:Kasama, Zambia

It is situated on the central-southern African plateau, approximately {{convert|856|km|0}}, by road, north-east of Lusaka, the capital and largest city in Zambia.{{cite web|access-date=4 October 2018 |date=4 October 2018 |publisher=Globefeed.com |author=Globefeed.com | url=https://distancecalculator.globefeed.com/Zambia_Distance_Result.asp?fromplace=Lusaka%2C%20Zambia&toplace=Kasama%2C%20Zambia&dt1=ChIJSaq8PH3zQBkR6xMgRsGT0NA&dt2=ChIJA9tXgRzGCBkRviTKP1u-0n8&sr=dc | title=Distance between Lusaka, Zambia and Kasama, Zambia}}

Kasama is located on the M1 road (old Great North Road) from Mpika in the south to Mbala and Mpulungu, at the tip of Lake Tanganyika, in the north.

The city population grew considerably in the 1970s and 1980s after construction of the TAZARA Railway through the city, and the tarring of the old Great North Road. Its population, according to Encyclopedia Britannica, was 74,243 in 2000 and had increased to 113,779 in 2010.{{cite web |url=https://www.britannica.com/place/Kasama |date=4 October 2018 |title=Population of Kasama Town, Zambia |publisher=Encyclopedia Britannica |author=((The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica)) | access-date=4 October 2018 |location=Chicago, Illinois, United States}}

The 1898/1899 interregnum on the Mwamba throne, the then second in rank from the Chitimukulu, made it possible for Catholic Bishop Joseph 'Moto Moto' Dupont to facilitate the establishment of the British colonial administration of North-Eastern Rhodesia under Administrator Robert Codrington. The first BSAC administrative boma was established at Kasama. Due to the town's central location as well as its closeness to Chitimukulu's and Mwamba's courts, it eventually became the largest and dominant town of the north-eastern lobe of Northern Rhodesia, then later, Zambia.

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 banks including Zambia National Commercial Bank, National Savings & Credit Bank, Atlas Mara Bank Zambia Limited, Standard Chartered Zambia, Cavmont Bank, Barclays Bank of Zambia, Access Bank Zambia and Indo-Zambia Bank Limited. 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, 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,{{cite web |title=Zambia |url=https://www.olamgroup.com/locations/southern-africa/zambia.html |website=Olam |publisher=Olam International |access-date=12 February 2020 |archive-date=27 February 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210227212923/https://www.olamgroup.com/locations/southern-africa/zambia.html |url-status=dead }} and Kalungwishi Estates growing sugar cane and producing the Kasama Sugar brand.

Kasama is in the heartland of the Bemba ethnic group, whose Paramount Chief Chitimukulu maintains his headquarters {{convert|9|km|0}} from Malole in Mungwi District, which is {{convert|51|km|0}} east of the Kasama city center.{{cite web|access-date=4 October 2018 | url=https://distancecalculator.globefeed.com/Zambia_Distance_Result.asp?fromplace=Kasama%2C%20Zambia&toplace=Malole%2C%20Zambia&dt1=ChIJA9tXgRzGCBkRviTKP1u-0n8&dt2=ChIJm5UZX-emCBkRD9aqYtbYp5s&sr=dc | date=4 October 2018 |title=Distance between Kasama, Zambia and Malole, Zambia |publisher=Globefeed.com |author=Globefeed.com}}

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

Kasama is served by a good network of highways. It is on the M1 road, which goes south to Mpika and north to Mbala.{{Cite web |title=Roads and Road Traffic Act {{!}} National Assembly of Zambia |url=https://www.parliament.gov.zm/node/1492 |access-date=2022-06-27 |website=www.parliament.gov.zm}} The M3 road connects Kasama with Luwingu, Mansa and the Congo Pedicle in the west. The D18 road connects Kasama with Mungwi and Isoka in the east.

The {{RailGauge|1067mm|al=on|lk=on}} gauge TAZARA Railway connects Tanzania to the north-east via Kasama, with Zambia Railways at Kapiri Mposhi 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,{{cite web |location=Lusaka | url=http://www.daily-mail.co.zm/kasama-mix-cultural-heritage-rapid-economic-growth/ | title=Kasama: Mix of cultural heritage, rapid economic growth |access-date=4 October 2015 |first=Henry | last=Sinyangwe |newspaper=Zambia Daily Mail |date=25 November 2016}} but was complete in 2023.{{Cite web |last=Moonga |first=Chambwa |date=13 July 2023 |title=New Kasama Airport gift for Ukusefya Pang'wena |url=http://www.daily-mail.co.zm/new-kasama-airport-gift-for-ukusefya-pangwena/ |access-date=14 October 2023 |website=Zambia Daily Mail}}{{Cite web |last= |first= |date=2023-08-20 |title=Zambia : Kasama Airport rehabilitations elate government |url=https://www.lusakatimes.com/2023/08/20/kasama-airport-rehabilitations-elate-government/ |access-date=2023-10-14 |language=en-GB}}

File:Mutumuna falls Northern Zambia.jpg

File:Chishimba Falls.jpg

Kasama District has five main rivers, namely: Chambeshi, Lukulu, Lukupa, Lubansenshi and Luombe. The Chishimba Falls are found across the Luombe River and are one of the major tourist attractions in Zambia. The falls host the 15 megawatts Chishimba Hydroelectric Power Station.{{cite web| url=https://constructionreviewonline.com/news/zambia-to-rehabilitate-us-46m-chishimba-falls-power-station/ |title=Zambia to rehabilitate US $46m Chishimba falls power station |date=15 August 2021 |work=Construction Review Online |author=Teresia Njoroge |access-date=16 May 2022 |location=Nairobi, Kenya}}

Kasama features a humid subtropical climate (Köppen: Cwa), close to a tropical savanna climate (Köppen: Aw),{{Cite journal |date=23 October 2023 |title=Table 1 Overview of the Köppen-Geiger climate classes including the defining criteria. |url=https://www.nature.com/articles/s41597-023-02549-6/tables/1 |journal=Nature: Scientific Data |language=en}} with clear wet and dry seasons. October and November are the hottest months, while June and July are the coolest months. The wet season, from November to April, experiences high levels of humidity and rainfall, while the dry season, from May to September, is nearly rainless.

