Nyimba - Zambia

Nyimba district is located in the southern part of eastern province and lies between longitude 30 degrees 15 minutes and 31 degrees 15 minutes east and latitude 13 degrees 55 minutes and 15 degrees south. The district has an appropriate area of 125,000 square kilometers (i.e. 1,250,000 hectares). It is the gateway to the Eastern Province about 340 Km from Lusaka along the Great East Road. It shares boundaries with six districts and one country. Serenje to the north, Petauke to the east, Mozambique to the south, Luangwa district to the south-west, Chongwe to the west and Mkushi to the North West.

Nyimba is one of the 15 Districts in the Eastern Province of Zambia. It was originally part of Petauke district and was detached from it on 30th March 1993.

The district is divided into four (4) chiefdoms as, senior chief Luembe, chief Ndake, chief Nyalugwe and chieftainess Mwape. Generally the indigenous people speak Nsenga though certain distinctions are made such as, the Ambo-nsenga in the chiefdom of Luembe and Mwape, while the Tandes are found in Nyalugwe chiefdom. Most local people are peasant farmers who grow maize as their staple food, groundnuts and cotton as cash crops. Fishing and hunting is the majority’s occupation in the valley. A good section of the valley is unsuitable for farming but good for game and wildlife.