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]
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]
Chichewa is the main language spoken in Kasungu.[8]
Facilities
Transport
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]
Amenities
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.
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";[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]
Politics
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]
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]
Chess championships
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]
