Operation Sunrise (Nyasaland)

Operation Sunrise was the name given to a police and military action conducted by the authorities in the Central African country of Nyasaland (now known as Malawi) on March 3, 1959 to detain and intern 350 individuals who were considered a potential threat to law and order. The operation has been described in some detail in the so-called Devlin Commission Report (Colonial Office Report of the Nyasaland Commission of Enquiry, HMSO, London, 1959) from which most of the facts herein are taken.

There had been unrest in Nyasaland sporadically for many years, most recently in 1953 when, against the wishes of the populace, Nyasaland had been thrust into a Federation with Northern and Southern Rhodesia (now Zambia and Zimbabwe, respectively). On July 6, 1958, Hastings Banda, a long-term expatriate who had campaigned against Federation while living in England in the 1930s - 1950s, returned to Nyasaland at the invitation of a group of young political activists to lead a movement towards independence. To this end, Banda, together with some of these lieutenants, toured the country rousing support. From September 1958 onward there were civil disturbances and rising tension between the African and European populations (as well as between pro-reform Africans and those more content with the status quo). Recollections of the Mau Mau Uprising in Kenya were still fresh in the colonial mind, and recent riots in the Belgian Congo only added to the general unease. The authorities were increasingly fearful of a violent popular uprising, a feeling bolstered by reports alleging a plot hatched by extremists at a meeting in late January to murder the European and Asian population.

Preparations for a state of emergency were made in February 1959, including requests for police reinforcements from other British colonies in the region. The plans for Operation Sunrise, the first stage in the overall stabilization scenario, were prepared by the Nyasaland Operations Committee on February 27, 1959. Special Branch had been keeping lists of potential detainees since at least 1954, and the latest revision, made in November 1958, contained 617 names.

A state of emergency was declared at midnight on March 2/3, 1959. In a broadcast at 7am on March 3 the governor, Sir Robert Armitage, explained his decision as follows:

" I have taken this step because of the action of the leaders of the Nyasaland African Congress. It has day by day become increasingly apparent that they are bent on pursuing a course of violence, intimidation and disregard of lawful authority . . . . Under emergency powers the principal organisers of the campaign of violence and unlawful demonstrations are being arrested and will be detained "

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