James Frederick Sangala

Who is James Frederick Sangala?

James Frederick Sangala was a founding member of the Nyasaland African Congress during the period of British colonial rule. Sangala was given the nickname "Pyagusi", which means "one who perseveres".

Sangala was born in a village in the highlands of what is now southern Malawi around 1900, a few years after the British had established the British Central Africa Protectorate. He received sufficient education to find work first as a primary school teacher, then as a clerk in various commercial enterprises. From 1930 until the early 1950s he held clerical positions in the colonial administration. He then retired to earn his living with a brick-making business.

In the 1930s, Sangala became a leader of the Native Association movement in Nyasaland, encouraging the formation of local representative groups. In 1943 he was a founder and the acting secretary of the Nyasaland African Congress, which sought to give a unified voice to the local associations and to press for greater rights for Africans. From 1954 to 1956 he was president of the Congress, but was persuaded to resign to make way for more radical members who were seeking full independence. Despite his moderate stand, Sangala was arrested for his activities more than once in the 1950s. Renamed the Malawi Congress Party, the NAC was to win all the seats in the 1961 Nyasaland elections, and to lead the country to self-governance in 1963 and full independence as the state of Malawi in 1964.