Christians Flee Cruel Persecution in Malawi

THOUSANDS of Christian men, women and children have fled the East African country of Malawi in recent weeks.

Nearly 11,600 flooded into neighboring Mozambique. A dispatch from Zambia to the London Daily Telegraph reported 8,925 had sought refuge in Zambia by the middle of October, with more continuing to arrive daily. Some had walked as much as 350 miles with only the possessions they could carry. The Times of Zambia said the country was faced with a “refugee crisis.” Still others had fled to Rhodesia.

Why this mass exodus of Christians from Malawi?

Confirmed reports by thousands of eye-witnesses gave a horrifying account of brutal persecution in that land, one seldom equaled in modern history. Among the thousands now living in the hastily constructed refugee camps, many showed the effects of vicious beatings and torture.

The United Nations High Commission for refugees sent representative Dr. Hugo Idoyaga to the Zambia-Malawi border. He reported “that many of the refugees bore cuts and gashes apparently inflicted by pangas, the huge knives common to East Africa.”​—New York Times, October 22, 1972.

All these refugees were Jehovah’s witnesses. They formed the vast majority of some 23,000 African witnesses of Jehovah for whom Malawi had been home.

Suffering was not new to many of them. In 1967 an earlier wave of persecution had brought them intense hardships. Thousands of their homes, stores and places of worship were destroyed and looted, a number of the Witnesses were murdered, hundreds of their women were raped, some repeatedly. Their Christian activity, their Bible literature and meetings for worship were all placed under official ban.

Now, five years later, savage persecution has raged on an even larger scale than before. A countrywide effort has been made to destroy Jehovah’s witnesses as a united Christian group in Malawi, depriving them of all employment and the very means of feeding and housing themselves. Estimates of those killed run from ten known dead to as high as sixty.

Incredible as this may seem in this twentieth century, it is true. Read for yourself the eyewitness accounts of the sickening violence that has been taking place in Malawi. Then, consider whether this aggression can possibly be justified or not. We believe you will agree that a tragic crime against humanity has been committed there, one that cries for quick relief.

A Shocking Record of Inhumanity

DECENT people both inside and outside Malawi have been shocked by the deeds committed in that land against a defenseless minority.

The violence began on a small scale in mid-1972. It reached massive proportions in autumn. At that time a spirit of mob violence was whipped up following the annual convention of the Malawi Congress Party, the country’s sole political party. The convention closed with three strongly worded resolutions attacking Jehovah’s witnesses. From July onward members of the party’s militant Youth League and its Young Pioneers movement had taken the lead in victimizing Jehovah’s witnesses and they now waged a virtual war against them. They organized themselves into bands, ranging from a dozen or so on up to as many as a hundred. They then went from village to village, armed with sticks, knobkerries, pangas and axes, searching out and attacking Jehovah’s witnesses and their properties.

As columnist Guy Wright of the San Francisco Examiner (October 17, 1972) observed, it was “a very one-sided war, pitting force against faith.” Yet faith actually proved the stronger, as Witness after Witness demonstrated that his or her faith could not be broken by brutality.

Here are but a few of the hundreds of eyewitness reports of the atrocities that took place:

● Typical of what went on in the villages is this report by David Banda of Kaluzi Village, Lilongwe: “It was on the 23rd of September that Mr. Gideon Banda, a minister of parliament, came to address a public meeting. I could hear most of what was said through loudspeakers as my house was just a few yards from the meeting place. Mr. Banda started off by relating to the meeting what was discussed at the party’s annual meeting. Then he went on to discuss the question of Jehovah’s witnesses. I heard him tell the meeting that the annual convention had resolved to deal with Jehovah’s witnesses ruthlessly because of their refusal to buy party cards.

“In the evening of September 25, Brother Swila came to tell me that he had seen groups of youths coming together. We immediately alerted the brothers, but before we could do anything the youths started their attacks, breaking window panels and doors of our houses and then beating up the brothers. We were all scattered so that we did not know what actually had happened to each one of us and it was getting quite dark. I went into hiding myself and then early in the morning I went to the police to report the matter. Instead of listening to my complaint, the police turned me away. While still at the police station I saw groups of brothers and sisters from other congregations coming to report similar incidents. The police told them to go back to their respective villages.”

However, the Witnesses refused to return without protection, going instead to the marketplace. David Banda relates what happened there:

“When the youths heard that the Witnesses had gone to the marketplace they went there and started beating up the brothers and sisters with sticks and fists and kicking them all over. The police did nothing to stop the attacks. Then violence filled the whole town of Lilongwe. However, the brothers managed to escape until finally we fled to Zambia.”

● Evans Noah of Mwalumo Village relates: “On September 18, 1972, I went to visit one of the brothers. We saw a car approaching and I recognized the driver as Mr. Gamphani, a member of the Malawi parliament. There were two young men with him. It seemed he was looking for me because as soon as they approached I heard one say, ‘Here he is.’ The car stopped and I was ordered by Mr. Gamphani to jump in. Then he drove to the police station. After asking me why I did not possess a political card, he had the police lock me up in detention and they kept me there for seven days. I was given neither food nor water during all those seven days.

“When the police saw I was getting physically weak they began mocking me by asking me to turn grass into food. Finally, when they saw that all their efforts to get me to buy a political card were fruitless, they released me, ordering me to find my own means for getting home. Despite the fact that I was weak due to not having food, I walked a distance of twenty-two miles and arrived home safely.”

Yet, not long thereafter Evans Noah and ten other Witnesses were forced to flee their village and leave Malawi.

● In the area of Blantyre, Malawi’s major city, Richadi Nyasulu, Greyson Kapininga and others of Jehovah’s witnesses were taken to the headquarters of the Southern Region of the Malawi Congress Party (M.C.P.). They were asked why they had not bought political membership cards. Upon replying that they were completely nonpolitical because of their Bible beliefs, the Witnesses were turned over to some sixteen Young Pioneers and members of the Youth League. These took turns beating each Witness. When they still refused to buy political cards, the youths rubbed a mixture of salt and hot red pepper into their eyes. Some were beaten on their back and buttocks with a plank of wood with nails in it. When any showed signs of pain, their attackers beat harder, saying: “Let your God come and save you.” In addition, they broke a bottle and used the broken edge to ‘shave’ some Witness men. On September 22 Jasteni Mukhuna of the Blantyre area was beaten till his arm was broken.

