Daniel Sharpe Malekebu

Daniel Sharpe Malekebu
BornMarch 1st, 1889
Chiradzulu, Blantyre, Malawi
DiedOctober 8th, 1978 (age 89)
Chiradzulu, Blantyre, Malawi
NationalityMalawian
EducationSelma University, National Training School, Meharry Medical College, University of Pennsylvania, Moody Bible Institute
Occupation(s)Doctor, Christian missionary, political activist
Known forBeing the first Malawian doctor, reopening the Providence Industrial Mission
SpouseFlora Ethelwyn Zeto
AwardsMeharry Medical College President's Award, Key to the City of Nashville, Tennessee Governor's Award, Special Letter of Commendation from the White House

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.[1][2] At the young age of fifteen, Malekebu ran away from home to seek higher education in the United States.[2][3] He graduated from Meharry Medical College in 1917, becoming the first Malawian person to receive a medical degree.[2][3]

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.[2][3] In 1929, Malekebu established the Chiradzulu District Native Association, a political forum for the native leaders of Chiradzulu to protest colonial policies.[4][5] 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.[2][3] 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.[3] In 1967, the city of Nashville, Tennessee held a service to honor Malekebu's fifty years of “service to humanity."[1][3] 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.[1][3]

  1. ^ a b c McCracken, John (July 1980). "From Nyasaland to Malawi: Studies in Colonial History. Edited by Roderick J. Macdonald. Nairobi: East African Publishing House, 1975. Pp. xi + 316. £7.50". The Journal of African History. 21 (3): 426–427. doi:10.1017/S0021853700018624. S2CID 161459296.
  2. ^ a b c d e Parratt, John (1990). "The Malikebu Case". In Walls, A. F.; Shenk, Wilbert R. (eds.). Exploring New Religious Movements: Essays in Honour of Harold W. Turner. Mission Focus. pp. 119–129. ISBN 978-1-877736-08-7.
  3. ^ a b c d e f g Saunders 1973, p. [page needed].
  4. ^ Tangri, Roger (1971). "Inter-war 'Native Associations' and the formation of the Nyasaland African Congress". Transafrican Journal of History. 1 (1): 84–102. JSTOR 24520354.
  5. ^ Stuart-Mogg, David (2015). "Frederick Njilima, M.M.: An Unlikely African Hero of the Western Front". African Research & Documentation. 128: 37–45. doi:10.1017/S0305862X00023505.