{{Weather box

| width = auto

| collapsed =

| metric first = yes

| single line = yes

| location = Kasama (Kasama Airport) (1991–2020, extremes 1961–2020)

|Jan record high C = 32.2

|Feb record high C = 37.0

|Mar record high C = 33.1

|Apr record high C = 33.1

|May record high C = 32.1

|Jun record high C = 32.1

|Jul record high C = 30.9

|Aug record high C = 34.0

|Sep record high C = 36.5

|Oct record high C = 36.9

|Nov record high C = 36.8

|Dec record high C = 33.2

|year record high C =

| Jan high C = 27.1

| Feb high C = 27.2

| Mar high C = 27.6

| Apr high C = 27.3

| May high C = 27.1

| Jun high C = 25.9

| Jul high C = 25.6

| Aug high C = 27.9

| Sep high C = 30.6

| Oct high C = 31.6

| Nov high C = 30.3

| Dec high C = 27.8

| year high C = 29.2

| Jan mean C = 21.8

| Feb mean C = 21.8

| Mar mean C = 22.0

| Apr mean C = 21.3

| May mean C = 19.9

| Jun mean C = 18.1

| Jul mean C = 17.6

| Aug mean C = 19.8

| Sep mean C = 22.5

| Oct mean C = 24.0

| Nov mean C = 23.6

| Dec mean C = 22.3

| year mean C = 21.2

| Jan low C = 16.5

| Feb low C = 16.4

| Mar low C = 16.4

| Apr low C = 15.3

| May low C = 12.6

| Jun low C = 10.2

| Jul low C = 9.6

| Aug low C = 11.6

| Sep low C = 14.3

| Oct low C = 16.4

| Nov low C = 16.9

| Dec low C = 16.7

| year low C = 13.4

|Jan record low C = 8.2

|Feb record low C = 13.1

|Mar record low C = 12.8

|Apr record low C = 9.8

|May record low C = 2.4

|Jun record low C = 1.0

|Jul record low C = 2.5

|Aug record low C = 0.0

|Sep record low C = 8.5

|Oct record low C = 11.4

|Nov record low C = 12.6

|Dec record low C = 10.9

|year record low C = 0.0

| precipitation colour = green

| Jan precipitation mm = 254.4

| Feb precipitation mm = 248.1

| Mar precipitation mm = 238.9

| Apr precipitation mm = 67.0

| May precipitation mm = 2.6

| Jun precipitation mm = 0.0

| Jul precipitation mm = 0.0

| Aug precipitation mm = 0.2

| Sep precipitation mm = 2.3

| Oct precipitation mm = 35.5

| Nov precipitation mm = 101.5

| Dec precipitation mm = 261.4

| year precipitation mm = 1217.6

|Jan humidity = 82.7

|Feb humidity = 82.3

|Mar humidity = 82.1

|Apr humidity = 77.3

|May humidity = 69.5

|Jun humidity = 63.2

|Jul humidity = 57.6

|Aug humidity = 51.9

|Sep humidity = 44.4

|Oct humidity = 50.2

|Nov humidity = 67.4

|Dec humidity = 80.6

|year humidity = 67.4

|Jan sun = 133.3

|Feb sun = 134.4

|Mar sun = 179.8

|Apr sun = 222.0

|May sun = 288.3

|Jun sun = 297.0

|Jul sun = 306.9

|Aug sun = 306.9

|Sep sun = 279.0

|Oct sun = 251.1

|Nov sun = 207.0

|Dec sun = 151.9

|year sun = 2757.6

| source 1 = NOAA{{cite web

|url = https://www.nodc.noaa.gov/archive/arc0216/0253808/2.2/data/0-data/Region-1-WMO-Normals-9120/Zambia/CSV/Kasama_67475.csv

|title = World Meteorological Organization Climate Normals for 1991-2020 — Kasama

|publisher = National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

|access-date = January 23, 2024}}{{cite web

| url = ftp://ftp.atdd.noaa.gov/pub/GCOS/WMO-Normals/TABLES/REG__I/ZA/67475.TXT

| title = Kasama MET Climate Normals 1961–1990

| publisher = National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

| access-date = 5 April 2015}}

}}

File:Chambeshi Monument 03.jpg of the signing of the armistice at the end of WWI, 3 days after the end of the war in Europe.]]

At the end of World War I, 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. Not knowing that the armistice had occurred in Europe the day before, the Germans took the abandoned town on 12 November 1918 and continued south-west (there was no battle at Kasama since the British imperial forces were at Abercorn), agreeing a cease-fire at the Chambeshi River on 14 November when they were informed of the German surrender in Europe. For further details, see Von Lettow-Vorbeck Memorial.

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

• Alexander Chikwanda - Minister of Finance, 2011-2016, born in Kasama.

• Railway stations in Zambia
• St. John the Apostle Cathedral, Kasama

{{Wikivoyage|Kasama}}

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Category:Populated places in Northern Province, Zambia

Category:Provincial capitals in Zambia