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Kasungu

Coordinates: 13°02′S 33°29′E / 13.033°S 33.483°E / -13.033; 33.483
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13°02′S 33°29′E / 13.033°S 33.483°E / -13.033; 33.483

Kasungu
Kasungu is located in Malawi
Kasungu
Kasungu
Location in Malawi
Coordinates: 13°02′S 33°29′E / 13.033°S 33.483°E / -13.033; 33.483
Country Malawi
RegionCentral Region
DistrictKasungu District
Elevation
[1]
4,403 ft (1,342 m)
Population
 (2008 est.)[2]
 • Total59,696
Time zone+2
ClimateCwa

Kasungu is a town in the Kasungu District of the Central Region of Malawi. The population of Kasungu is estimated to be 59,696 as of 2008.[2] Kasungu is approximately 130 kilometres (81 mi) north-west of the capital of Malawi, Lilongwe, and is 35 kilometres (22 mi) east of Kasungu National Park.[3] The main industry in Kasungu is tobacco-growing.[4]

History

A farm close to Kasungu was the birthplace of the first President of Malawi, Hastings Banda.[4]

Geography and climate

Kasungu is in central Malawi, lying at a height of 1,342 metres (4,403 ft). It has a humid subtropical climate (Köppen: Cwa) and a rainy season that lasts from November–December to March–April.[1] The dry season lasts from May to October.[3] The town receives, on average, between 500 millimetres (20 in)–1,200 millimetres (47 in) rainfall each year.[1]

Climate data for Kasungu
Month Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Year
Daily mean °C (°F) 22.4
(72.3) 		22.4
(72.3) 		22.4
(72.3) 		21.4
(70.5) 		19.3
(66.7) 		17.0
(62.6) 		16.9
(62.4) 		17.5
(63.5) 		20.6
(69.1) 		22.5
(72.5) 		22.9
(73.2) 		23.1
(73.6) 		20.7
(69.3)
Average precipitation mm (inches) 213
(8.4) 		215
(8.5) 		125
(4.9) 		32
(1.3) 		5
(0.2) 		2
(0.1) 		0
(0) 		0
(0) 		1
(0.0) 		4
(0.2) 		49
(1.9) 		176
(6.9) 		822
(32.4)
Source: Climate-Data.org[5]

Demographics

Year Population[2]
1987 11,591
1998 26,137
2008 (est.) 59,696

Language

Chichewa is the main language spoken in Kasungu.[6]

Facilities

Transport

Kasungu is served by buses and minibuses that travel to Lilongwe and Mzuzu.[3] In June 2008, Central East Africa Railways announced plans to extend the rail line from Lilongwe to Kasungu.[7]

Amenities

There are guesthouses, bars, restaurants, and four petrol stations in Kasungu; according to Lonely Planet, there are "no major attractions" in Kasungu.[3] Kasungu National Park is an hour's drive to the west, and Kamuzu Academy is 25 minutes by road to the east.

Emergency services

Kasungu has a police station.[8] The town is also home to a 179-bed government-funded district hospital. The hospital is often overcrowded, and suffers from a lack of nurses and anti-retroviral drugs.[9][10] The hospital's 13-bed paediatric department can receive over 100 patients, leaving some patients on the floor.[11] UNICEF-Hamburg has sent over US$6000 to train care-workers in Kasungu.[12]

Land and economy

The land in Kasungu lacks nutrients and water, and is mostly "sand veld";[4] the Kasungu area is suffering from depleted forests.[13] A tribal chief stated in 2004 that over 250,000 people in Kasungu own no land.[14] Tobacco is the only cash crop grown in Kasungu district,[1] and the area has been described as a "tobacco heartland" by Xinhua News Agency.[15] The opening of Kasungu National Park in 1970 has increased tourism in the area.[4] Due to their poverty, most residents of Kasungu live in houses made of hand-made dung bricks, covered by roofs of straw or corrugated iron.[16] According to AllAfrica, Kasungu is a "child labour hotspot."[17]

Politics

Kasungu is a "stronghold" of the Malawi Congress Party.[18] The Member of the Malawian Parliament for Kasungu Central is Carrington Jimu.[19] The MP for Kasungu North North West is Rodger Sithole,[20] and the MP for Kasungu North West is Gerald Jere.[21]

Kaluluma School in Kasungu has formed a relationship with Greenford High School, Southall, England.[22] A church in Kasungu also formed a relationship with two churches near Peterborough, England in 2001. Parishioners from the two churches have travelled to Kasungu several times and have built a new church and a fish farm. In February 2008, the church group built a maize mill in Kasungu.[16]

Notable events

Famine and disease

Over 100 people died in a famine in 2002, according to official estimates; Kasungu was the worst affected area in Malawi.[23] In 2005 a famine occurred in Malawi, affecting 4.2 million Malawians. The efforts to distribute food to the needy were concentrated in Kasungu.[24] During 2004 and 2005, there was an outbreak of cholera, with eight people recorded to have suffered the disease.[25]

June 2003 riots

In June 2003, Kasungu Muslims rioted with police, after five Malawians, suspected of being al-Qaeda operatives, were arrested and taken into United States custody. One demonstrator was treated for "serious gunshot wounds".[15][26]

