Malinki, K. Morrison

African evangelist and teacher. He was born probably about 1852; at least he remembered the time before white men came in numbers to his country. His homeland was Nyasaland. Three times he was sold as a slave, and each time he was ransomed or escaped from his captors. In 1884 he saw white men for the first time, and four years later went to the Church of Scotland Mission near Blantyre, where he was educated. In 1890 he finished his school and was given a teaching certificate.

In 1892 Malinki met Joseph Booth, a missionary of the Zambesi Mission. In that same year he was married and Booth baptized both him and his wife. Booth later joined the Seventh Day Baptists, and, from talking with him, Malinki became convinced that the seventh day was the Sabbath and began to keep it.

In 1900 Malinki opened up his first school near Cileka. When Thomas Branch, one of the first Seventh-day Adventist workers in Nyasaland, arrived to take charge of Plainfield Mission in 1902, he became acquainted with the school Malinki was running and encouraged him. Malinki continued to open up more schools around Cileka until he had five under his supervision.

In 1907 Joel Rogers took over Plainfield Mission from Thomas Branch, and renamed it Malamulo. The next year Rogers persuaded Malinki to turn his schools over to the mission to operate, while he himself was appointed school inspector over all the Seventh-day Adventist village schools in Southern Nyasaland, a responsibility he held for thirteen years.

In 1920 Mailnki, with two other African evangelists, was chosen to take charge of mission districts. It was not surprising that his field should be around his home at Monekera, close to Cileka. In 1927 he was one of a small group of African pastors ordained to the ministry. He continued to operate mission districts for several years.

By 1930, when Malinki was about seventy-eight, he had retired from administrative work, but continued attending institutes and camp meetings.

He died at the ripe age of about 105.

This article is reprinted with permission from the Seventh-Day Adventist Encyclopedia, copyright © by Review and Herald Publishing Association, 55 West Oak Ridge Drive, Hagerstown, Maryland 21740, 800-765-6955.