Liwale is one of the six districts of the

Lindi Region Lindi Region (''Mkoa wa Lindi'' in Swahili language, Swahili) is one of Tanzania's 31 administrative Regions of Tanzania, regions. The region covers an area of . The region is comparable in size to the combined land area of the nation state of Sr ...

Tanzania Tanzania, officially the United Republic of Tanzania, is a country in East Africa within the African Great Lakes region. It is bordered by Uganda to the northwest; Kenya to the northeast; the Indian Ocean to the east; Mozambique and Malawi to t ...

. It is the largest district in Lindi and one of the largest in districts in Tanzania. It is bordered to the north by the

Pwani Region Pwani Region () is one of Tanzania's 31 administrative regions. The Swahili word means 'coast'. With the town of Kibaha serving as the capital, the region borders the Tanga Region to the north, Morogoro Region to the west, Lindi Region to the ...

, to the east by the

Kilwa District Kilwa District (''Wilaya ya Kilwa'' in Swahili) is one of six administrative districts of Lindi Region in Tanzania. The District covers an area of . The district is comparable in size to the land area of the nation state of East Timor. Kilwa di ...

, to the south by the Ruangwa District and to the west by the

Morogoro Region Morogoro Region (''Mkoa wa Morogoro'' in Swahili language, Swahili) is one of Tanzania's 31 administrative Regions of Tanzania, regions. It covers an area of . and is comparable in size to the combined land area of the nation state of Ireland. M ...

. Most of Liwale district is within the

Nyerere National Park Nyerere National Park (formerly the northern part of Selous Game Reserve, pronunciation: "Seluu") (''Hifadhi ya Taifa ya Nyerere'', in Swahili) is a national park of Tanzania and is the largest national park in Tanzania and also one of the world ...

. According to the 2022 Tanzania National Census, the population of the Liwale District was 136,505.

History

Liwale is the ancestral home to the Ngindo People. On the onset of

Maji Maji Rebellion The Maji Maji Rebellion (, ) was an armed rebellion of Africans against German colonial rule in German East Africa (modern-day Tanzania). The war was triggered by German colonial policies designed to force the indigenous population to grow cott ...

on August 15, 1905, Ngindo rebels took Liwale, killing six Askaris and two German colonists. In April 2013, there was

rioting A riot or mob violence is a form of civil disorder commonly characterized by a group lashing out in a violent public disturbance against authority, property, or people. Riots typically involve destruction of property, public or private. The p ...

in Liwale over the levels of payments made for

cashew nuts Cashew is the common name of a tropical evergreen tree ''Anacardium occidentale'', in the family Anacardiaceae. It is native to South America and is the source of the cashew nut and the cashew apple, an accessory fruit. The tree can grow as tal ...

. Police used

tear gas Tear gas, also known as a lachrymatory agent or lachrymator (), sometimes colloquially known as "mace" after the Mace (spray), early commercial self-defense spray, is a chemical weapon that stimulates the nerves of the lacrimal gland in the ey ...

and a

helicopter A helicopter is a type of rotorcraft in which Lift (force), lift and thrust are supplied by horizontally spinning Helicopter rotor, rotors. This allows the helicopter to VTOL, take off and land vertically, to hover (helicopter), hover, and ...

to control the riots. Approximately 20 houses were burnt down.

Wards

The Liwale District is administratively divided into 20 wards: * Barikiwa * Kiangara * Kibutuka * Kimambi * Liwale 'B' * Liwale Mjini * Makata * Mangirikiti * Mbaya * Mihumo * Mirui * Mkutano (English meaning: ''meeting'') * Mlembwe * Mpigamiti * Nangano * Ngongowele * Likongowele * Nangando * Lilombe * Kichonda

References

Districts of Lindi Region {{Lindi-geo-stub