Mbala was a key outpost in British colonial control of this part of south-central Africa and was known as Abercorn. After Zambia’s independence in 1964, the name of the town was changed back to Mbala.
Mbala is Zambia’s most northerly large town and seat of Mbala District in Northern Province,occupying a strategic location close to the border with Tanzania and controlling the southern approaches to Lake Tanganyika.