Kasungu is a

district 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 county, counties, several municipality, municipa ...

in the Central Region of

Malawi Malawi (; or aláwi Tumbuka: ''Malaŵi''), officially the Republic of Malawi, is a landlocked country in Southeastern Africa that was formerly known as Nyasaland. It is bordered by Zambia to the west, Tanzania to the north and northeas ...

. The capital is

Kasungu 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. Kasungu is approximately north-west of the capital of Malawi, Lilongwe, and is east of Kasungu N ...

. The district covers an area of 7,878 km², borders

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 ...

and has a population of 842,953. In Kasungu District you can cross the border into Zambia and take the legendary "100 miles of rough road" to South Luangwa National Park in Zambia. If you survive the road, this is one of the great animal parks of southern Africa. Kasungu was the home to Malawi's first president, Dr.

Hastings Kamuzu Banda Hastings Kamuzu Banda (1898 – 25 November 1997) was the prime minister and later president of Malawi from 1964 to 1994 (from 1964 to 1966, Malawi was an independent Dominion / Commonwealth realm). In 1966, the country became a republic and ...

Demographics

At the time of the 2018 Census of Malawi, the distribution of the population of Kasungu District by ethnic group was as follows: * 78.1%

Chewa Chewa may refer to: *the Chewa people *the Chewa language Chewa (also known as Nyanja, ) is a Bantu language spoken in much of Southern, Southeast and East Africa, namely the countries of Malawi , where it is an official language, and Mozambiq ...

* 15.8% Tumbuka * 1.9% Ngoni * 1.8% Yao * 1.6% Lomwe * 0.2%

Tonga Tonga (, ; ), officially the Kingdom of Tonga ( to, Puleʻanga Fakatuʻi ʻo Tonga), is a Polynesian country and archipelago. The country has 171 islands – of which 45 are inhabited. Its total surface area is about , scattered over in ...

* 0.1%

Mang'anja The Mang'anja are a Bantu people of central and southern Africa, particularly around Chikwawa in the Shire River valley of southern Malawi Malawi (; or aláwi Tumbuka: ''Malaŵi''), officially the Republic of Malawi, is a landlocked co ...

* 0.1% Sena * 0.1% Nkhonde * 0.1%

Lambya The Lambya, also known as the Nkoya, are an ethnic and linguistic group based along the border of northwestern Malawi and in Mbeya Region, Tanzania. A minority also exists in Zambia. In 2001 the Lambya population was estimated to number 85,000, i ...

* 0.1% Nyanja * 0.0% Sukwa * 0.1% Others

Government and administrative divisions

There are nine

National Assembly In politics, a national assembly is either a unicameral legislature, the lower house of a bicameral legislature, or both houses of a bicameral legislature together. In the English language it generally means "an assembly composed of the rep ...

constituencies in Kasungu: * Kasungu - Central * Kasungu - East * Kasungu - North * Kasungu - North East * Kasungu - North-North East * Kasungu - North West * Kasungu - South * Kasungu - South East * Kasungu - West Since the 2009 election most of these constituencies (except Kasungu North, which has been held by members of the Democratic Progressive Party) have been held by members of the

Malawi Congress Party The Malawi Congress Party (MCP) is a political party in Malawi. It was formed as a successor party to the banned Nyasaland African Congress when the country, then known as Nyasaland, was under British rule. The MCP, under Hastings Banda, pres ...

. The district has a number of traditional leaders, among them T/As Kaomba, Kaluluma, Chulu, Santhe, Simlemba, Chisemphere, Chinsinga, Chilowamatambe and Mwase. Kasungu is also the home to the inventor William Kamkwamba and young politician Joseph Kawelama. Though the district was a stronghold of the

, the party fared badly in the 2009 general elections. The party lost all parliamentary seats in the district, some to independents and mostly to the ruling Democratic Progressive Party. On 20 May 2014, Malawians are again to for general elections. Of late President Dr. Joyce Banda has uncovered a scam were government has been swindled millions of Kwachas thru undelivered items whilst these people have been paid. This has seen some political heavy weights being arrested and the Anti Corruption Bureau and Malawi Police have not yet finalised the arrested.

References

Districts of Malawi Districts in Central Region, Malawi {{Malawi-geo-stub