Institute. In 1924, Malekebu and Zeto arranged new contracts with the National Baptist Convention Foreign Mission Board. After some correspondence between the National Baptist Convention and the government of Nyasaland, the government finally concluded that Malekebu was "politically harmless" and approved his plans of reopening the Providence Industrial Mission. On February 3, 1926, Malekebu and Zeto were welcomed back to Nyasaland with a "cordial" reception from civilians and government officials alike. They reopened the Providence Industrial Mission under "strict" instructions from the National Baptist Convention to "avoid political involvement".
1926–1938: The Providence Industrial Mission Upon its reopening, Malekebu became the new Chairman of the Providence Industrial Mission (PIM). With the help of generous donations from African American churches, the PIM made rapid progress under Malekebu's leadership. By October 1926, the PIM had established congregations at Chiradzulu, Mulanje, Magamero, and Angonia. By July 1927, the PIM consisted of one main station (the Providence Station) at Chiradzulu, and seven outstations located throughout Nyasaland and Mozambique. It "transcended tribal boundaries", serving over 1200 members from a diverse range of tribes.
In line with Malekebu's own expertise, the PIM took primary interest in education and medicine. On November 28, 1926, the PIM opened a school at the Providence Station in Chiradzulu to teach students English and arithmetic. By October 1927, the PIM school served a student body of over 400 students, including 138 residential students. The school had an average attendance rate of 80%, which was significantly higher than the nationwide average of 68%. Within its first year of operation, the school qualified for a government grant, signifying the government's official recognition of the school. Next to this school, the PIM established the James E. East Memorial Hospital, a small hospital with a capacity of sixteen beds.
The PIM also offered a wide range of other social services. Upon the requests of local chiefs, the PIM supervised the construction of new schools, dormitories, clinics, churches, roads, and bridges. Moreover, the PIM organized several agricultural projects. The PIM itself was home to a "thriving" garden containing over six acres of maize, sweet potatoes, cassava, and beans. Finally, the PIM created new markets in several villages to promote the trade of local goods. One village chief commented on the PIM's contributions, "Dr. Malekebu has done great work in this country, but the greatest of his work is in the making of a market."
In 1929, the PIM started the reconstruction of its central church, the New Jerusalem Baptist Church. After four years of work, the new church was finally completed and became a symbol of the PIM's revival. Malekebu spoke of the church, "What makes it great, is when we think it was conceived, planned, by Africans; built by Africans." At about this time, the PIM started expanding its work to the broader Southern African region. In 1933, the PIM began holding services in Northern and Southern Rhodesia.< A year later, it started holding services in South Africa. The PIM continued to expand with outposts throughout Southern Africa in the late 1930s, despite mounting financial constraints due to the Great Depression.
Throughout the 1930s, as Malekebu and Zeto both experienced "bouts of ill health", they sent multiple letters to their Foreign Mission Board requesting assistance and permission to take medical leave. Yet the Board denied their requests for years, presumably due to financial concerns. The Board finally recalled the couple to the United States in the spring of 1938, by which point Zeto had already grown seriously ill.
1929–1934: The Chiradzulu District Native Association In line with the growing trend of native associations springing up throughout Africa, Malekebu inaugurated the Chiradzulu District Native Association (CDNA) in 1929 and became a member of its executive board. Just like other native associations across the continent, the CDNA became a political forum for native leaders to protest government policies. The CDNA's stated goals were to represent the natives of Chiradzulu in political affairs, to educate native people about existing and proposed government policies, and to hold public meetings to discuss issues of public interest. As such, the CDNA claimed to be the "rightful representative" of the people of Chiradzulu. The first meeting of the CDNA saw the attendance of over 400 Chiradzulu residents.
Native associations were required to allow the presence of government officials at their meetings, which limited the scope of the CDNA to relatively "moderate", lawful protests. Nevertheless, the CDNA managed to address some of the most pressing issues in Nyasaland at the time, including the new system of indirect rule, the collapse of local tobacco prices, land alienation and exploitation of tenant farmers under the thangata system, and the taxation of children which forced many underage girls to resort to child marriage. As a result of his leadership in the CDNA, Malekebu was appointed as a member of the Chiradzulu District Council in the early 1930s. District Councils were the only recognized links between native associations and state governments, meaning that all recommendations from native associations were required to pass through their local District Councils before reaching their state governments. Thus, Malekebu's appointment to his local District Council significantly increased his political influence.
While the CDNA found limited success with its recommendations to the government, it represented an important challenge to colonial rule. Furthermore, the CDNA succeeded in strengthening the relationships between native leaders throughout Nyasaland. In fact, the CDNA collaborated closely with fellow native associations throughout Nyasaland, even planning for eventual unification into a single organization. After five years of operation, the CDNA disintegrated in 1934 due to new government restrictions.
1938–1950: The National Baptist Assembly of Africa