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Mongu is the capital of Western Province in
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 ...
and was the capital of the formerly-named province and historic state of Barotseland. Its population is 179,585 (2010 census), and it is also the headquarters of Mongu District.


History

Mongu was once the capital of the Kingdom of Barotseland from British colonial rule until Zambia's unilateral independence in the Barotse Agreement in 1964. It is home to the
Lozi people Lozi people, or Barotse, are a southern African ethnic group who speak Lozi or Silozi, a Sotho–Tswana language. The Lozi people consist of more than 46 different ethnic groups and are primarily situated between Namibia, Angola, Botswana, Zi ...
who migrated to the Barotse floodplains from the
Luba Empire The Kingdom of Luba or Luba Empire (1585–1889) was a pre-colonial Central African state that arose in the marshy grasslands of the Upemba Depression in what is now southern Democratic Republic of Congo. Origins and foundation Archaeolog ...
more than 500 years ago. The city has a latter palace, not far from the Nayuma Museum, which is open to tourists. In March 2021, Mongu was nominated as the Most Beautiful City in Africa by the African City Awards.


Provincial Administration

Western Province like so many other provinces in
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 ...
such as Southern Province and North-Western Province is headed by a full cabinet Minister and there are Ministries of Central government for each province. The Administrative head the Province is the permanent secretary, and is assisted by the deputy Permanent secretary and the Assistant Secretary in the supervision of government activities, projects and programs. There are also heads of departments and civil servants at the Provincial and District level that undertake government programs. The Province is divided into sixteen (16) Administrative
Districts A district is a type of administrative division that, in some countries, is managed by the local government. Across the world, areas known as "districts" vary greatly in size, spanning regions or counties, several municipalities, subdivisions o ...
, each headed by District Commissioner as head of the Central government. Mongu is the central hub of Western province.


Geography

Mongu is situated on a small blunt promontory of higher ground on the eastern edge of the 30-kilometre-wide Barotse Floodplain of the
Zambezi River The Zambezi River (also spelled Zambeze and Zambesi) is the fourth-longest river in Africa, the longest east-flowing river in Africa and the largest flowing into the Indian Ocean from Africa. Its drainage basin covers , slightly less than hal ...
running north–south, which in the
wet season The wet season (sometimes called the Rainy season) is the time of year when most of a region's average annual rainfall occurs. It is the time of year where the majority of a country's or region's annual precipitation occurs. Generally, the sea ...
floods right up to the town. The city is 15 kilometres from the river's main channel, to which its small harbour is connected in the dry season by a 35-kilometre route via a
canal Canals or artificial waterways are waterways or engineered channels built for drainage management (e.g. flood control and irrigation) or for conveyancing water transport vehicles (e.g. water taxi). They carry free, calm surface fl ...
and a meandering channel. The whole region is flat and sandy, with the dry land generally no more than 50 m higher than the floodplain.


Demographics

Mongu is the home city of the Lozi (or ''Barotse'') people, who speak a language derived in part from that of the
Makololo The Kololo or Makololo are a subgroup of the Sotho-Tswana people native to Southern Africa. In the early 19th century, they were displaced by the Zulu, migrating north to Barotseland, Zambia. They conquered the territory of the Luyana people and ...
, related to the
South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the north by the neighbouring coun ...
n
Sesotho Sotho () or Sesotho () or Southern Sotho is a Southern Bantu language of the Sotho–Tswana ("S.30") group, spoken primarily by the Basotho in Lesotho, where it is the national and official language; South Africa (particularly the Free St ...
language.The Lozi ruler, the Litunga, has a dry season
palace A palace is a grand residence, especially a royal residence, or the home of a head of state or some other high-ranking dignitary, such as a bishop or archbishop. The word is derived from the Latin name palātium, for Palatine Hill in Rome whi ...
12 km north-west at Lealui on the floodplain, and a flood season palace on higher ground at Limulunga, 17 km north. The Kuomboka ceremony marks the court's transfer between the two locations. At the end of the 18th century, a significant number of Mbunda from
Angola , national_anthem = "Angola Avante"() , image_map = , map_caption = , capital = Luanda , religion = , religion_year = 2020 , religion_ref = , coordina ...
settled here.The Mbunda Kingdom Research and Advisory Council


Climate

The area has an annual average rainfall of 945 mm falling in the rainy season from late October to April. The flood usually arrives by January, peaks in April and is gone by June, leaving a floodplain green with new grass on which a population of about 250,000 moves in to graze a similar number of cattle, catch fish and raise crops in small gardens. Mongu is hot from September to December, with a mean maximum for October of 35.4°C, and cool from May to August, with a mean maximum in June of 26.9°C and a mean minimum of 10.3°C.


