Kasungu

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Kasungu
Kasungu is located in Malawi
Kasungu
Kasungu
Location in Malawi
Coordinates: Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
Country  Malawi
Region Central Region
District Kasungu District
Elevation[1] 4,403 ft (1,342 m)
Population (2008 est.)[2]
 • Total 59,696
Time zone +2
Climate Cwa

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
(69.25)
Average precipitation mm (inches) 213
(8.39)		 215
(8.46)		 125
(4.92)		 32
(1.26)		 5
(0.2)		 2
(0.08)		 0
(0)		 0
(0)		 1
(0.04)		 4
(0.16)		 49
(1.93)		 176
(6.93)		 822
(32.37)
Source: Climate-Data.org[5]

Demographics

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

Language

Chichewa is the 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, a supermarket and a petrol station in Kasungu; according to Lonely Planet, there are "no major attractions" in Kasungu.[3] In June 2008, there was a petrol shortage in Kasungu, causing an increase in the sale of black market fuel.[8] In May 2006, a branch of the Opportunity Bank of Malawi opened in Kasungu.[9]

Emergency services

Kasungu has a police station.[10] 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.[11][12] The hospital's 13-bed paediatric department can receive over 100 patients, leaving some patients on the floor.[13] UNICEF-Hamburg has sent over US$6000 to train care-workers in Kasungu.[14]

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.[15] A tribal chief stated in 2004 that over 250,000 people in Kasungu own no land.[16] Tobacco is the only cash crop grown in Kasungu,[1] and the area has been described as a "tobacco heartland" by Xinhua News Agency.[17] 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.[18] According to AllAfrica, Kasungu is a "child labour hotspot."[19]

Politics

Kasungu is a "stronghold" of the Malawi Congress Party.[20] The Member of the Malawian Parliament for Kasungu Central is Carrington Jimu.[21] The MP for Kasungu North North West is Rodger Sithole,[22] and the MP for Kasungu North West is Gerald Jere.[23]

Foreign links

Kaluluma School in Kasungu has formed a relationship with Greenford High School, Southall, England.[24] 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.[18]

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.[25] In 2005 a famine occurred in Malawi, affecting 4.2 million Malawians. The efforts to distribute food to the needy were concentrated in Kasungu.[26] During 2004 and 2005, there was an outbreak of cholera, with eight people recorded to have suffered the disease.[27]

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".[17][28]

Evacuation of President

In May 2005, Malawian President Bingu wa Mutharika evacuated to a palace in Kasungu after he claimed that the presidential palace in Lilongwe was haunted by "evil spirits".[29][30]

Chess championships

In January 2008, the African Junior Chess Championships were held at the Kamuzu Academy in Kasungu.[31] 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.[32]

See also

References

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  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
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  17. ↑ 17.0 17.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  18. ↑ 18.0 18.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  19. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  20. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  21. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
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  26. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  27. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  28. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  29. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  30. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  31. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  32. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
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