President Dr. Lazarus McCarthy Chakwera has changed the name of Phalombe District Hospital to John Chilembwe Hospital honour of the martyred freedom fighter, Reverend John Chilembwe.
Chilembwe was a Western-educated Malawian missionary who led an uprising against the British rule in 1915 and is seen as a forerunner and martyr of Malaŵi nationalism.
He strongly preached against forced labour, which Malawians were subjected to by the white settlers.
He also preached the values of hard-work, self-respect and self-help to his congregation and, although as early as 1905, he used his church position to deplore the condition of Africans in the protectorate, he initially avoided specific criticism of the government that might be thought subversive.
However, by 1912 or 1913, Chilembwe had become more politically militant and openly voiced criticism over the state of African land rights in the Shire Hinglands and of the conditions of labour tenants there.
Speaking at the commemoration of the Reverend Chilembwe at the Providence Industrial Mission (PIM) Church in Chiradzulu on Monday, President Chakwera said his government recognizes the role the fallen hero played fighting for the liberation of the natives.
He said the renaming of Phalombe District Hospital after John Chilembwe is therefore a sign of acknowledgement by the government of this role.
