Sumbawanga is a city located in western

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 capital of

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

and the municipal seat of Sumbawanga Urban District with

postcode A postal code (also known locally in various English-speaking countries throughout the world as a postcode, post code, PIN or ZIP Code) is a series of letters or numerical digit, digits or both, sometimes including spaces or punctuation, inclu ...

number A number is a mathematical object used to count, measure, and label. The most basic examples are the natural numbers 1, 2, 3, 4, and so forth. Numbers can be represented in language with number words. More universally, individual numbers can ...

55100 . The district had a population of approximately 303,986 based on the 2022 census. Sumbawanga lies in the territory of the Wafipa Fipa tribe and so many people speak Kifipa, as well as

Kiswahili Swahili, also known as as it is referred to in the Swahili language, is a Bantu language originally spoken by the Swahili people, who are found primarily in Tanzania, Kenya, and Mozambique (along the East African coast and adjacent littoral i ...

, the most widely used language of Tanzania. The name of the town literally translates as "throw away your witchcraft", thought to be a warning from local spiritual "healers" to any bringing in superstitions and practices relating to spiritual healers from other areas. Until the 1980s approximately, Sumbawanga was a place where many witch doctors were located. Though fewer in numbers, there are still some healers who practice both in town and in the surrounding smaller villages on the plateau. The town has the largest hospital in the region, Rukwa General Hospital, which is government funded, as well as the smaller Dr. Atiman Hospital administrated and run by the Catholic Diocese of Sumbawanga. The town acts as a supply and commercial center for the Rukwa Region and some governmental agencies are to be found there, notably the transport department for the region. Sumbawanga has both Libori and Moravian conference centres. A modest-size market is in the town centre where local produce may be found. This includes maize, rice, fruit, poultry and fish (from Lake Tanganyika and Lake Rukwa). Many imported plastic goods and electronics are available as well as bicycles and spares. Although there are several fuel outlets, supply can be quite erratic because of the difficulties of transport from the coast. The local economy is largely dependent on agriculture and small locally owned businesses. There is very limited industry or production in the town. Significant improvement has been made on the road to

Mbeya Mbeya is a city located in south west Tanzania, Africa, with an urban population of 649,000 in 2023. Mbeya is the capital of the surrounding rural Mbeya Region, Mbeya region (population, with Mbeya, totals approx. 2 million). Mbeya is situated a ...

as it is sealed to enable reliable all-weather access year round. This road, and its continuation north to Mpanda and Tabora or Kigoma, is now passable throughout the year. The Tanzanian government has had contracts in place for upgrading large sections of these roads. The town can be reached by flights operated by Auric Air or by bus from

which lies to the south with train links to the town of Kapiri Mposhi in Zambia, to

Dar es Salaam Dar es Salaam (, ; from ) is the largest city and financial hub of Tanzania. It is also the capital of the Dar es Salaam Region. With a population of over 7 million people, Dar es Salaam is the largest city in East Africa by population and the ...

. Rail is also available through

Tabora Tabora is the capital of Tanzania's Tabora Region and is classified as a municipality by the Tanzanian government. It is also the administrative seat of Tabora Urban District. According to the 2012 census, the district had a population of 226, ...

from

Mpanda Mpanda is a city in Katavi Region of Tanzania, East Africa with a postcode number 50100. It is the administrative centre of Katavi Region, Mpanda District and is itself one of the four districts of the region. Mpanda is a "frontier town" in t ...

in the north. Mpanda also has an airport with a 2 km sealed runway.

Education

Sumbawanga has many schools and colleges, including: #Chem Chem Secondary School #Sumbawanga Secondary School #St. Aggrey Chanji High School #Mazwi Secondary School #St. Aggrey Teaching College #Musoma Utalii College #Chem Chem Teaching College #Kanda Secondary School #Mafulala Secondary School #Msakila Secondary School #St.Mary's Colledge

Climate

Twin Town/Sister City

Tifariti Tifariti () is an oasis town and the temporary capital of the Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic, located in north-eastern Western Sahara, east of the Moroccan Berm, from Smara and north of the border with Mauritania. It is part of what Polisario ...

Western Sahara Western Sahara is a territorial dispute, disputed territory in Maghreb, North-western Africa. It has a surface area of . Approximately 30% of the territory () is controlled by the Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic (SADR); the remaining 70% is ...

In popular culture

* The town was included on the route taken by

Ewan McGregor Ewan Gordon McGregor ( ; born 31 March 1971) is a Scottish actor. His accolades include a Golden Globe Award and a Primetime Emmy Award. In 2013, he was appointed Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) for his services to drama and ...

and Charlie Boorman on their 15,000 mile north to south Long Way Down motorcycle adventure in July 2007.

References

External links

{{Authority control Populated places in Rukwa Region Regional capitals in Tanzania