● At Cape Maclear, at the southern end of Lake Malawi, Witness Zelphat Mbaiko was covered with bundles of grass tied around him. Petrol was poured on the grass and set afire. He died as a result of the burns.

None Spared

The savagery of the attackers was such that no Witness was spared because of age or sex. Not all escaped from Lilongwe, as for example, one Witness woman, Mrs. Magola. Being pregnant and heavy with child, she could not run fast. Members of the M.C.P. caught her and battered her to death by the marketplace in the sight of many townspeople, not one coming to her aid. When a police officer was asked why he did not intervene, his reply was that ‘the power of the police had been taken away.’

● In the Ntonda area, south of Blantyre, Smith Bvalani, his elderly mother and others of Jehovah’s witnesses, both men and women, were beaten by members of the Youth League until they lay unconscious on the ground. One of the Youth League members, searching their pockets, found money on one Witness. He then used the money to buy political cards for each of them, writing their names on the cards and throwing these on the ground near the unconscious Witnesses. The Youth League now said that the Witnesses had given in and compromised their faith. When Smith Bvalani’s mother regained consciousness and saw the card she told them that she would not accept it even if it meant her death. They then beat her into unconsciousness again.

● Seventy-three-year-old Israel Phiri of Khwele Village, Mchinji, relates: “During the month of July 1972 we heard a rumor that the Malawi Congress Party was planning to launch a card-checking campaign throughout the country. Realizing that this would mean trouble for Jehovah’s witnesses, we decided to leave the village and go into hiding in the bush. We were thirty Witnesses all together. We stayed two months in the bush. However, suddenly, on October 5, we found ourselves surrounded by a large group of youths. They were all strange faces to me.

“As I tried to walk away, some of them got hold of me and began beating me with sticks and kicking me all over my body. It was impossible for me to see what was happening to the other brothers. Finally they left me lying unconscious on the ground. After regaining consciousness I tried to look for the other brothers but did not find them. I decided to leave Malawi for Zambia. Despite the fact that my whole body was swollen and my eyes were full of blood, with Jehovah’s help I managed to walk many miles to get to Thamanda hospital in Zambia.”

● Southeast of Blantyre, at Kavunje Village, all the Witnesses, men and women, were badly beaten and forced to walk naked on the road. One of their children died from the beating given him. In the northern region of Malawi, at Nkhotakota, a Witness woman, pregnant, was stripped of her clothing and badly beaten. The local leader of the M.C.P. told small children to kick her in the stomach, his purpose being to try to cause a miscarriage.

Sickening Sex Attacks

Sexual attacks on women of Jehovah’s witnesses were too numerous as well as too repugnant to set out here in full. Typical were these:

● Seventeen-year-old Rahabu Noah of Mtontho Village, Kasungu, relates: “On September 26, 1972, we received word that the youths were going from village to village attacking Jehovah’s witnesses physically and destroying their houses and property. The brothers suggested that we should go and hide ourselves in the bush and then at night take flight to Zambia. We were five sisters and three brothers. We left the village all right but, as we were going in a small path, we met a group of about twenty. They began asking for cards. None of us could produce one and so they started beating us with sticks and hitting us with fists. Next they stripped all of us naked and then continued to beat us. A group of about ten youths pushed me aside and carried me away from the others. While some were holding my hands and legs the others were raping me. I saw eight of them taking turns in raping me one after another. There was no one with a familiar face in their group. After beating us up savagely they left us. Later on I learned that the other four sisters in our group were also raped.”

● Funasi Kachipandi of Nyankhu Village, Lilongwe, gives her experience: “On October 1, 1972, after hearing reports of attacks on Jehovah’s witnesses, I decided to run away and cross over to Zambia. I left immediately along with my nineteen-year-old daughter, Dailes Kachipandi. However, it didn’t take long before we were captured by a group of unknown youths. They demanded party cards, which we could not produce. They turned us back and took us to their office near Chileka market. In my presence five youths took turns in raping my daughter. Then one of them grabbed me and pushed me to the ground. I tried to plead with him not to try and rape me as I was in my ninth month of pregnancy and I was so weak, but he could not show any human kindness. He raped me, doing so in the presence of my daughter. Then they left us. I reported these matters to the police. They took statements but did nothing. The following morning I gave birth to a child and then left the same day for Zambia, resting from time to time until we reached Zambia.”

In many other cases the names of the attackers were known to the victims. Some held official positions in the Malawi Congress Party.

● At Kamphinga Village, Matilina Chitsulo of Gwizi Village was raped by party branch chairman Kachigongo. At Mkombe Village, on October 2, 1972, Velenika Hositeni was kept in a room of the office of the M.C.P. for an entire night by the local party chairman and the party secretary, and both raped her. Seven men raped another Witness named Nezelia at the same office. Upon escaping to Zambia both women were hospitalized at Misale due to the physical abuse they had undergone.

We repeat: These incidents are not the exception. They are but a few of the hundreds of cases on file.

Yet there was another feature to the countrywide attack made on the Witnesses, one that made it of even more serious consequence than the persecution they had suffered beginning back in 1967.

Resolved: ‘Let These People Be Cast Out of Human Society!’

THAT is essentially what the 1972 Malawi Congress Party’s Annual Convention resolved regarding Jehovah’s witnesses in that land.

Meeting in the capital, Zomba, at the Catholic Secondary School, the party delegates on September 16 adopted a series of resolutions. We here quote from the MANA Daily Digest, issued by the Malawi government’s Ministry of Information and Broadcast, dated September 18, 1972. Page 17 shows that the party delegates went on record as having:

“(a) Deplored the fact that certain fanatical religious sects which operated like the banned Jehova[h]’s Witnesses sect, hindered both the political and economic development in the country.

“(b) Resolved that all the members of these fanatical religious sects employed in commerce and industry should be dismissed forthwith, and that any commercial or industrial concern that does not comply with this resolution should have its license cancelled.

