Caprivi Strip

Caprivi, sometimes called the Caprivi Strip (in German: Caprivi-Zipfel) and formally known as Itenge, is a narrow protrusion of Namibia eastwards about 450km, between Botswana on the south, Angola and Zambia to the north, and Kavango Region. Caprivi is bordered by the Cuando, Linyanti, Chobe and Zambezi rivers. Its largest settlement is the town of Katima Mulilo.

The strip is administratively divided between the Caprivi Region and the Okavango Region.

Caprivi was named after German Chancellor Leo von Caprivi, who negotiated the land in an 1890 exchange with the United Kingdom. Von Caprivi arranged for Caprivi to be annexed to German South-West Africa in order to give Germany access to the Zambezi River as part of the Heligoland-Zanzibar Treaty.

Village in the Caprivi Strip

The Caprivi strip is of strategic military importance. During the Rhodesian Bush War (1970 - 1979) and African National Congress operations against the South African apartheid government (1965 - 1994), this little finger of land saw continual military action and multiple incursions by various armed forces using the Strip as a corridor to access other territories. The area is rich in wildlife and has mineral resources. Of particular interest to the government of Namibia is that it gives access to the Zambezi river and thereby a potential trading route to Africa's East coast. However, the vagaries of the river level, various rapids and continued political uncertainty in the region make this use of the Caprivi Strip unlikely, although it may be used for ecotourism in future.