Menongue, formerly Serpa Pinto, is a town, a
municipality
A municipality is usually a single administrative division having municipal corporation, corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate.
The term ''municipality ...
, and the
capital
Capital may refer to:
Common uses
* Capital city, a municipality of primary status
** List of national capital cities
* Capital letter, an upper-case letter Economics and social sciences
* Capital (economics), the durable produced goods used fo ...
of
Cuando Cubango Province
Cuando Cubango ( Umbundu: Kwando Kubango Volupale) is a province of Angola and it has an area of 199,049km2 and a population of 534,002 in 2014. Menongue is the capital of the province. The governor of the province is José Martins, who was appo ...
in
Angola
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, image_map =
, map_caption =
, capital = Luanda
, religion =
, religion_year = 2020
, religion_ref =
, coordina ...
. The municipality had a population of 320,914 in 2014.
It is one of the four municipalities in Angola whose inhabitants are predominantly
Mbunda.
Menongue is the current
terminus of the
Moçâmedes Railway, from
Moçâmedes
Moçâmedes is a city in southwestern Angola, capital of Namibe Province. The city's current population is 255,000 (2014 census). Founded in 1840 by the Portuguese colonial administration, the city was named Namibe between 1985 and 2016. Moçâ ...
,
and also home of the small
Menongue Airport.
History
During the colonial period, the town was called Serpa Pinto, in honour of the namesake
Portuguese explorer
Portuguese maritime exploration resulted in the numerous territories and maritime routes recorded by the Portuguese as a result of their intensive maritime journeys during the 15th and 16th centuries. Portuguese sailors were at the vanguard of Eu ...
.
Sports
FC Cuando Cubango, promoted to the 2018
Girabola
Girabola, or ''Campeonato Nacional de Futebol em Séniores Masculinos'', is the top division of Angolan football. It is organized by the Angolan Football Federation.
The league winner and runner-up qualify for the CAF Champions League.
Girabo ...
, the top flight of Angolan soccer, play in Menongue.
See also
*
Mbunda language
*
Mbunda people
*
Mbunda Kingdom
The Mbunda Kingdom ( Mbunda: ''Chiundi ca Mbunda'' or ''Vumwene vwa Chiundi'' or Portuguese: ''Reino dos Bundas'') was an African kingdom located in west central Africa, what is now south-east Angola. At its greatest extent, it reached from M ...
References
{{Authority control
Populated places in Cuando Cubango Province
Municipalities of Angola
Provincial capitals in Angola