Chiengi District with headquarters at

Chiengi Chiengi or is a historic colonial boma of the British Empire in central Africa and today is a settlement in the Luapula Province of Zambia, and headquarters of Chiengi District. Chiengi is in the north-east corner of Lake Mweru, and at the foo ...

is the most northerly district in the Luapula Province of

Zambia Zambia, officially the Republic of Zambia, is a landlocked country at the crossroads of Central Africa, Central, Southern Africa, Southern and East Africa. It is typically referred to being in South-Central Africa or Southern Africa. It is bor ...

and was carved out of Nchelenge District after Zambia's

independence Independence is a condition of a nation, country, or state, in which residents and population, or some portion thereof, exercise self-government, and usually sovereignty, over its territory. The opposite of independence is the status of ...

. As of the 2022 Zambian Census, the district had a population of 189,893 people.2022 Census of Population and Housing - Preliminary Report
(PDF) Most of its population live in fishing villages along the 70 km (approx.) of the north-east shore of Lake Mweru which lies within the district. The largest settlement is Puta, 5 km south of Chiengi town, named after Chief Puta. The district is bounded by the

DR Congo The Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), also known as the DR Congo, Congo-Kinshasa, or simply the Congo (the last ambiguously also referring to the neighbouring Republic of the Congo), is a country in Central Africa. By land area, it is t ...

border in the north, Kaputa District in the east and the Kalungwishi River in the south.Google Earth
/ref> The eastern edge of the district is a hilly wilderness, partly in the Mweru Wantipa National Park. The hills have always been known for their wildlife, early colonial officers sustained themselves through hunting. The district

commissioner A commissioner (commonly abbreviated as Comm'r) is, in principle, a member of a commission or an individual who has been given a commission (official charge or authority to do something). In practice, the title of commissioner has evolved to incl ...

's residence had wooden bars on the verandah so that the officer could sit there in the evening while lions roamed through the settlement.Mr Justice J B Thomson
"Memories of Abandoned Bomas No. 8: Chiengi"
'' Northern Rhodesia Journal'', Vol II, No. 6 (1954), pp67−77. Elephants used to be seen on the dambo below the boma, but most of the population in the district have been killed by poachers.Camerapix: "Spectrum Guide to Zambia." Camerapix International Publishing, Nairobi, 1996. Chiengi District today is undeveloped and suffers from a lack of

infrastructure Infrastructure is the set of facilities and systems that serve a country, city, or other area, and encompasses the services and facilities necessary for its economy, households and firms to function. Infrastructure is composed of public and pri ...

. The main road is of gravel construction and is frequently cut by rains and collapsing bridges; there is no telephone or television service as of 2007 although plans are in hand for a satellite link, subject to securing adequate funding.''The Times of Zambia'' online: "Chienge district still lagging behind" by Austin Kalumba
. Website accessed 22 April 2007. Quote: "The major hindrance has been the bad road which can only be likened to the notorious 1970’s Hell Run."

References

{{coord, 8.4828, S, 28.9347, E, source:wikidata, display=title Districts of Luapula Province