“(c) Resolved that all the members of these fanatical religious sects employed by the Government should be dismissed forthwith and that any member of these sects who is self-employed, either in business or farming, have his business or farming activities discouraged.

“(d) Resolved that all the members of these sects who live in the villages should be chased away from there, and appealed to the Government to give maximum possible protection to members of the party who deal with the adherents to these sects.”

In reality, the only ones affected by these resolutions were Jehovah’s witnesses. No other religious group in Malawi suffered as they did.

What, actually, were those resolutions saying? In so many words they said that Jehovah’s witnesses in Malawi should not be allowed to have gainful employment​—of any kind, anywhere. They should not even be allowed to raise food to sustain themselves. And they should be driven away from the villages. What would this leave them?

The only thing left for them would be to live as wild animals do in the forests and bush, as outcasts from human society.

But is not that just our interpretation? Are these resolutions not meant to be mere expressions of condemnation without the real intent of depriving fellow humans of the very essentials of life?

The facts show that these words were understood by those hearing them as a sentence of utter banishment on Jehovah’s witnesses, virtually a death sentence.

Consider some of the ways in which those who were “self-employed, either in business or farming,” were “discouraged” in their activities.

Malawi Businessmen Ruined

● B. Lameck Chirwa, a Malawi businessman and one of Jehovah’s witnesses, returned to Malawi from a Christian assembly in Salisbury, Rhodesia, and found his fleshly brother, Beneya, unconscious. His brother, a grocery-store owner, had been severely beaten by members of the Youth League for being a Witness. After five hours his brother revived and was taken to the hospital, where he spent three days.

But a member of the Youth League had seen Lameck aiding his brother and soon League members came to his shop in Zingwangwa. He was questioned about having a party membership card. His failure to produce one resulted in their closing up his house and his store, locking him out. They then made him go to Limbe, where he had a clothing store, operated by his wife. When she expressed the same conscientious stand as to a political card, they closed this store also. When Lameck decided to go to the Secretary-General of the Malawi Congress Party, Aleke Banda, about the closures, he found that the Youth League members had let the air out of his tires and taken his car keys. Government officials interviewed gave him absolutely no hope of any favorable action​—unless Lameck purchased a party card. His bank account, like that of all other known Witnesses, was frozen. Finally he was able to cash an insurance policy and take a plane from Malawi to Rhodesia, leaving behind buildings, furniture, stocks of clothing and store equipment, a seven-ton truck and an automobile. The total value was $121,800. He had been in business since 1959. Now all was gone.

● Another Witness and Malawi businessman, named Chinondo, operated the Modern Driving School in Malawi’s major city, Blantyre. His fleet of cars was confiscated. Later he saw them parked outside the Southern Regional Office of the M.C.P.

● William McLuckie, sixty-four years old, had lived in Malawi for nearly forty years. He owned a curio shop in Blantyre. Besides having 11 persons in his immediate employ, he regularly bought curios from 120 Malawi carvers, family heads. McLuckie estimated that from 600 to 700 persons depended on this business for income. Because of being a Witness he was taken to court and given forty-eight hours to leave the country. About a day after his expulsion his wife and three children were given twenty-four hours to leave.

● Some lost more than their businesses, however. The Rhodesian Sunday Mail of October 1, 1972, states that a “prominent Malawi businessman” was “beaten to death.” He was M. L. Chirwa, a Blantyre grocery- and bottle-store owner. Reporting the same incident, The Rhodesia Herald says: “So far no official action has been taken on the death of Mr. Chirwa.”

‘Let Them Be Dismissed Forthwith’

The resolution to drive all employed Witnesses from their jobs was equally no mere threat.

● M. R. Kalitera had worked for the post office since 1949. After twenty-three years of service he was now dismissed without pay or pension benefits.

● Witness Kadewere worked for the Ministry of Health as an inspector touring different clinics. He had been trained in the United States. On going to his home in Zomba, he found that his fields of maize (corn) were being divided up among members of the Youth League. Returning to Blantyre, he found that he had been dismissed from his employment. Witness Kadewere is the father of nine children.

● William Nsangwe passed the Intermediate Examination of the Chartered Institute for Secretaries and worked for five years at City Hall, Blantyre. When difficulties for the Witnesses began, the Town Clerk called Nsangwe to his office and questioned him. He was then interviewed by the Mayor. In both cases when efforts were made to get him to buy or accept a party card he refused on conscientious grounds. Told to ‘go and speak to his wife and mother and father about the matter,’ he replied that ‘this was a matter of his own faith, not dependent on father and mother or wife.’ He was dismissed. His wife Joy, a graduate of the University of Malawi and a schoolteacher, was also dismissed, as was fellow graduate and teacher Venencia Kabwira, a Witness.

What was true of government employees was true of those who worked for private firms.

● W. Lusangazi had worked for Mandala Motors Limited in Blantyre for over ten years. He was dismissed, as was Widdas Madona, who had worked for the same number of years for Horace Hickling Limited, Blantyre. Witness Lihoma worked for United Transport Limited for fifteen years. He, too, was dismissed.

A number of employers vigorously protested the compulsion brought on them to dismiss their Witness employees.

● A Blantyre firm of solicitors even took the matter to the President himself, seeking​—unsuccessfully—​to avoid losing two of their most trusted employees, Luwisi Kumbemba and L. D. Khokwa. (Khokwa’s wife, a schoolteacher, also lost her government post.)

● The Indian proprietor of a clothing company in Blantyre returned from a trip to find that the employee to whom he entrusted oversight of his firm in his absence had been forcibly dismissed. The employee was a Witness, Skennard Mitengo. The owner declared that he was closing the firm, Crescent Clothing Company, since he said he could not operate without this valued employee’s services. It was expected that a company owned by certain government officials, the Press Trading Limited, would take over the company.

These are but a few cases from an exhaustive list of Witnesses who were put out of work. As far as is known, no Witness in the entire country is presently employed. But the campaign did not stop here.

Fundamental Needs of Life Denied

Malawi is an agricultural country, not an industrial land. The vast majority of its people live by farming, working hereditary tracts of land from their small villages. Most of Jehovah’s witnesses in Malawi were in this situation. Like all humans they need such basics as food, water, clothing and shelter. Yet a concerted effort was made to deny them even these.

