When Governor Armitage declared a State of Emergency, to begin on March 3, 1959, he did so ostensibly to forestall a “massacre plot” hatched by the Nyasaland African Congress, in which Europeans (mostly officials) and their African “stooges” would be killed in order to wipe out colonial authority in Nyasaland. Of the ten people I interviewed who attended the fateful “Bush Meeting” of January 24–25, 1959, at which the plan was said to have been devised, not one spoke of an organized plan to murder, although many admitted to much fiery talk and discussion as to whether or not violence was a legitimate tool with which to fight federation. Delegates felt a real sense of urgency and the need for new tactics and strategies. And there were good reasons for this heightened tension. First, it was becoming ever more difficult for Congress to get police permits for public meetings. Second, rumors abounded that Congress would soon be banned in Southern Rhodesia. Banda had already been declared a prohibited immigrant there and in Northern Rhodesia. Banning Congress in the Rhodesias would be serious, not just for purposes of mobilization but financially, since these branches had long been important sources of party funds.