Nampula

Sister cities

• Amarante
• Leiria

History

Nampula is a relatively new city. It was founded by the Portuguese colonial army in 1907 and elevated to city status in 1956. During the Mozambican War of Independence, Nampula was a strategic military centre for the colonial army in the fight against the FRELIMO liberation movement. Amurane's death led to a collapse of the MDM's support base in Nampula and another opposition party, RENAMO, won subsequent municipal elections led by Paulo Vahanle. Since the establishment of the city, Nampula has had numerous mayors: * Aurélio das Neves * Germano José Joaquim * Francisco Joaquim de Lima * Narciso João Iondela * Ishaca Abdul Ali Baraca * Dionísio Cherewa * Castro Namuaca * Mahamudo Amurane * Paulo Vahanle

Geography

The city of Nampula lies in the centre of the province of Nampula and is surrounded by plains and rocky outcrops. The city lies amongst rolling hills and mountains, typical of the interior of northern Mozambique. Nampula has a tropical savanna climate (Köppen climate classification: Aw).