● At Supuni, Chikwawa area, all the Witnesses had their gardens taken from them and they were even prevented from drawing water at the local well. To get water they had to go to the river four miles away!

Literally thousands of homes were burned or pulled down. Just in Jali Village alone, in the Zomba area, forty houses belonging to Witnesses were destroyed by fire.

● From the far south of the country, the Chiromo area, comes this report: “In the districts of Chiromo, Bangula and Nguluwe, all the houses of the brothers and all their possessions have been destroyed by Young Pioneers. All the brothers and sisters from Chamera Village have been scattered and are in the bush. All their possessions have been destroyed.”

● From Gorden Village near Zomba: “All houses belonging to brothers and sisters pulled down. All their food and possessions taken by local Chiefs. All brothers and sisters have fled this village.”

As one report sums up the housing situation: “This is the story of many families of Jehovah’s witnesses. Women and children sleeping outside. Some of them sleep at railway stations. Some at bus stations, or wherever they can get a place where they will not be molested.”

● At a village in the Blantyre area, Witness Mazongoza, a sixty-year-old widow, was approached by members of the Youth League who asked her to buy a political card. She refused on conscientious grounds. Over a period of one week, from September 24 to September 30, they killed her chickens, one by one, and when she still refused, they killed her goats, one by one. These were her only possessions. They then threatened her own life, causing her to flee the village.

Many reports are very brief, yet, to one knowing the circumstances of Malawi, they speak volumes.

Typically they speak of ‘doors and windows (“6 panes each”) being smashed or taken.’ This may sound like a strange thing to emphasize. But in the villages of Malawi, most homes are made of mud walls and thatched roofs. If one has a door or window, this is the most valuable part of the whole structure.

Similarly report after report tells of the destruction or theft of such things as ‘3 sleeping mats, 3 blankets, 2 chairs, 1 table, 1 tablecloth, 2 neckties, 8 bags of shelled groundnuts (peanuts), 1 storehouse of unshelled groundnuts.’ Again, to those living in industrial lands this may seem like a very minor loss. But to those who lost them this may represent the entire furnishings of their small home, and the loss of the one crop they depended on to bring a little money. That ‘1 tablecloth’ may have been the one item the Witness housewife had to brighten her home.

Sometimes it was a bicycle, a radio or a sewing machine (for example, “1 hand-operated sewing machine”) taken from them. But the loss of a bicycle for them is equal to the loss of an automobile for people in other lands. Any one of these items may represent the equivalent of several months’ earnings or may have taken a year or more of farming and saving to obtain.

A report directly from the Sinda Misale camp in Zambia says of the thousands of Witness refugees there:

“Cattle, sheep, chickens, pigs and goats have all been taken away from the brothers. Large numbers have had their clothes and covering taken away from them so that what they have is just what is on their bodies. One of the sisters failed to enter the refugee camp because she was naked, stripped naked by the M.C.P. youths. Other sisters in the camp had to send her something to put on before she could enter. Practically all the brothers that have fled from Malawi have nothing that they left behind. In other words, they have no material possessions to which to return.”

Can treatment like that now documented possibly be justified? Consider the charges made against the Witnesses in Malawi and then judge for yourself.

Are They Guilty of ‘Hindering Malawi’s Development’?

SUPPOSE that it were true that Jehovah’s witnesses are a “fanatical sect” that has “hindered both the political and economic development” in Malawi, as the M.C.P.’s resolution states. Would beatings, rapings, the destruction of homes and property, ousting from all forms of employment and even murder​—would all this now be justified?

Malawi is a duly constituted republic, founded on democratic principles. It has a full body of laws for the maintenance of peace, justice and good order. It has a complete judicial system of law courts with educated, capable judges. It has an extensive police system with trained personnel.

If Jehovah’s witnesses are indeed lawbreakers, why, then, is all this governmental structure not used to handle the problem? Why are the orderly processes of legal charges, arrests, court trials or even imprisonment not used? Why should the authority and duties of mature and trained men be turned over to gangs of immature, untrained and undisciplined youths to exercise? Yes, why should any government allow anarchistic elements to perform its work for it? Does this not constitute a slight upon itself and its ability to handle the problem by constitutional and legal means?

Malawi’s Dignified Goals

The Malawi Congress Party has itself declared its concern for a high standard of conduct in the land. The Malawi Times of September 14 reported that one of the subjects stressed by delegates to the Party’s 1972 annual convention was “the importance of proper and unoffensive conduct.” The newspaper added that convention delegates “emphasized that as Malawians they should learn things in a manner which would not be regarded as ‘shameful and which would not affect the reputation of Malawi.’”

Forceful statements along these same lines are attributed to Life President Dr. H. Kamuzu Banda himself. The Malawi News of September 19 says: “Commenting on the resolution passed by the 1972 annual convention of the Malawi Congress Party His Excellency the Life President has emphasized the importance of good manners and keeping of tradition.” The paper noted that the Life President “called upon his people to revive tradition by teaching their children to respect elders and parents. He also urged teachers to teach the children manners.”

These statements in favor of right conduct are all highly commendable. They fit Life President Banda’s opening convention address in which he stressed “building the nation on moral and spiritual grounds, since this was the cornerstone on which a disciplined nation can be founded.”

The question is: How can the brutal attacks on Jehovah’s witnesses possibly be harmonized with these public statements? How can these do other than affect adversely “the reputation of Malawi”? How can such violence possibly ‘build the nation on moral and spiritual grounds’?

Who Really Hinder the Attaining of These Goals?

Jehovah’s witnesses in Malawi have worked hard to bring moral and spiritual enlightenment to their neighbors, conducting free home studies in God’s Word the Bible. They have taught thousands of Malawians to read and write. They themselves diligently seek to lead exemplary lives, with moral cleanness and with love of God and of neighbor. Surely this is no ‘hindrance’ to the good interests of Malawi, its government or its people.

But to allow youthful elements to engage in a countrywide campaign of violence​—to ravage homes, possessions and bodies of men, women and children—​how can this possibly aid in attaining those goals or work for the good of the country?

