• Malawi
    1999 Yearbook of Jehovah’s Witnesses

    • Another member of the McLuckie family, his brother Bill, replaced him in Malawi.

      Prior to this, Bill McLuckie was pioneering in South Africa, though he had not yet been baptized. George Phillips, the branch servant in South Africa, asked Bill if he would like to take up an assignment in Malawi. On accepting, he was told: “Of course, you will have to get baptized first.” Bill got baptized and arrived at the Zomba depot in March 1935. He was 26 years old. This faithful brother proved his integrity in Malawi under much adversity until his deportation in 1972.

      What was it like in those early days? Bill McLuckie, 89 years of age in 1998 and living in South Africa with his family, still remembered the cramped surroundings of that depot in Zomba. He said: “The bedroom was no wider than a fireplace [four feet six inches] [1.4 m]. It was rather stuffy, so I used to keep the windows open at night until a policeman stuck his head in one night and said: ‘Bwana [Sir], you had better close these windows. Leopards stroll about these streets at night.’ So I closed them.”

      Despite the uncomfortable conditions, it proved to be most advantageous to have the depot in the capital city. With the government offices and police headquarters nearby, Brother McLuckie was able to respond quickly to any charges made against the Society as a result of the continued confusing of Jehovah’s Witnesses with the false “Watch Tower movements.” As his brother had done before him, Bill McLuckie worked patiently with the officials to iron out any misunderstandings. Jehovah’s Witnesses had come to have a favorable reputation.

      Cleaning Up the Organization

      Bill McLuckie worked hard with the brothers to build up appreciation for Jehovah’s standards as set out in the Bible. This included helping the brothers to understand that such unscriptural practices as sexual immorality, spiritism, and misuse of alcohol could have no place in the lives of Jehovah’s Witnesses. (1 Cor. 6:9, 10; Rev. 22:15)