The Commission of Enquiry, under the chairmanship of Lord Devlin, was appointed in 1959, after African opposition to the Central African Federation culminated in widespread disturbances in Rhodesia and Nyasaland. A state of emergency had been declared and 600 members of the Nyasaland African Congress detained. The Commission's findings were extremely unfavourable to the Nyasaland Government, and its report helped to convince the British Government of the unacceptability of the Federation to the African majority.
From the guide to the Devlin Commission of Enquiry, Nyasaland, 1959, (York University, Borthwick Institute of Historical Research)