Ifakara

Ifakara
Town
TAZARA train station Ifakara
Ifakara Location in Tanzania
Coordinates: 08°06′S 36°41′E / 8.100°S 36.683°E / -8.100; 36.683
Country	Tanzania
Region	Morogoro Region
District	Kilombero District
Population
• Total	99,000
Time zone	GMT + 3
Climate	Aw

Ifakara is a small rural town in the Kilombero District, Morogoro Region, south central Tanzania. It is the headquarters of the Kilombero District administration and the main trading centre for Kilombero and Ulanga districts. The town is located near the Tanzania-Zambia Railway (TAZARA) line, at the edge of the Kilombero Valley, a vast swampland flooded by the mighty Kilombero River.

Ifakara is home to five major institutions of the Tanzanian health and water sectors:

Etymologically, the name Ifakara is composed of two Ndamba words: ufa and kara which mean “land is destructed” or “land is totally dead”. It was named during the invasions by Lipangalala’s group in 1860s when the Ndamba were in great fear and were driven out of the Kilombero River (Larson 1976). While on the way back home they were informing their fellows they met on the way to the valley that things had fallen apart because of the invasions. Later, during the colonial period Europeans couldn’t pronounce it correctly hence “Ifakara” instead of “ufakara”.

Ifakara is the home of talented and many sports. The sports game which is very famous in Ifakara is football where there are famous football teams which participate in different leagues and tournament in and out of Ifakara. Famous football clubs are Shupavu FC,Mlabani rangers, Techfort academy,kilombero soccernet, the wailers, kibaoni boys and other.

Historically, Ifakara has passed through different administrative districts. While from 1899 to 1917 it was part of Mahenge militarbezirk, between 1917 and 1936 it was under Mahenge District (Larson 1976). From 1936 to independence (1961), Ifakara became part of Ulanga District. Today (2008), Ifakara is part of Kilombero District, Morogoro Region. It is both the division and district headquarters. The population is heterogeneous. The indigenous people are largely the Ndamba, Mbunga and Pogolo tribes and the population today constitutes also the descendants of Lipangalala, Ndwangira and Mfalikuivahaa, who as leaders from Zululand and Southern Africa arriving in Ifakara and the region as of the late 1860s (Larson 1976:14). Other ethnic groups include Hehe, Sukuma, Bena, Gogo, Ruguru, Kyurya, Pare, and Chagga. In terms of religion, Christians outnumber Moslems and pagans because of early settlements of missionaries in the area.