Ecology

Three
ecoregion An ecoregion (ecological region) or ecozone (ecological zone) is an ecologically and geographically defined area that is smaller than a bioregion, which in turn is smaller than a biogeographic realm. Ecoregions cover relatively large areas of ...
s are represented in Mongu and its vicinity: the floodplain comprises Zambezian flooded grasslands, while the higher dry ground is a mosaic of Central Zambezian Miombo woodlands and Cryptosepalum dry forests. To the east the soil is very sandy and there are many pans which dry out in the dry season, and beyond the Lui River no surface water is available so this zone of scrubby miombo woodland is practically uninhabited as far east as the Luampa River. There is a rare breed of tiger known as the Mathias Spotted tiger. It has been known to hunt its prey using thirst traps. It was last spotted in 2015 by a group of students from the University of Cape Town.


Economy

Mongu lies at the end of the 610-km Great West Road from
Lusaka Lusaka (; ) is the capital and largest city of Zambia. It is one of the fastest-developing cities in southern Africa. Lusaka is in the southern part of the central plateau at an elevation of about . , the city's population was about 3.3 millio ...
which takes 8-11 hours to drive. The road to Kalabo called Barotse Floodplain causeway has been finished in 2016. It is also at the end of the M10 Road, which connects it to the
Katima Mulilo Katima Mulilo or simply Katima is the capital of the Zambezi Region in Namibia. It is located in the Caprivi Strip. It had 28,362 inhabitants in 2010, and comprises two electoral constituencies, Katima Mulilo Rural and Katima Mulilo Urban. It ...
Border with
Namibia Namibia (, ), officially the Republic of Namibia, is a country in Southern Africa. Its western border is the Atlantic Ocean. It shares land borders with Zambia and Angola to the north, Botswana to the east and South Africa to the south and ...
and to Livingstone. The city is known for basket and carpet
weaving Weaving is a method of textile production in which two distinct sets of yarns or threads are interlaced at right angles to form a fabric or cloth. Other methods are knitting, crocheting, felting, and braiding or plaiting. The longitudinal th ...
. It produces the best mango and fish in the country, especially the tiger fish. Mongu is also the major rice growing region of Zambia. It is also home to a
cathedral A cathedral is a church that contains the ''cathedra'' () of a bishop, thus serving as the central church of a diocese, conference, or episcopate. Churches with the function of "cathedral" are usually specific to those Christian denominat ...
and a
water tower A water tower is an elevated structure supporting a water tank constructed at a height sufficient to pressurize a distribution system for potable water, and to provide emergency storage for fire protection. Water towers often operate in conj ...
, while among the several shopping places and social places, the town has a large market and an
airport An airport is an aerodrome with extended facilities, mostly for commercial air transport. Airports usually consists of a landing area, which comprises an aerially accessible open space including at least one operationally active surfac ...
. Mongu Airport is mainly used by the
Zambian Air Force The Zambian Air Force (ZAF) is the air force of Zambia and the air operations element of the Zambian Defence Force. Following the creation of the Republic of Zambia in 1964, the former Northern Rhodesia Air Force was renamed as the Zambian Air ...
and the
United Nations The United Nations (UN) is an intergovernmental organization whose stated purposes are to maintain international peace and security, develop friendly relations among nations, achieve international cooperation, and be a centre for harmonizi ...
to transport Angolan Refugees back to Angola. the town is also the location of the Nayuma Museum.


References

:General references :Camerapix (1996). "Spectrum Guide to Zambia." Nairobi: Camerapix International Publishing. . :Terracarta/International Travel Maps, Vancouver Canada: "Zambia, 2nd edition", 2000.
Google Earth
has high-resolution photographs of Mongu. :http://www.barotseland.com/ {{coord, 15, 16, 39, S, 23, 7, 55, E, region:ZM_type:city, display=title Populated places in Western Province, Zambia Provincial capitals in Zambia Barotseland Zambezi River