After gangs of youths have had a taste of attacking, destroying, looting and raping, what is there to guarantee that​—simply because the original group of victims has ceased to be—​these youths will now stop and return to orderly, peaceful conduct? What is there to guarantee that they will not seek new victims, even become a thorny problem for the very government in power? By not taking action to quell such violence, might not the government actually be lifting the lid off a ‘Pandora’s box of evils’?

Frequently members of the Youth League, in their attacks on Jehovah’s witnesses, have boasted, “We are the police.” Instructions from the Police Department for such youths to report to them have been ignored. This shows their disrespect for legally constituted authority.

Not the attackers, but the victims, Jehovah’s witnesses, have been the ones showing respectful recognition of constituted authority. How so? Because, as the Malawi newspapers themselves state, they consistently directed themselves to the police when attacked; they dutifully filled out the required reports and appealed for the protection that Malawian law provides. They did not attempt to take the law into their own hands.

By appealing to law authorities on the basis of legal rights, Jehovah’s witnesses simply followed the example of an earlier Christian. When about to be flogged by the very soldiers who had rescued him from an attacking mob, the apostle Paul called attention to his Roman citizenship, with the result that the flogging was canceled. (Acts 21:30-34; 22:24-29) Later, he again exercised his legal rights in making an appeal to Caesar.​—Acts 25:9-12.

Paying Back to Caesar What Is Caesar’s

Christ Jesus instructed his disciples to “pay back Caesar’s things to Caesar, but God’s things to God.” (Mark 12:17) Those attacking Jehovah’s witnesses sometimes cite these words, claiming that the Witnesses fail to keep them and therefore rightly suffer. The opposite is the truth.

Read the context of these words in the Bible. See for yourself that Jesus was discussing the paying of taxes on that occasion. Jehovah’s witnesses have an international reputation as being among the most conscientious taxpayers in every country.

Columnist Guy Wright, commenting in the San Francisco Examiner about the Malawi events, said of Jehovah’s witnesses: “You might regard them as model citizens. They pay taxes diligently, tend the sick, battle illiteracy.” Similarly, a New York Times editorial on October 22 said that the Witnesses believe that “secular laws must be obeyed, for example in paying taxes.” The tax records of any government, Malawi’s included, show this to be true. In Malawi, during the period from 1953 to 1972, Jehovah’s witnesses have even officially expelled from their congregations eighteen persons who willfully failed to pay their taxes. The Witnesses do not condone such disobedience to secular law.

The crux of the matter is that, while Jehovah’s witnesses “pay back Caesar’s things to Caesar,” they are just as careful to pay back “God’s things to God”​—not to Caesar.

A ‘Fanatical Religious Sect’?

But is it not ‘fanaticism’ to refuse to join a political party by the purchase of a membership card? Or, at least, does not one become ‘fanatical’ by holding to such a stand in the face of death?

If this is ‘fanaticism,’ then should we not class Christians of the first century as ‘fanatics’ also? In the ancient Roman Empire, the emperor as head of state required all to render sacrifice to him as a sign of allegiance. A mere pinch of incense placed on the flame of the altar was considered acceptable. What position did the early Christians take? History tells us:

“Christians refused to . . . sacrifice to the emperor’s genius​—roughly equivalent today to refusing to salute the flag or repeat the oath of allegiance. . . . Very few of the Christians recanted, although an altar with a fire burning on it was generally kept in the arena for their convenience. All a prisoner had to do was scatter a pinch of incense on the flame and he was given a Certificate of Sacrifice and turned free. It was also carefully explained to him that he was not worshiping the emperor; merely acknowledging the divine character of the emperor as head of the Roman state. Still, almost no Christians availed themselves of the chance to escape.”​—“Those About to Die,” Daniel P. Mannix, pp. 135, 137.

In the Book of Culture, by Ethel Rose Peyser, we read (p. 549):

“Rome had become gradually full of people espousing foreign cults, who on demand would swear allegiance to the divine spirit of the emperor. The Christians, however, strong in their faith, would take no such oath of loyalty. And because they did not swear allegiance to what we would to-day consider as analogous to the flag, they were considered politically dangerous.”

In modern times, it may not be a pinch of incense and the obtaining of a Certificate of Sacrifice, but, instead, a salute or the purchase of a card that is involved. Nevertheless, with Jehovah’s witnesses this is a matter of conscience and certainly they do not become ‘politically dangerous’ by such conscientiousness. Their Christian neutrality as to all political affairs is based on God’s Word, the Bible.

Separateness from the World

God’s Son said that his followers would be “no part of the world,” even as he was no part of the world, and that “on this account the world hates you.” (John 15:19) Christ Jesus abstained from mixing in the political affairs of the world. He was neither a supporter of King Herod nor was he his opposer.

Jehovah’s witnesses maintain the same strict neutrality, never meddling in political affairs. They do not share in uprisings riots, revolts or coup d’etats. They pose no threat to any constituted authority. At the same time they fix their personal hopes on God’s righteous Kingdom government by his Son and faithfully give it their full support and allegiance. This they owe to God. This they cannot give to any human ruler or government. If ordered to go contrary to God’s Word, they have no other recourse but to reply as did the apostles: “We must obey God as ruler rather than men.”​—Acts 5:29.

No Hindrance to ‘Economic Development’

Do Jehovah’s witnesses hinder Malawi’s economic development? To the contrary, they contribute to it. Those who employed them testify to their good work habits, honesty and industriousness. As the records have shown, employers have even risked the ill will of officials by pleading on behalf of Witness employees whom they had entrusted with key positions of responsibility.

As far back as February 11, 1964, a Watch Tower branch supervisor, Jerker A. Johansson, met with Dr. H. Kamuzu Banda and pointed out to him that village headmen had praised the Witnesses for being among the first to support local “self-help” projects. A fraction of those self-help projects that Jehovah’s witnesses participated in over the years included: making bricks and cutting grass for schools, building schools, houses for teachers, roads and bridges. All this was volunteer labor, without pay. In fact, the Witnesses often contributed their own money and materials.

Purchase of Political Membership Cards

The key issue focuses on one point: the refusal of Jehovah’s witnesses to purchase a membership card of the Malawi Congress Party. This, and not other charges, is the accusation continually leveled against them. This purchase of cards is not the payment of a tax. It is the obtaining of membership in a political party.

