After all the foreign missionaries had been deported as a result of the ban, Bill McLuckie, who had married Denise, a South African, was still living in Blantyre. There he ran a small business to care for his family responsibilities. The McLuckies’ home became the new meeting place for the Blantyre English Congregation.

Court Cases in Blantyre

When the police did raid the McLuckies’ home in 1971, they found some of the Society’s publications. Brother McLuckie was charged and required to appear before the magistrate in Limbe, Blantyre. The local Witnesses heard about it and, risking their own freedom, turned out in large numbers to support the McLuckies. When the magistrate’s verdict of “not guilty” was announced, the brothers burst into loud applause! But the prosecution appealed. The case now went to the high court. This time Bill McLuckie was found guilty and sentenced to seven years in prison. However, they did not really want to put him in jail, so he was ordered to leave the country instead.

Thus, in October 1972, Bill McLuckie’s 37 years of loyal service in Malawi came to an end. Before leaving, he organized brothers to come and quietly take all the literature that was in his secret cellar. Brothers carried off books by the carload! Some were later stopped at roadblocks, but the police did not notice even one of the cartons. Before the McLuckies left the country, the entrance to the secret cellar was sealed with concrete. Long will the faithful, self-sacrificing service of Bill McLuckie be remembered in the history of Jehovah’s Witnesses in Malawi!

[Picture on page 186]

Bill McLuckie with his wife, Denise