Songea
Encyclopedia
Songea is the capital of the Ruvuma Region
in southeastern Tanzania
. It is located along the A19 road
. The city has a population of approximately 130,000, and is the seat of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Songea
. Between 1905 and 1907 the city was a centre of African resistance during the Maji Maji Rebellion
in German East Africa
. The city is poised to experience significant economic growth in the near future as the Mtwara Corridor opens up in a few years.
Songea was a great Ngoni
warrior of Shona ancestry, hanged in 1906 during the time of German repression of the Maji Maji rebellion. Songea had been spared the death sentence because he had surrendered. However he demanded to be hanged along with the other Ngoni leaders. The Germans complied.
After the Second World War the area was marked for rapid agricultural development linked to the ultimately disastrous groundnut scheme. A railway had been planned from the coast to Songea and actually appeared in 1950s high school geography text books. During the liberation war with Mozambique the Songea area was a restricted zone and occasionally suffered aerial attacks by Portuguese forces. Its remoteness made it vulnerable to ivory poaching, and communications remained unreliable until 1985 when a new British funded road was opened linking it northwards to the road and rail hub of Makambako
.
Administratively, the Ruvuma region has four districts; namely Songea, Mbinga
, Namtumbo
and Tunduru
. There are four district councils and one municipal council all led by chairperson, councillors and district directors. Songea is the home of Songea Girls Secondary School.
Ruvuma Region
Ruvuma is a region in Tanzania. It is named after the Ruvuma River which forms most of its southern boundary with Mozambique. It is also bordered to the North by the Morogoro Region, to the Northeast by the Lindi Region, to the East by the Mtwara Region and to the Northwest by the Iringa Region. ...
in southeastern Tanzania
Tanzania
The United Republic of Tanzania is a country in East Africa bordered by Kenya and Uganda to the north, Rwanda, Burundi, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo to the west, and Zambia, Malawi, and Mozambique to the south. The country's eastern borders lie on the Indian Ocean.Tanzania is a state...
. It is located along the A19 road
A19 road (Tanzania)
The A19 is an important road of southern Tanzania. It connects Mbamba Bay on Lake Malawi in the west with Mtwara on the Indian Ocean coast.Enroute it passes through some major towns including Songea. Its western point is located near and its eastern point is located near . At Masasi the B5 road...
. The city has a population of approximately 130,000, and is the seat of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Songea
Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Songea
The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Songea is the Metropolitan See for the Ecclesiastical province of Songea in Tanzania.-History:* November 12, 1913: Established as Apostolic Prefecture of Lindi from the Apostolic Vicariate of Dar-es-Salaam...
. Between 1905 and 1907 the city was a centre of African resistance during the Maji Maji Rebellion
Maji Maji Rebellion
The Maji Maji Rebellion, sometimes called the Maji Maji War, was a violent African resistance to colonial rule in the German colony of Tanganyika, an uprising by several African indigenous communities in German East Africa against the German rule in response to a German policy designed to force...
in German East Africa
German East Africa
German East Africa was a German colony in East Africa, which included what are now :Burundi, :Rwanda and Tanganyika . Its area was , nearly three times the size of Germany today....
. The city is poised to experience significant economic growth in the near future as the Mtwara Corridor opens up in a few years.
Songea was a great Ngoni
Ngoni people
The Ngoni people are an ethnic group living in Malawi, Mozambique, Tanzania and Zambia, in east-central Africa. The Ngoni trace their origins to the Zulu people of kwaZulu-Natal in South Africa...
warrior of Shona ancestry, hanged in 1906 during the time of German repression of the Maji Maji rebellion. Songea had been spared the death sentence because he had surrendered. However he demanded to be hanged along with the other Ngoni leaders. The Germans complied.
After the Second World War the area was marked for rapid agricultural development linked to the ultimately disastrous groundnut scheme. A railway had been planned from the coast to Songea and actually appeared in 1950s high school geography text books. During the liberation war with Mozambique the Songea area was a restricted zone and occasionally suffered aerial attacks by Portuguese forces. Its remoteness made it vulnerable to ivory poaching, and communications remained unreliable until 1985 when a new British funded road was opened linking it northwards to the road and rail hub of Makambako
Makambako
Makambako is a medium-sized town and ward in Njombe district in the Iringa Region of the Tanzanian Southern Highlands, located roughly 40 miles north of Njombe city by road. It is located at junction of the A104 and B4 roads between Njombe, Iringa, and Mbeya...
.
Administratively, the Ruvuma region has four districts; namely Songea, Mbinga
Mbinga
Mbinga is one of the 5 districts of the Ruvuma Region of Tanzania. It is bordered to the North by the Iringa Region, to the East by the Songea Rural and Songea Urban Districts, to the South by Mozambique and to the West by Lake Nyasa....
, Namtumbo
Namtumbo
Namtumbo is one of the 5 districts of the Ruvuma Region of Tanzania. It is bordered to the North by the Morogoro Region, to the East by the Tunduru District, to the South by Mozambique and to the East by the Songea Urban and Songea Rural Districts....
and Tunduru
Tunduru
Tunduru is one of the 5 districts of the Ruvuma Region of Tanzania. It is bordered to the North by the Lindi Region, to the East by the Mtwara Region, to the South by Mozambique and to the West by the Namtumbo District....
. There are four district councils and one municipal council all led by chairperson, councillors and district directors. Songea is the home of Songea Girls Secondary School.