Nyasaland was banned in 1958 was re-formed as the Malawi Congress Party in 1959. After the emergency, a commission headed by Lord Devlin exposed the failings of the Nyasaland administration. The Commission found that the declaration of a State of Emergency was necessary to restore order and prevent a descent into anarchy, but it criticised instances of the illegal use of force by the police and troops, including burning houses, destroying property and beatings. It rejected the existence of any "murder plot", but noted: The report concluded that the Nyasaland administration had lost the support of Nyasaland's African people, noting their
1956 Nyasaland general election to "protect and foster the interests of Europeans in Nyasaland and to further the economic development of the territory". It also called for the constitution to remain unchanged for a year after the Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland was finalised, as well as seeking further land for European settlement. In North Nyasa Hunt ran against V G Milward, chairman of Lilongwe Town Council. South Nyasa was contested by W G Widdas, a former (1949–52) MLC and the only woman to run in the election. In the African seats, all five elected candidates were supporters of the NAC. Dunstan Chijozi was