Kasama is a city in the Northern Province of

Zambia Zambia (), officially the Republic of Zambia, is a landlocked country at the crossroads of Central, Southern and East Africa, although it is typically referred to as being in Southern Africa at its most central point. Its neighbours are t ...

. It serves as the provincial capital and the headquarters of Kasama District.

Location

It is situated on the central-southern African plateau, approximately , by road, north-east of Lusaka, the capital and largest city in Zambia. Kasama is located on the M1 road (old Great North Road) from

Mpika Mpika is a town in the Muchinga Province of Zambia, lying at the junction of the M1 Road to Kasama and Mbala and the Tanzam Highway ( Great North Road) to Dar es Salaam, Tanzania in the north-east and Lusaka in the south-west. It also has a r ...

in the south to Mbala and Mpulungu, at the tip of Lake Tanganyika, in the north.

Population

The city population grew considerably in the 1970s and 1980s after construction of the

TAZARA Railway The Tazara Railway, also called the Uhuru Railway or the Tanzam Railway, is a railway in East Africa linking the port of Dar es Salaam in east Tanzania with the town of Kapiri Mposhi in Zambia's Central Province. The single-track railway is ...

through the city, and the tarring of the

Great North Road, Zambia The Great North Road is a major route in Zambia, running north from Lusaka through Kabwe, Kapiri Mposhi (the road continues by way of a right turn just north of Kapiri Mposhi), Serenje, Mpika (where it makes a left turn), Kasama, Mbala and Mpu ...

. Its population, according to

Encyclopedia Britannica An encyclopedia (American English) or encyclopædia (British English) is a reference work or compendium providing summaries of knowledge either general or special to a particular field or discipline. Encyclopedias are divided into articl ...

, was 74,243 in 2000 and had increased to 113,779 in 2010.

History

In 1898/1899, a crisis over the succession of the Chitimukulu led to Bishop Joseph 'Moto Moto' Dupont gaining the agreement of Bemba chiefs to the

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies. ** Britishness, the British identity and common culture * British English, ...

colonial Colonial or The Colonial may refer to: * Colonial, of, relating to, or characteristic of a colony or colony (biology) Architecture * American colonial architecture * French Colonial * Spanish Colonial architecture Automobiles * Colonial (1920 au ...

Administrator of

North-Eastern Rhodesia North-Eastern Rhodesia was a British protectorate in south central Africa formed in 1900.North-Eastern Rhodesia Order in Council, 1900 The protectorate was administered under charter by the British South Africa Company. It was one of what were ...

, Robert Codrington taking control of the area. Codrington established a boma at Kasama and the town's central location as well as its closeness to Chitimukulu's court led to it eventually becoming the largest and dominant town of the north-eastern lobe of what became Northern Rhodesia, then later, Zambia.

Economic activities

The town has a few modern facilities, among them are a Shoprite Checkers branch, Budget Stores, a local supermarket called PJT and four bakeries. The town has branches of Zambian

commercial bank A commercial bank is a financial institution which accepts deposits from the public and gives loans for the purposes of consumption and investment to make profit. It can also refer to a bank, or a division of a large bank, which deals with co ...

s including Zambia National Commercial Bank, National Savings & Credit Bank,

Atlas Mara Bank Zambia Limited Atlas Mara Bank Zambia Limited (AMBZL), commonly referred to as Atlas Mara Bank Zambia, is a commercial bank in Zambia. It is licensed by the Bank of Zambia, the central bank and national banking regulator. AMBZL was established on 1 December 201 ...

Standard Chartered Zambia Standard Chartered Zambia, officially Standard Chartered Bank Zambia Plc, commonly known as is a Stanchart Zambia, is a commercial bank in Zambia and a subsidiary of Standard Chartered. It is licensed by the Bank of Zambia, the central bank and na ...

, Cavmont Bank, Barclays Bank of Zambia, Access Bank Zambia and

Indo-Zambia Bank Limited Indo–Zambia Bank (IZB), whose full name is Indo–Zambia Bank Limited, is a commercial bank in Zambia. It is licensed by the Bank of Zambia, the central bank and national banking regulator. Overview IZB is a medium-sized financial services p ...

. The town has VISA and ATM services. Most people in Kasama are not formally employed and they run small businesses to earn a living. The hospital is the Kasama General Hospital, that provides locals with health services. The city has a police station and several police posts. The available mobile telephone operators include

MTN Group MTN Group Limited, formerly M-Cell, is a South African multinational mobile telecommunications company, operating in many African and Asian countries. Its head office is in Johannesburg. , MTN recorded 280 million subscribers, making it the ...

, Airtel Zambia and Zamtel. There are several Agri Based industries in Kasama, which include Northern Coffee Company Limited (NCCL), a subsidiary of Olam International, growing coffee at Kateshi Estates, and Kalungwishi Estates growing sugar cane and producing the Kasama Sugar brand.

Ethnic Groups

Kasama is in the heartland of the Bemba ethnic group, whose

Paramount Chief A paramount chief is the English-language designation for the highest-level political leader in a regional or local polity or country administered politically with a chief-based system. This term is used occasionally in anthropological and ar ...

Chitimukulu maintains his headquarters from Malole, which is east of the city center.

