Henry Masauko Blasius Chipembere - Exile

Exile

Chipembere spent the rest of his life in exile. He remained in California until August 1966 when he left for Tanzania, then ruled by Julius Nyerere and his African-Socialist Tanzanian African National Union (TANU) party. In Dar es Salaam, he taught at Kivukoni College. In early 1968, he attempted reconciliation with Banda through Lady Listowel and, through her, Glyn Jones.

"I am finished and useless", he told Listowel. "I can accomplish nothing, am unemployed, receiving a small pittance from the Tanzanian government... I do not wish to crawl back to Dr Banda but I am desperate". (From a letter by Glyn Jones). Although Banda reportedly expressed interest in allowing Chipembere back in exchange for his thorough recantation and support, this never came to anything.

Because of his diabetes, Chipembere wanted to live in a country with better medical facilities than Tanzania. While he apparently expressed a preference for Britain, the British government, wary of offending Banda, was allegedly not receptive. In 1969, Chipembere returned to the US, where he taught at California State University. He died in 1975, aged 45, survived by his wife, Catherine, and seven children.

In the early 1990s, after Banda had been ousted, Catherine Chipembere returned to Malawi and was the first woman elected to Parliament. She also served in the Ministry of Culture and Education before retiring to Mangochi, where she works with AIDS orphans and a women's knitting cooperative.

Their son Masauko Chipembere Jr is an internationally known Jazz artist.