page_title: Mchinji
section_title: History
hierarchical_section_title: Mchinji / History
caption_attribution_description: English: Madonna at the premiere of I Am Because We Are at the 2008 Tribeca Film Festival
context_page_description: Mchinji is a town and the capital of the Mchinji District in the Central Region of Malawi. Mchinji Boma, located 12 kilometres from the Zambian border and 109 km from the national capital, Lilongwe, is the major hub of government and general business. It has a major railroad junction, being the railhead nearest to Zambia. The area's economy is sustained by rain-fed agriculture.
context_section_description: Mchinji Boma was formerly known as Fort Manning, after governor William Manning. Fort Manning was called a "fort" because the local government offices (the "boma") were once fortified.
  In 1930, Fort Manning was attacked by a lion that caused over thirty-six deaths over a five-month period.
  A magnitude 6.6 earthquake struck Mchinji on 10 March 1989. At least 9 people were killed, 100 injured and about 50,000 left homeless in Malawi. It was also felt in Zambia.
  American pop singer Madonna adopted 13-month-old David Banda from Mchinji in October 2006. This generated international controversy because Malawian law stated that one year of residence was required of potential adoptive parents. The effort was highly publicised and culminated in legal disputes.
  On 19 June 2008 Gillian Merron, the British Minister for International Development, responsible for Africa, visited Mchinji and spoke about maternal health and the challenges faced by residents.
caption: Pop singer, Madonna, caused legal controversy when she adopted a child from Mchinji.
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