Mangochi is a township in the Southern Region of Malawi. Located near the southern end of Lake Malawi, in colonial times it used to be called Fort Johnston. As of 2018, it has a population of 53,498.
David Livingstone, the Scottish missionary-explorer, visited the Mangochi area on multiple occasions. His first passage through the Shire Valley occurred in 1859 during his expeditions around Lake Nyasa (now Lake Malawi), and he returned to the region in 1861, where he observed the brutal operations of the Swahili-Arab slave trade centered in Mangochi and nearby towns.
The British gunboat Gwendolen, named after Lady Gwendolen Gascoyne-Cecil, daughter of the 3rd Marquess of Salisbury, was built in Mangochi in 1897. At , it was the largest ship to sail on Lake Malawi.
The gunboat, operated by the Protectorate of Nyasaland, is said to have fought the first naval battle of the First World War when it defeated the German vessel Hermann von Wissmann in August 1914. The boat was scrapped shortly after World War II. UNESCO and later USAID.
Rioting in June 2003 injured three people. From March to November 2007, roughly 480 children were rescued from child labour on tobacco farms in Mangochi. In July 2008, elephants terrorised areas around Maldeco Fisheries in Mangochi and caused several deaths and damage to property, mainly crops. The Ministry of Tourism, Wildlife and Culture proposed moving the elephants into several game reserves, although the proposal stalled when some residents said they wanted the elephants to remain.
Demographics
Population development
{| class="wikitable"
! Year
! Population
|-
| 1977
| 3,341
|-
| 1987
| 14,758
|-
| 1998
| 26,570
|-
| 2008
| 39,575
|-
| 2018
| 53,498
|}
Languages and ethnicities
Yao, specifically the Mangochi dialect, is the main language spoken in this town. A Swahili settlement was also established in Mangochi. Mangochi is mainly inhabited by the Yao people.
Religion
Mangochi is home to a large mosque The city has the largest Muslim population in terms of percent.
Clocks
Mangochi is home to a clock tower erected in honour of Queen Victoria, dating back to the early 20th century.