Chess championships

In January 2008, the African Junior Chess Championships were held at Kamuzu Academy near Kasungu.[27] The academy, which The Nyasa Times describes as "highly regarded" and "Eton in the bush", was founded by the first President of Malawi, Hastings Banda.[28]

See also

References

  1. ^ a b c d Thangata, Paul H.; Hildebrand, Peter E.; Gladwin, Christina H. (2002). "Modeling Agroforestry Adoption and Household Decision Making in Malawi". African Studies Quarterly. University of Florida. Archived from the original on 28 June 2009. Retrieved 22 July 2008. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
  2. ^ a b c "World Gazetteer: Malawi: largest cities and towns and statistics of their population". Archived from the original on 4 August 2008. Retrieved 9 July 2008. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
  3. ^ a b c d Murphy, Alan; Armstrong, Kate; Firestone, Matthew D.; Fitzpatrick, Mary (2007). Lonely Planet Southern Africa: Join the Safari. Lonely Planet. p. 196. ISBN 1-74059-745-1. Retrieved 9 July 2008.
  4. ^ a b c d "Kasungu". Encyclopædia Britannica. Retrieved 9 July 2008.
  5. ^ "Climate:Kasungu". Climate-Data.org. Retrieved 10 April 2014.
  6. ^ Baldauf, Richard B.; Kaplan, Robert (2004). Language Planning and Policy in Africa: Botswana, Malawi, Mozambique and South Africa. p. 21. ISBN 1-85359-725-2. Retrieved 22 July 2008.
  7. ^ Msiska, Karen (23 June 2008). "CEAR promises to compliment Shire-Zambezi Waterway". The Daily Times. Retrieved 9 July 2008.[permanent dead link]
  8. ^ "Malawi: The Wider Angle". AllAfrica. 2 September 2002. Retrieved 9 July 2008.
  9. ^ Bosely, Sarah (18 February 2003). "Athenase Kiromera, doctor". The Guardian. Retrieved 9 July 2008.
  10. ^ Bosely, Sarah (16 February 2004). "One small miracle brings hope to thousands threatened by Aids". The Guardian. Retrieved 9 July 2008.
  11. ^ Riotta, Gianni (9 December 2004). "Tra gli orfani nel Paese dell'Aids". Corriere della Sera (in Italian). Retrieved 9 July 2008.
  12. ^ "Unicef: Wo die Spenden bleiben". Die Welt (in German). 13 June 2002. Retrieved 9 July 2008.
  13. ^ Kitabu, Gerald (24 December 2007). "Alternative source of income may help to protect forest". IPP Media. Archived from the original on 24 June 2008. Retrieved 22 July 2008. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
  14. ^ "Traditional leader says 250,000 people in central Malawi landless". Asia Africa Intelligence Wire. 11 November 2004. Retrieved 22 July 2008.
  15. ^ a b "Malawi police fire on Muslim demonstrators". Xinhua News Agency. 30 June 2003. Retrieved 10 July 2008.
  16. ^ a b "Lent is about giving something back for Canon Malcolm". Peterborough Evening Telegraph. 4 February 2008. Retrieved 10 July 2008.
  17. ^ "Malawi: Story Workshop Fights Child Labour". AllAfrica. 11 December 2002. Retrieved 22 July 2008.
  18. ^ "Malawi police arrest 12 persons for electoral violence". Panafrican News Agency. 23 November 2004. Retrieved 13 July 2008.
  19. ^ "Malawi: MP Quizzes Govt Over Stadium Funds". AllAfrica. 27 April 2006. Retrieved 13 July 2008.
  20. ^ "Malawi: MPs Defection Detrimental to Democracy – Kadzamira". AllAfrica. 25 January 2006. Retrieved 10 July 2008.
  21. ^ Kashoti, Dickson (18 June 2008). "Gondwe throws out 50% salary hike for teachers". The Daily Times. Retrieved 22 July 2008.[permanent dead link]
  22. ^ O'Leary, Sarah (16 February 2008). "Teachers fly out for charity". Ealing Times. Retrieved 9 July 2008.
  23. ^ Tenthani, Raphael (14 May 2002). "Malawi's 'worst-ever' famine". BBC News. Retrieved 22 July 2008.
  24. ^ "Malawi se enfrenta una crisis alimentaria que durará varios meses". El Mundo. 15 September 2005. Retrieved 22 July 2008.
  25. ^ "Report on cholera outbreak in Malawi". MIJ FM. 24 January 2005. Retrieved 22 July 2008.
  26. ^ Tenthani, Raphael (2 July 2003). "Malawi Muslim group condemns violence in protests of Al-Qaida arrests". Associated Press. Retrieved 10 July 2008.
  27. ^ Herbert, Allan (20 January 2008). "UWI celebrating 60th anniversary". The Barbados Advocate. Archived from the original on 18 May 2011. Retrieved 22 July 2008. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |dead-url= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
  28. ^ "Malawi's Bingu: Eliminating dissent Kamuzu style". The Nyasa Times. 10 June 2008. Retrieved 22 July 2008.
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