Z. Mumba, the leader of the Native Association movement, on 12 May 1935. He took a conciliatory approach and encouraged the Associations to continue their activity on useful lines. Kittermaster inherited the controversial issue of land rights. Landlords who had acquired title to estates were entitled by statute to evict 10% of resident Africans every five years. The government had to find land of equal value nearby. The subject was complicated by non-disturbance clauses for the original occupants of the land, who could remain without paying rent. Although the question was not urgent due to a shortage of labor, Young had proposed various changes to clarify the laws, which Kittermaster supported, essentially leading towards the acquisition of land from private estates for permanent settlement of Africans. However, the Secretary of State directed that no changes to the laws be made. Consistently siding with indigenous Africans instead of the European settlers led to Kittermaster becoming unpopular with the white settler community while he was in office. The colonial government decided in 1934 to encourage the Nyanja language as the lingua franca in Nyasaland, since it was the most widely spoken. Kittermaster ordered immediate implementation of this policy. The missions opposed the decision, as did ethnic groups such as the Yao people and the Tumbuka speakers led by Levi Mumba. After the London Missionary Society appealed to London, Kittermaster was told to suspend the decision and hold a conference to resolve the issue. In the end the decision was to encourage use of Nyanja but allow free use of other languages. Kittermaster's administration had little positive impact. While he was in office, annual internal revenue declined from £511,000 to £506,000. The civil service remained static, growing from 3,437 to 3,534 officers. Early in 1939, Kittermaster was taken ill and was diagnosed to be suffering from appendicitis. His condition became serious and the doctors were unable to save him. He died on 20 March 1939. His wife, Winifred Elsie, lived to advanced old age, dying in 1993. Kittermaster's administration was one of many criticized by Nazi Germany because of its liberal attitude towards the colony's African majority. Similarly, the Sierra Leone administrations of Henry Monck-Mason Moore, Arnold Hodson and Douglas James Jardine were condemned by the Nazis on the same grounds. References Sources K K K K K K 1939 deaths 1879 births