Yet the attacks on Jehovah’s witnesses for not purchasing these cards go contrary to past statements made by the Malawi Congress Party’s highest official. Consider:

In 1967, Jehovah’s witnesses in Malawi came under intense attack and were banned. On November 30, 1967, The Times of Blantyre under headlines reading, “VICIOUS SLANDER SAYS PRESIDENT,” quoted President H. Kamuzu Banda as saying: “We did not ban the Jehovah’s Witnesses because they did not belong to the Malawi Congress Party. This is a vicious propaganda against me personally and the Government in particular.”

Two years later, after the President returned from a tour of the Central Region, Jehovah’s witnesses again received wide publicity. In a front-page article, The Times of Blantyre reported: “The President said that for example, it was not the prayers of the banned sect ‘that made me say that I want people to be free to renew cards, from their own hearts, not to be forced.’”​—October 6, 1969.

Thus Malawi’s highest official went on public record as opposing the use of force in the matter of purchasing political membership cards.

Again the question is one of matching words with events and actions. If it is indeed the desire of the Life President that no one be forced to buy a political membership card, then does he not have the power and authority to put that desire into force throughout the country? Or is it the case that he has lost control of certain elements of the Malawi Congress Party that he heads? Surely it cannot be that the massive campaign of violence against Jehovah’s witnesses throughout the length and breadth of Malawi has gone unnoticed by the Life President.

He was present at the Party’s annual convention on its last day when the resolutions against Jehovah’s witnesses were adopted, triggering the wave of intense violence against them. Following that convention the Malawian press represents Life President Banda as calling Jehovah’s witnesses the “Devil’s witnesses” and as a “stupid” sect that “does not respect the Government” and “does not want to pay tax.” (The Times, September 18, 1972) Since Jehovah’s witnesses clearly do respect the government and do pay taxes, are the newspapers guilty of engaging in ‘vicious propaganda’ when they publish such inflammatory statements and attribute these to the country’s highest official?

Similarly, are members of the Youth League and Young Pioneers now engaging in ‘vicious propaganda’ when they use the issue of political membership cards as a justification for the recent attacks on the Witnesses? Are they going contrary to the expressed desire of Malawi’s highest official?

More seriously, what of the frequent presence of such Government officials as Gwanda Chakuamba Phiri, M.P., and J. Kumbweza Banda, M.P., at the scene of beatings of the Witnesses and the forcible take-over of their homes and properties? Are such officials acting contrary to the Life President’s desires by thus countenancing these acts?

Consider also the dismissal of M. R. Kalitera from his post-office position after twenty-three years of service. Whose instruction gave rise to this action? He received a letter from A. N. C. Chadzala, Postmaster General, stating:

“Following our discussion this morning in which you certified yourself to have been a member of the Jehovah’s Witnesses and that you are not prepared to buy or renew the Malawi Congress Party card, I am to interdict you from duty without pay with effect from to-day, 4th October 1972.

“2. This follows His Excellency the Life President’s instruction that any civil servant found and certified to be a member of the ex-Jehovah’s Witnesses should be dismissed if he fails to resign from his post.”

Mr. Kalitera inquired about this interdiction and received a letter from the office of the Chief Personnel Officer. Its second paragraph said:

“2. I wish to confirm what the Postmaster has already said that His Excellency the Life President gave directions that any Government employee who refuses to buy an M.C.P. Card has nothing to do with Government Service and should accordingly resign from his post. In view of your refusal I am now accordingly to accept your resignation from the Public Service with effect from 4th October, 1972.”

All others of Jehovah’s witnesses dismissed from government employ received a similar letter. Are these government officials defying the wishes of the Life President and falsifying his position when they make such statements on government stationery?

Flight from the Country

Jehovah’s witnesses had hoped that the Government of Malawi, and particularly its head of state, Life President Dr. H. Kamuzu Banda, would act to grant them legal protection. When this was not forthcoming, they were forced to flee for their lives. In this they were following the counsel of God’s Son, who said: “When they persecute you in one city, flee to another.” (Matt. 10:23) There being no other city or village in all Malawi to flee to, they were forced to flee to other lands.

But why should God allow such intense persecution to come upon any seeking to serve Him? What possible purpose can it serve?

[Picture on page 21]

Malawi’s newspapers attribute to the country’s Life President inflammatory statements about Jehovah’s witnesses

[Picture on page 22]

Witness M. R. Kalitera worked for the Post Office in Malawi from 1949 until dismissed in 1972. As you can see, he was dismissed, not because of not paying taxes, but because he would not buy a political party membership card

Why Does God Permit Such Persecution?

AT Chilomoni in the Blantyre area, attackers said to Jehovah’s witnesses: “If there is a God, let him see what is happening to Jehovah’s witnesses and let him answer them, since he sees, doesn’t he?”

At Chalunda, forty-two Witnesses were taken to the local Party head, E. Y. Zenengeya, who ordered them to be beaten by Youth League members. One of these, named Chimombo, said: “Let your God rescue you. If he exists, let him throw a bomb and kill me.”

In the face of such statements, one may wonder: ‘Just why does God permit those who worship him to suffer grave atrocities?’

Why Persecution Comes

God’s Word shows that he permits such persecution today for the same reason that he permitted his own Son to undergo indignities, suffering and death at the hand of opposers. Christ Jesus was seized, beaten, mocked and ridiculed. When he was nailed to a stake and dying, men sneered and made fun of him, saying: “Others he saved; himself he cannot save! He is King of Israel; let him now come down off the torture stake and we will believe on him. He has put his trust in God; let Him now rescue him if He wants him, for he said, ‘I am God’s Son.’” (Matt. 27:39-44) Yet God did not strike the ridiculers dead on the spot. Why not?

