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Place in Central Region, Malawi From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Kasungu | |
---|---|
Coordinates: 13°02′S 33°29′E | |
Country | Malawi |
Region | Central Region |
District | Kasungu District |
Elevation | 4,403 ft (1,342 m) |
Population (2018 Census[2]) | |
• Total | 58,653 |
Time zone | +2 |
Climate | Cwa |
Kasungu is a town in the Kasungu District of the Central Region of Malawi. The population of Kasungu was 58,653 according to the 2018 census.[3] 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.[4] The main industry in Kasungu is tobacco-growing.[5]
A farm close to Kasungu was the birthplace of the first President of Malawi, Hastings Banda[5] and William Kamkwamba.
Kasungu is in central Malawi, lying at an elevation 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.[4] The town receives, on average, between 500–1,200 millimetres (20–47 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[6] |
Year | Pop. | ±% p.a. |
---|---|---|
1987 | 11,591 | — |
1998 | 27,754 | +8.26% |
2008 | 39,640 | +3.63% |
2018 | 58,653 | +4.00% |
source:[7] |
Kasungu is served by buses and minibuses that travel to Lilongwe and Mzuzu.[4] In June 2008, Central East Africa Railways announced plans to extend the rail line from Lilongwe to Kasungu.[9]
There are guesthouses, bars, restaurants, and four petrol stations in Kasungu; according to Lonely Planet, there are "no major attractions" in Kasungu.[4] Kasungu National Park is an hour's drive to the west, and Kamuzu Academy is 25 minutes by road to the east.
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]
The land in Kasungu lacks nutrients and water, and is mostly "sand veld";[5] 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 district,[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.[5] Due to their poverty, most residents of Kasungu live in houses made of hand-made mud bricks, covered by roofs of straw or corrugated iron.[18] According to AllAfrica, Kasungu is a "child labour hotspot."[19]
Kasungu is a "stronghold" of the Malawi Congress Party.[20] The Member of the Malawian Parliament for Kasungu Central is Allan Kabuluzi.[21] The MP for Kasungu North North West is Rodger Sithole,[22] and the MP for Kasungu North West is Gerald Jere.[23]
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]
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]
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]
In January 2008, the African Junior Chess Championships were held at Kamuzu Academy near Kasungu.[29] 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.[30]
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