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 Aleke Banda, a former Secretary-General of the Nyasaland African Congress (NAC), James Ralph Nthinda Chinyama, a former President-General of the NAC and Herbert Gondwe, who had been a Member of the Legislative Council (MLC) since 1953. The Northern Province seat was contested by four candidates, including Kaunda, the Vice President General of the NAC, and Alexander Muwamba, who had been an MLC since 1948 . The Southern Province seats were contested by six candidates, including Stevenson Kumakanga, an MLC since 1954 and Charles Matinga, leader of the Nyasaland Progressive Association. Aside from Matinga and Chief Lundu (who ran in the