Kazungula, Botswana

Kazungula is a border town in Chobe District, northern Botswana, roughly 8 kilometres east of the district capital Kasane. It stands on the south bank of the Chobe and Zambezi rivers, close to the quadripoint where the borders of Botswana, Zambia, Namibia and Zimbabwe meet. Its name comes from the sausage tree, known locally as mzungula. The town has long been a crossing point on the Zambezi, linking Central and Southern Africa; David Livingstone and other nineteenth century European explorers first saw the river here, and local people crossed it in traditional canoes called mekoro. Kazungula was the administrative centre of Chobe District from 1909 to 1921, served as a recruitment post for the Witwatersrand Native Labour Association from 1935 to 1969, and later became an escape route for anti-colonial fighters heading to Zambia. The Kazungula Bridge, opened in May 2021, replaced the ferry across the river. The 2011 census counted 4,133 residents.