Albert Andrew Muwalo Gandale Nqumayo (or Ngumayo) was born in Ntcheu District, of Maseko Ngoni parentage on 23 June 1927, the second of seven children, all sons.

During the mid-1950s, his ambition was to undertake further study in Britain, but his detention in 1959 put an end to this, and he did not obtain the further education achieved by several of those who became ministers in 1961 and 1962.

During the State of Emergency declared in March 1959, he was detained without trial in Nyasaland, unlike the most senior Congress members, who were imprisoned in Southern Rhodesia.

Muwalo was Member of Parliament for Ntcheu South between 1964 and 1967, when he resigned owing to the pressures of his MCP work, although the seat was later held by his younger brother, Daniel.

From October 1963, Banda began to make slighting references to them in public speeches and accused some of them of forming a cabal against him.

[5][6] Banda also continued diplomatic relations with South Africa and Portugal, but refused to recognise the People's Republic of China or East Germany, and contemptuously rejected suggestions of forming closer ties with Zambia and Tanzania.

Banda advised Glyn Smallwood Jones, the Governor-General on 1 September of his intention to resign, which would automatically end the tenure of the other ministers.

It is clear that Banda was ultimately responsible for the policy of the imprisonment, with or without trial, torture and occasional murder of actual or invented dissidents.

There were several, often competing, sources of intelligence: Muwalo's associate Gwede controlled the Police Special Branch, while John Tembo organised a network of spies and informers through the Malawi Young Pioneers.

A fifth wave of persecution of Jehovah's Witnesses began in September 1975, mainly organised by local MCP members, but authorised at the party's highest level.

Although it is clear that the initial impetus for banning the Witnesses in 1967 came from Banda, Muwalo was responsible for organising much of the subsequent anti-Witness action.

[17] Between September 1968 and March 1970, at least 31 brutal murders occurred at night and in the victims' own homes in the suburbs of Malawi's largest city, Blantyre.

One persistent rumour was that the Government was itself responsible for the murders, and that it had drained the victims' blood to send to South Africa.

[19] At his trial, Muwalo was said to have started or spread rumours that the Chilobwe murders were ordered by the Malawi government, so the blood of the victims could be sold to South Africa.

There has been speculation that the downfall of Muwalo and Focus Gwedwe was engineered by John Tembo and his niece Cecilia Kadzamira, as the two groups were rivals to control and succeed the ageing Banda.

[citation needed] Muwalo was expelled from his posts of MCP Secretary General and Minister without Portfolio on 27 October 1976.

The announcement gave the reason as a grave breach of discipline and stated that Muwalo would forfeit any property gained through his governmental or party posts.

[22] It was suggested that these expulsions and arrests followed an investigation into the activities of Muwalo and Gwede which found the men had misused Banda's name when abusing their powers.

[citation needed] The trial of Albert Muwalo and Focus Gwede was held in the Southern Region Traditional Court in March to April 1977.

However, the Traditional Court admitted as evidence three letters that denounced them for colluding with ex-ministers who fled Malawi after the Cabinet Crisis of 1964.