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
Nyasaland Emergency 1959 the banned Nyasaland African Congress in August 1959 and rapidly grew into a larger mass-movement than Congress had been. By the end of 1959, the new Colonial Secretary, Iain MacLeod realised that he would have to negotiate with Banda, and that such negotiations would involve ending the Emergency, releasing the remaining detainees and Nyasaland's eventual withdrawal from the Federation. Armitage strongly resisted Macleod's proposals, particularly the release of Banda and other former Congress leaders, and it was unlikely that he would be able to negotiate effectively with Banda on constitutional progress. Because of his strong opposition to the release of