 He was a key organiser of Nyasaland African Congress and part of the inner circle that met on 24–25 January 1959 to discuss a change of approach from non-violence to violence where necessary.Chisiza was arrested, along with other high-profile African dissidents, in the dawn raids of Operation Sunrise on 3 March 1959, when the colonial administration, responding to incidents of rioting in various areas of the country, declared a state of emergency in Nyasaland.He was imprisoned in Gwelo, Southern Rhodesia, in the European wing of the jail together with Banda, Chipembere and his brother Yatuta (and separately from many other Africans jailed after Operation Sunrise).