 The Nyiha are scattered widely through East Africa but are found mostly in clusters near the corridor of land between lakes Nyasa, Rukwa and Tanganyika, around Mbozi, and in the general area of the Lyagalile district of Ufipa.In 1915, the Nyiha consisted of fewer than 10,000 people, but by 1957 their population had risen to over 55,000 people.They were divided into eleven or twelve unrelated chiefdoms, with the chiefs being referred to as "Mwene".