In this dissertation we attempt to assess Booth's life and thought
and the influence he exerted in the religious and political history of
Central and Southern Africa. Since 1958, when George Shepperson and
Thomas Price brought Joseph Booth to the attention of the academic world
for the first time, controversy about Booth has continued but there has
not yet appeared a major study of his life. This research work is
designed to fill this gap, at least partially.
The thesis we wish to assert is that although Booth was often
deeply involved in doctrinal issues relating to missions, the Sabbath
and to a lesser degree, the millennium, it was 'Africa for the African'
that was constantly the centre of his attention to the end of his life.
Indeed this theme of 'Africa for the Africans' undergirded virtually all
his religious and political activities. This belief was grounded in his
simple faith as to what was the clear message of the Bible about
justice.
Starting with the historical context, Chapter I deals briefly with
the state and development of religion and politics in South Africa and
British Central Africa (Malawi) in the 1890s. The purpose is to examine
the socio-political setting which helped to shape Booth's missionary
work.
Chapter II sketches his life and career to provide a general
background to the study of the major themes in his religious and
political thought. Chapters III and IV examine in detail his
fundamental religious views. It appears that in this area, Booth's
approach to Scripture and its interpretation was very close to that of
the sixteenth century radicals, the Anabaptists.
Chapter V traces the emergence of Watch Tower Millenarianism in
Central and South Africa. This section demonstrates that although Booth
cannot be seen as a direct founder of the sect, his role nonetheless was
not without significance. The men who took the central stage in the
development of the movement were a number of his proteges, particularly
Elliot Kamwana through whom an African version of the Watch Tower
teaching spread in Malawi, Zambia and Zimbabwe.
In Chapters VI and VII, an attempt is made to describe and analyze
his 'Africa^ for the African' doctrine and show it as a precursor of
modern Black Theology of Liberation. The slogan 'Africa for the
African' is again assessed to show Booth's role in relation to African
nationalism.
The dissertation concludes with a case study regarding Booth and
the MI5 and the implications that resulted from his pro-African stance,
especially as it related to the Defence of the Realm Act 1914,
Regulation 14B. The interest taken in him by the British security
authorities, together with Booth's advancing years, rapidly curtailed
his activities. This did not come, however, before Booth had left a
permanent mark on the religious and political history of South and
Central Africa.
