How a poet used the chameleon to survive political tyranny

Ideas & Philosophy · Published 2 October 2026 Swipe more like this →

In short: In 1987, Malawian scholar Jack Mapanje was imprisoned without charge. His crime? A collection of poetry that used metaphor to mask a biting critique of President Hastings Banda’s regime. This is the story of how literature becomes a tool for survival under censorship.

Jack Mapanle, a linguist and head of English at Malawi's Chancellor College, faced a harrowing three-and-a-half-year imprisonment starting in 1987. The catalyst was his work, *Of Chameleons and Gods*. While the book was never officially banned, the government withdrew it from circulation, targeting Mapanje for his oblique criticisms of the administration led by President Hastings Banda.

To navigate this era of repression, Mapanje employed what he termed a 'disguise of personal voice.' He used the metaphor of the chameleon to represent the necessity of masking one's true political stance to avoid persecution. This concept of 'chameleon politics'—describing environments of opaque alliances and sudden shifts in loyalty—was established in his 1981 writing.

Mapanje's plight sparked an international outcry. Amnesty International recognized him as a prisoner of conscience, and literary giants joined the cause. Nobel laureate Harold Pinter performed readings of Mapanje's work outside the Malawian High Commission in London, while novelist Larry McMurtry, then president of PEN, used the 1990 PEN/Barbara Goldsmith Freedom to Write Award to 'generate enough heat' for Mapanje's release. Other figures, including Nobel laureate Wole Soyinka, campaigned alongside him.

Released in 1991, Mapanje eventually emigrated to the UK after facing bureaucratic hurdles to reclaim his professorship in Malawi. His life in exile has been marked by significant academic contributions, including fellowships at the University of York and teaching roles at Leeds University, alongside works that document his experience, such as his memoir, *And Crocodiles Are Hungry At Night*.

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