He became politically active in the 1920s under the influence of the ideas of Marcus Garvey and his "Africa for the Africans" movement, and was instrumental in founding the Central Province Native Association in 1927.
George Simeon Mwase, a member of the Tonga people, was born in the Nkhata Bay district in the north of what is now Malawi, probably around 1880, although no exact birth record exists for him.
However, later in the 1950s Mwase's gradualism and deference to the colonial authorities alienated the new generation of activist nationalist leaders, and he left the party, becoming a supporter of the Federation.
[9] A complete manuscript, including both the account of the uprising and a discussion of then-current race relations, written in Chinyanja, was prepared for an essay-competition sponsored by the Institute of African Languages and Cultures, London in late 1932.
[10] The typescript Rotberg discovered appears to be an English translation of this essay, typed by someone else and sent to a senior official in the colonial administration in January 1933.
[16] The often lengthy speeches quoted, some embellished with Latin quotations, said to have been made by Chilembwe and his writings may be Mwase's productions rather than an accurate recollection by his supposed informant 17 years after the event.
[19] Mwase's short paraphrase of the letter reflects this broad sentiment, adding that Chilembwe said the government should recruit white settlers instead of Africans.
[20] Secondly, Phiri quotes information that Chilembwe sent out his forces on 23 January 1915 saying, "You are going to fight as African patriots…I am not saying that you will win the war and then become kings…some of us will die on the battlefield and leave behind widows and orphans, but they will be a free people.
[23] Based on this report, Rotberg believed that Chilembwe sought martyrdom, as he was in a state of depression as a result of African casualties in the East Africa campaign.
[24][25] The phrase, "strike a blow and die" is repeated several times as an alleged quotation from Chilembwe's addresses, but it has not been recorded elsewhere and it conflicts with the actual course of the uprising, where several of those chosen as leaders stayed home and many followers scattered and fled once troops appeared.
[29] To the extent that Mwase believed John Brown knew he had no chance of success and was prepared to die as an explanation of Chilembwe's motivation,[30] he was mistaken.
[35] George Shepperson, whose help Rotberg acknowledged, accepted the general accuracy of Mwase's account of the uprising, despite his colourful and dramatic language and considered it an important addition to knowledge of Chilembwe and his followers.
They regard Mwase as opposed to Christian missionaries, and speculate that he likened Chilembwe to his own distorted image of John Brown, gained through reading Garveyite literature in the 1930s, rather than from anything his prison informant had told him.