Malawi Congress Party
In March 1959, when Sir Robert Armitage, the Governor declared a State of Emergency, Bwanausi was arrested as a leading Congress member and detained without trial until 1960. The Nyasaland African Congress was also banned in March 1959, but it was replaced by the Malawi Congress Party (MCP) formed in September 1959 on behalf of the imprisoned Banda. On his release, he returned to teaching, but joined the Malawi Congress Party and in 1961 was elected to the Legislative Council, becoming Minister of Internal Affairs and Development in the same year. In 1963, he became Minister of Works.