Because of a great issue that involves all creatures in heaven and earth. The issue is over the rightfulness of God’s Sovereign rule of the universe. The Bible shows that this has been challenged by God’s adversary. The word “adversary” in the Hebrew Scriptures is sa·tanʹ and so this chief adversary is called “Satan.” The issue he raised millenniums ago in Eden was not one of power. For, how easily the Almighty God could crush any opposition to his rule in a moment of time! (Num. 16:45) Rather, the issue raised was a moral issue. It placed in question all creatures’ devotion and loyalty to God’s rule, demonstrated by faithfulness to his laws and expressed will.​—Gen. 3:1-5; Job 1:6-12.

Jehovah God has allowed time for this universal issue to be settled. He has allowed men on earth to demonstrate whether they favor and support His rule or not. Those who love righteousness have opportunity to prove fully their faithfulness and loyalty under test.

The purpose of God’s adversary therefore is to break the faithfulness of those who do worship God. Satan gains little by causing their death when they maintain their integrity to God. Thus, God’s Son, though facing death, could say to his disciples on his last night with them: “I have conquered the world.” (John 16:33) All the efforts of his Father’s adversary to turn him aside from a course of integrity had failed. By dying faithful to God on a torture stake, Christ Jesus gave the superlative answer to Satan’s challenge, showing that no suffering was great enough to break his love for his Father or his loyalty to God’s sovereignty.

Thousands of years earlier, in the Middle East, a righteous man named Job had endured similar testing. The historical account shows that God’s adversary caused Job to lose his children and his property. The marauders who stole Job’s livestock and killed the men caring for them may have thought in their hearts that God did not care. They may have said: ‘Where is Jehovah now? If he is God, why does he not send a sword, or a fire, to kill us?’ Yet, even though God did not destroy them at that time, nevertheless, the invisible Adversary who sent them met complete defeat. How so? What defeated Satan and his agents was the fact that “in all this Job did not sin or ascribe anything improper to God.” He maintained faith in God and endured the test with integrity.​—Job 1:22.

Note that, unlike Jesus, Job was not killed during his test. He survived his troubles to see happiness and long life. Similarly, the great majority of Witnesses in Malawi have survived with their lives. Does this survival of Job and of the majority of Witnesses from Malawi mean that they are specially favored by God over those who died under persecution? Obviously not, inasmuch as Jehovah God permitted his own Son to be put to death. But the fact that some do die gives positive proof that neither death itself nor the threat of it will cause God’s true servants to disobey his Word and its righteous principles.

Just as in ancient times, so God’s servants today meet a wide variety of tests. Thereby they provide a full, complete answer to Satan’s challenge, no aspect of loyalty and endurance being left out. We read of God’s servants in the past who died under torture, “in order that they might attain a better resurrection,” while “others received their trial by mockings and scourgings, indeed, more than that, by bonds and prisons. They were stoned, they were tried, they were sawn asunder, they died by slaughter with the sword, they went about in sheepskins, in goatskins, while they were in want, in tribulation, under ill-treatment.” (Heb. 11:35-37) But they remained faithful to God and received his favor. In due time, they will reap the reward of life in God’s new order, for God is “the rewarder of those earnestly seeking him.”​—Heb. 11:6.

Some faithful women in modern times have had to endure grave indignities, inhuman treatment that is shocking, repugnant. Yet thereby further proof is given that no form of suffering​—rape included—​can break the integrity of God’s witnesses. Some brutal attacks leave physical scars; others, such as sexual attacks or seeing one’s child beaten to death, may leave mental and emotional scars.

Yet Jehovah God will wipe away all such scars under the rule of his Son’s kingdom. As with his people Israel of long ago, His promise will hold true concerning such suffering: “The former things will not be called to mind, neither will they come up into the heart.” The blessings of that righteous new order will cause all earlier sufferings to fade away as they are replaced by joys and pleasantness that are unending. (Isa. 65:17-19) Seen in retrospect, all those tests and trials will appear as the apostle Paul viewed them, as “momentary and light” in comparison with the grand and eternal reward gained.​—2 Cor. 4:17, 18.

What Else Is Accomplished

Other valuable things are accomplished by God’s allowance of persecution. One of these has to do with the persecutors themselves.

Some persecutors may be like Saul of Tarsus, who was “breathing threat and murder” against Christ’s disciples. He actually approved and shared in the murder of some, while hounding others throughout Palestine. (Acts 9:1; 7:58-8:3) Yet, when he saw matters in their true light, Saul thereafter became one of Christ’s most zealous apostles. He then proved his own faithfulness under persecution. And he was deeply grateful and thanked God for His great patience and undeserved kindness that allowed him to turn from his misguided course.​—1 Cor. 15:9, 10.

So the Christians who suffer today can rejoice that God’s patience may allow some persecutors to turn and gain eternal life in God’s new order. A]so, many other persons who observe or read about what is taking place may be enabled to see the true issue in its clarity and take their stand on God’s side.

Of course, something else is accomplished. God’s permission of persecution in time exposes those who are really his hard-set enemies and who refuse to change. Their persistence in attacking Christians even when faced with the evidence of their innocence will condemn them as knowing, willful opposers of God. It will give God full justification for judging them worthy of destruction when he brings this earth-wide unrighteous, violent system of things soon to its end.​—2 Thess. 1:6-9.

Long ago the apostle Peter wrote fellow Christians: “Beloved ones, do not be puzzled at the burning among you, which is happening to you for a trial, as though a strange thing were befalling you.” (1 Pet. 4:12) Jehovah’s witnesses today, in Malawi and elsewhere in the world, are not puzzled at what is happening. They know why persecution is being allowed by God. And they are confident of the final results, to God’s honor and to their own everlasting blessing.

What Jehovah’s Witnesses Will Do and What You Can Do

JEHOVAH’S WITNESSES in Malawi, as in other lands, have a clear conscience. They have done nothing against man or government. And by their course of loyal integrity toward God’s laws they have not offended God. They can join the apostle Paul in saying: “I am exercising myself continually to have a consciousness of committing no offense against God and men.”​—Acts 24:16.

Jehovah’s witnesses have no intention of stopping their loyalty to God. They will keep right on doing what his Word instructs. And as true followers of Christ Jesus, they will continue to be submissive to the “superior authorities” in whatever land they reside. (Rom. 13:1) They will not attempt to take the law into their own hands to retaliate against those persecuting them. God’s Son did not do that. Of him, the apostle Peter writes: “Christ suffered for you, leaving you a model for you to follow his steps closely. He committed no sin, nor was deception found in his mouth. When he was being reviled, he did not go reviling in return. When he was suffering, he did not go threatening, but kept on committing himself to the one who judges righteously.”​—1 Pet. 2:21-23.