Suburbs

Kasama has the following residential compounds within the district council boundaries: * Central Town (the largest) * New Town or Mbulo * Location * Mukulumpe * Chikumanino The compounds below are out of the council boundary: * Mulenga Hills * Jazz * Tazara * Misamfu * Milima * Chiba * Chitamba * Brown * Winberg * Kasama Village * Kungu * Mutale/Milenge * Chisanga * Soft Katongo * Lua Luo

Transport

Kasama is served by a good network of major highways. It is on the M1 road, which goes south to

and north to Mbala. The M3 road connects Kasama with Luwingu,

Mansa Mansa may refer to: Places In India * Mansa, Gujarat, a town in northern Gujarat, Western India; the capital of: ** Mansa, Gujarat Assembly constituency ** Mansa State, a princely state under the Mahi Kantha Agency in India * Mansa district, ...

and the

Congo Pedicle The Congo Pedicle (at one time referred to as the Zaire Pedicle; in French ', meaning 'Katanga boot') is the southeast salient of the Katanga Province of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, which divides neighbouring Zambia into two lobes. In a ...

in the west. The D18 road connects Kasama with Mungwi and Isoka in the east. The gauge TAZARA Railway connects

Tanzania Tanzania (; ), officially the United Republic of Tanzania ( sw, Jamhuri ya Muungano wa Tanzania), is a country in East Africa within the African Great Lakes region. It borders Uganda to the north; Kenya to the northeast; Comoro Islands ...

to the north-east via Kasama, with

Zambia Railways Zambia Railways (ZR) is the national railway company of Zambia, one of the two major railway organisations in Zambia. The other system is the binational TAZARA Railway (TAZARA) that interconnects with the ZR at Kapiri Mposhi and provides a link to ...

Kapiri Mposhi Kapiri Mposhi is a Zambian town, seat of the Kapiri Mposhi District, Central Province. Located north of Lusaka, it stands on the Great North Road and is significant for the railway connection between Zambia Railways line from Kitwe to Lusaka an ...

to the south-west. Air transport is accessible through Kasama Airport. It can accommodate small aircraft, and it is undergoing an upgrade to be able to accommodate larger aircraft. It was expected to be ready by the end of 2017.

Recreation

Kasama recreational facilities include the Kasama golf club, which also offers tennis, volleyball, badminton, body building, and a small football ground with one stand that can seat less than a thousand people. The town has other football grounds where people can play soccer. There are resorts at Chishimba Falls and guest houses and lodges such as the Chinchi's Nest and Kings Guest House, and 3 nightclubs.

Rivers

Kasama District has five big rivers and these include, Chambeshi, Lukulu, Lukupa, Lubansenshi and Luombe. The

Chishimba Falls Chisimba Falls, also Chishimba Falls is a series of waterfalls located in Kasama District, in the Northern Province of Zambia. The waterfalls host the Chishimba Hydroelectric Power Station. The scenic views around the falls, together with a ...

are found across the Luombe River and are one of the major tourist attraction in

. The falls host the 15 megawatts Chishimba Hydroelectric Power Station.

Climate

World War I

At the end of

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

, when it consisted of a handful of government offices and a dozen stores, it was evacuated by its British population of a couple of dozen in the face of a surprise raid from the north-east by German East African forces under General

Paul von Lettow-Vorbeck Paul Emil von Lettow-Vorbeck (20 March 1870 – 9 March 1964), also called the Lion of Africa (german: Löwe von Afrika), was a general in the Imperial German Army and the commander of its forces in the German East Africa campaign. For four ye ...

. Not knowing that the

armistice An armistice is a formal agreement of warring parties to stop fighting. It is not necessarily the end of a war, as it may constitute only a cessation of hostilities while an attempt is made to negotiate a lasting peace. It is derived from the ...

had occurred in

Europe Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a subcontinent of Eurasia and it is located entirel ...

the day before, the Germans took the abandoned town on 12 November 1918 and continued south-west (there was no

battle A battle is an occurrence of combat in warfare between opposing military units of any number or size. A war usually consists of multiple battles. In general, a battle is a military engagement that is well defined in duration, area, and force ...

at Kasama since the British imperial forces were at

Abercorn Abercorn (Gaelic: ''Obar Chùirnidh'', Old English: ''Æbbercurnig'') is a village and civil parish in West Lothian, Scotland. Close to the south coast of the Firth of Forth, the village is around west of South Queensferry. The parish had a pop ...

), agreeing a

cease-fire A ceasefire (also known as a truce or armistice), also spelled cease fire (the antonym of 'open fire'), is a temporary stoppage of a war in which each side agrees with the other to suspend aggressive actions. Ceasefires may be between state act ...

at the Chambeshi River on 14 November when they were informed of the German

surrender Surrender may refer to: * Surrender (law), the early relinquishment of a tenancy * Surrender (military), the relinquishment of territory, combatants, facilities, or armaments to another power Film and television * ''Surrender'' (1927 film), an ...

in Europe. For further details, see Von Lettow-Vorbeck Memorial.

Art

Kasama is known for the Stone Age rock art in the surrounding area. The

also lie near the town.

Notable People

Alexander Chikwanda Alexander Bwalya Chikwanda (24 December 1938 - 3 May 2022) was a Zambian politician. He was a member of the National Assembly during the 1960s and again in the 2010s, also serving as Minister of Finance from 1973 to 1976 and again from October 20 ...

- Minister of Finance, 2011-2016, born in Kasama.

References

{{Authority control Populated places in Northern Province, Zambia Provincial capitals in Zambia