Mzimba District
Mzimba is a district in the Northern Region of Malawi. The capital is Mzimba. The district covers an area of 10,430 km.² and has a population of 610,944. It is the largest district in Malawi. Geography. The Viphya Mountains extend through the southern and eastern portion of the district. The Mzimba Plain occupies the central portion of the district, drained by the South Rukuru River and its tributaries. The western boundary of the district lies along the Malawi-Zambia border, where a low divide separates the basin of the South Rukuru from Zambia's Luangwa River basin. Government . There are twelve National Assembly constituencies in Mzimba: Since the 2009 election most of these constituencies have been held by members of the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Economy. The most common occupations are subsistence farming of maize and beans supplemented by cattle herding, in addition tobacco is grown as a cash crop. There are currently 98 active educational committees in Mzimba. Demographics. At the time of the 2018 Census of Malawi, the distribution of the population of Mzimba District by ethnic group was as follows: Culture. The district consists of people of Tumbuka origin and descendants of Ngoni people from  South Africa. However the main language spoken is chiTumbuka. The district headquarters is at Mzimba. However, the biggest town is Mzuzu, which is also the administrative headquarters of the Northern Region of Malawi. It is also the centre of netball in Malawi, Malawi's most successful sport. Most of the players in the national team, including international star Mwayi Kumwenda were born and grew up in Mzimba. History. History states that the Zwangendaba Ngonis were warriors who settled in northern Malawi. However, once Zwangendaba head of the family died, his sons resettled to what is now the Mzimba District and  seven of his descendants still rule. Mzimba, which means human body, was riddled by calls to split the district into three in early 2016. Citizens and some officials wanted the province to be split, while the head ruler was not in favor of it. Famous People. Mwayi Kumwenda (1989- ), a netball player for the Malawi national team.