To resort to threats, attempts at bringing political or economic pressures, or stirring up violence against opposers, would only cause Jehovah’s witnesses to be molded over into the image of their attackers. This would cost them God’s approval. Instead, they will follow the apostle’s inspired counsel: “Return evil for evil to no one. . . . Do not avenge yourselves, beloved, but yield place to the wrath; for it is written: ‘Vengeance is mine; I will repay, says Jehovah.’ . . . Do not let yourself be conquered by the evil, but keep conquering the evil with the good.” (Rom. 12:17-21) Thus, Jehovah’s witnesses look to God’s just means for bringing true and lasting relief.

Full Faith in God’s Power to Sustain

It is their faith in God’s promises that enables Jehovah’s witnesses to take this course. Though God lets them be tested for a season, he will never abandon them. Opposers may take away their very means of livelihood, yet God’s promise remains true: “I will by no means leave you nor by any means forsake you.” They are therefore of good courage and say: “Jehovah is my helper; I will not be afraid. What can man do to me?” (Heb. 13:5, 6) They know that God will help to sustain them, materially and otherwise, in their time of need, and that even if they should die, he will bring them back to life in his new order.​—Acts 24:15.

They are encouraged because they personally experience his help as he gives them strength to endure and wisdom to cope with their problems. Like Paul and his fellow Christians, Jehovah’s witnesses in Malawi or in refugee camps can say: “We are pressed in every way, but not cramped beyond movement; we are perplexed, but not absolutely with no way out; we are persecuted, but not left in the lurch; we are thrown down, but not destroyed. Always we endure everywhere in our body the death-dealing treatment given to Jesus.”​—2 Cor. 4:8-10.

They take real comfort in this sure knowledge: Jehovah God will never permit his people to be broken up and destroyed. They may lose property and possessions, true. Some may even be killed, though usually this is only a small minority. Yet they know that since God through his appointed heavenly judge, Jesus Christ, is backing his people, he will never permit them to be annihilated.

They will continue to be obedient to the laws of this world’s political systems, committing no acts of disrespect toward them. At the same time Jehovah’s witnesses will steadfastly maintain their separateness from the world. They will continue to stand foursquare for God’s Kingdom government as their true hope and confidence. Their having God’s approval depends on this.​—John 18:36.

Efforts on Behalf of Those Persecuted

Jehovah’s witnesses in Malawi have looked to God in prayer for the help they need to pass their time of crisis successfully, faithfully. Their spiritual brothers around the world likewise pray on their behalf, as did early Christians when the apostle Peter was imprisoned and in danger of death. (Acts 12:5) The apostle Paul asked for his brothers’ prayers that he might be delivered from the unbelievers in Judea. (Rom. 15:30, 31) You, too, can add your voice in prayer to God on behalf of Christians today who suffer unjustly.

God’s Son long ago gave an illustration in which he likened the peoples of earth to sheep and goats being separated by a shepherd. He explained that he himself would do such a separating work at the time of his presence for judgment. That his presence would be unseen is evident from his stating that those involved would say to him: “Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty, and give you something to drink? When did we see you a stranger and receive you hospitably, or naked, and clothe you? When did we see you sick or in prison and go to you?” Jesus said that he would answer: “To the extent that you did it to one of the least of these my brothers, you did it to me.”​—Matt. 25:31-40.

Some in Malawi and in other places have seen the suffering of Christian witnesses of Jehovah and have given aid and comfort. Recognizing their innocence and the truthfulness of their message, some have taken a stand with the Witnesses for what is right. This has resulted in persecution for some of these also. But they can rejoice, because Jehovah God and his Son see and will reward them. To ‘sheeplike’ persons Jesus promised he would say: “Come, you who have been blessed by my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you.” Thereby they avoid having to “depart into everlasting cutting-off,” the complete destruction reserved for those who take an opposite course.​—Matt. 25:34, 46.

It is to be hoped that many persons in Malawi will yet show compassion toward Jehovah’s Christian witnesses, yes, and admiration for the remarkable record of firm faith and unbreakable devotion they have shown for God’s kingdom by his Son. It may also be hoped that those in official positions will recognize that Jehovah’s witnesses constitute no threat to their country and are a force for righteousness and high moral standards, qualities that work for the lasting good of any people, and that these officials will take steps to rectify the wrongs done to them, thereby dignifying their nation before all onlookers.

The appeal of Jehovah’s witnesses of Malawi, whether inside the country or in refugee camps outside, is simply that the Government of Malawi grant them the provisions set forth in the Constitution of the Republic of Malawi. That document, in its first chapter, states:

“(iii) The Government and the people of Malawi shall continue to recognize the sanctity of the personal liberties enshrined in the United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights, and of adherence to the Law of Nations;

 “(iv) No person should be deprived of his property without payment of fair compensation, and only where the public interest so requires:

  “(v) All persons regardless of colour, race or creed should enjoy equal rights and freedoms.”

These recent events in Malawi involving Jehovah’s witnesses provide an opportunity for the highest officials of the country to demonstrate their interest in these provisions of the Constitution of the Republic of Malawi. Will they now act to restore these lawful rights to Jehovah’s Christian witnesses who are citizens of Malawi?

You may personally wish to express yourself on behalf of those who have suffered so intensely in Malawi, by writing to the proper authorities in that country, conveying to them your concern and compassion for such ones and your appeal for swift relief on their behalf. We list below the names of officials to whom such appeal may be appropriately sent.

ADDRESSES OF OFFICIALS

His Excellency the Life President, Dr. H. Kamuzu Banda

Central Government Offices

Box 53

Zomba, Malawi

The Honourable A. A. Muwalo Nqumayo, M.P.

Minister of State (President’s Office)

Central Government Offices

Box 53

Zomba, Malawi

The Honourable A. M. Nyasulu, M.P.

Speaker of National Assembly

Central Government Offices

Box 53

Zomba, Malawi