Katima Mulilo

Sister cities

• Otjiwarongo

History

The name Katima Mulilo comes from the SiLozi for quench the fire, referring to nearby rapids in the Zambezi. From early days (and before the advent of firelighting matches), there was river transport by barge (propelled by paddlers) along the Zambezi from Livingstone to Sesheke, onwards past the Ngonye Falls at Sioma, where an attempt was made in about 1905 to bypass the Falls with a canal. Barges were unloaded and dragged by oxen around the Falls. The route continued to Mongu, the administrative capital of Barotseland, and northwards to the settlement of Balovale (now Zambezi) in the North West of Zambia, at . When the barge reached Katima Mulilo, the fire was extinguished (but embers were kept), and the barge was unloaded and then dragged empty up the rapids, and re-loaded before continuing the journey – but not before the fire was re-lit. On 28 January 1935, the administrative centre of the Caprivi Strip was moved from Schuckmannsburg to Katima Mulilo. This date is assumed as the foundation date of Katima Mulilo. The regional office, the only brick-and-mortar building at Katima Mulilo at a time when the area consisted exclusively of pristine forests, was built under a giant Baobab situated near today's SWAPO Party regional offices. In present times the tree is known as the Toilet Tree because of a rest room carved into it. Katima Mulilo was very sparsely populated at that time. It had a missionary school run by the Seventh-day Adventists, and the small settlements were connected only by sleigh tracks. Without any roads nor other infrastructure it was difficult to administer the Caprivi Strip from here. The South African administration therefore decided to shift the regional office again, this time to Pretoria, in 1939. Given its proximity to important transport…

Geography

The oldest suburbs are Nghweeze, the former Blacks' township, and Katima Mulilo Proper, the area restricted to Whites during the apartheid era. Butterfly, Cowboy, Choto and Mahohoma are registered informal settlements of Katima, further parts of town are named Nambweza, Soweto (South–Western Townships, a reminiscence of the famous suburb of Johannesburg), New Look, Mabuluma, Lyambai, Bebi, Greenwell Matongo, Macaravan East and West, and NHE (from National Housing Enterprises, a governmental low-cost housing company that drew development here). The Lozi people are a Bantu-speaking ethnic group native to southern Africa. They consist of several tribes, including the Bafwe, Bambukushu, Basubia, Batotela, and Bayeyi, each with its own dialect and traditional authority. These tribes share the same Lozi culture and traditions. Silozi serves as the standard language that unifies them and is widely used in educational materials, media such as television and radio, and government communications. Additionally, Silozi plays a crucial role in preserving and promoting cultural heritage, serving as a common medium for cultural practices and ceremonies. Additionally, there is a population of San, specifically the Khwe people, residing in Bwabwata in the western part of the region. The town's coat of arms, still very similar to that used by the Caprivi government, depicts these tribes as two elephants facing each other, symbolising unity and peaceful coexistence of the tribal chiefs. Katima Mulilo has a hot semi-arid climate (Köppen BSh), bordering on a dry-winter humid subtropical climate (Cwa). Almost all rainfall occurs from November to March, when the weather is hot and humid although substantially moderated by altitude. In the long dry season between April and October the…

Most-observed species

• White-browed Robin-Chat

  Cossypha heuglini Hartlaub, 1866 · Aves
  739
• Fork-tailed Drongo

  Dicrurus adsimilis (Bechstein, 1794) · Aves
  720
• Schalow's Turaco

  Tauraco schalowi (Reichenow, 1891) · Aves
  715
• Emerald-spotted Wood-Dove

  Turtur chalcospilos (Wagler, 1827) · Aves
  702
• Red-eyed Dove

  Streptopelia semitorquata (Rüppell, 1837) · Aves
  673
• Long-tailed Cormorant

  Microcarbo africanus (Gmelin, 1789) · Aves
  642
• Brown-hooded Kingfisher

  Halcyon albiventris (Scopoli, 1786) · Aves
  636
• Black-collared Barbet

  Lybius torquatus (Dumont, 1805) · Aves
  626