| Official Name: | Kasungu |
| Pushpin Map: | Malawi |
| Pushpin Mapsize: | 240 |
| Pushpin Label Position: | bottom |
| Pushpin Map Caption: | Location in Malawi |
| Subdivision Type: | Country |
| Subdivision Name: |  Malawi |
| Subdivision Type1: | Region |
| Subdivision Name1: | Central Region |
| Subdivision Type2: | District |
| Subdivision Name2: | Kasungu District |
| Unit Pref: | Imperial |
| Population As Of: | 2018 Census[1] |
| Population Total: | 58,653 |
| Population Blank1 Title: | Ethnicities |
| Population Blank2 Title: | Religions |
| Timezone: | +2 |
| Coordinates: | -13.0333°N 62°W |
| Elevation M: | 1342 |
| Blank1 Name Sec2: | Climate |
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 130km (80miles) north-west of the capital of Malawi, Lilongwe, and is 35km (22miles) east of Kasungu National Park.[2] The main industry in Kasungu is tobacco-growing.[3]
A farm close to Kasungu was the birthplace of the first President of Malawi, Hastings Banda[3] and William Kamkwamba.
Kasungu is in central Malawi, lying at an elevation of 1342m (4,403feet). It has a humid subtropical climate (Köppen: Cwa) and a rainy season that lasts from November–December to March–April. The dry season lasts from May to October.[2] The town receives, on average, between NaNmm rainfall each year.
| Year | Population[4] [5] | |
|---|---|---|
| 1987 | 11,591 | |
| 1998 | 27,754 | |
| 2008 | 39,640 | |
| 2018 | 58,653 |
Chichewa is the main language spoken in Kasungu.[6]
Kasungu is served by buses and minibuses that travel to Lilongwe and Mzuzu.[2] In June 2008, Central East Africa Railways announced plans to extend the rail line from Lilongwe to Kasungu.[7]
There are guesthouses, bars, restaurants, and four petrol stations in Kasungu; according to Lonely Planet, there are "no major attractions" in Kasungu.[2] 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.[8] 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.[9] [10] The hospital's 13-bed paediatric department can receive over 100 patients, leaving some patients on the floor.[11] UNICEF-Hamburg has sent over US$6000 to train care-workers in Kasungu.[12]
The land in Kasungu lacks nutrients and water, and is mostly "sand veld";[3] the Kasungu area is suffering from depleted forests.[13] A tribal chief stated in 2004 that over 250,000 people in Kasungu own no land.[14] Tobacco is the only cash crop grown in Kasungu district,[15] and the area has been described as a "tobacco heartland" by Xinhua News Agency. The opening of Kasungu National Park in 1970 has increased tourism in the area.[3] 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. According to AllAfrica, Kasungu is a "child labour hotspot."[16]
Kasungu is a "stronghold" of the Malawi Congress Party.[17] The Member of the Malawian Parliament for Kasungu Central is Allan Kabuluzi.[18] The MP for Kasungu North North West is Rodger Sithole,[19] and the MP for Kasungu North West is Gerald Jere.[20]
Kaluluma School in Kasungu has formed a relationship with Greenford High School, Southall, England.[21] 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.[22]
Over 100 people died in a famine in 2002, according to official estimates; Kasungu was the worst affected area in Malawi.[23] In 2005 a famine occurred in Malawi, affecting 4.2 million Malawians. The efforts to distribute food to the needy were concentrated in Kasungu.[24] During 2004 and 2005, there was an outbreak of cholera, with eight people recorded to have suffered the disease.[25]
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".[26] [27]
In January 2008, the African Junior Chess Championships were held at Kamuzu Academy near Kasungu.[28] 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.[29]