lusaka

Lusaka is unusual in that it literally appeared out of nowhere. The new single track railway line which was build from Livingstone (the then, colonial capital of Northern Rhodesia) to Ndola in the north to service the flourishing Copper mining industry required 'sidings' for trains to pass each other. Most of these sidings were placed near villages or farms. However a siding was needed at the half way point which happened to be in the middle of nowhere on a vast plateau. This was a sort of no-man's land with the Lenje tribe to the north and the Soli to the east and Sala to the west. The meaning of the word "Lusaakasa" is unknown to any of these tribes but it is thought that it came from the name of a very minor Lenje Headman who had gained the reputation of being a skilled & fearless elephant hunter who hunted his elephants in this remote area. It may however be related to an old Bantu word "Fisakasaka" meaning 'scrub thorn bush' or another old Bantu word "Kisaka" which means 'Maize'. This would be fitting as over the years Lusaka has become a major Commercial Agriculture area growing mostly maize from which Zambia's staple diet 'nshima' is made.

Lusaakasa was the original name of our capital city from the time when the settlement was first recognised by The British South Africa Company administration of Northern Rhodesia in 1902 and this name was kept in use until 1913 when the post office decided to 'drop' two of the 'a's and it became known as Lusakas. In 1924 the colonial office decided to 'drop' the last 's'. No one seams to know why the name was shortened to Lusaka by either the Post Office or the Colonial Office.

In 1931 the Greater Lusaka area had a population of 470 people. In 1946 it was 2615 people, in 1951 it was 4616 and by 1955 the Population had risen to over 8000. Today the Greater Lusaka area has a population of nearly two million people !