John Chilembwe

Who was John Chilembwe?

Reverend John Chilembwe was a Baptist pastor and educator, who trained as a minister in the United States, returning to Nyasaland in 1901. He was an early figure in the resistance to colonialism, in Nyasaland, opposing both the treatment of Africans working in agriculture on European-owned plantations and the colonial government's failure to promote the social and political advancement of Africans. Soon after the outbreak of the First World War, Chilembwe organised an unsuccessful uprising against colonial rule. Today, Chilembwe is celebrated as a hero for independence, and John Chilembwe Day is observed annually on January 15 in Malawi.