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Kasaï-Oriental

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Province of the Democratic Republic of the Congo For the similarly-named, but larger province (1966–2015), see Kasaï-Oriental (former province). Province in DR Congo
Kasaï-Oriental Province du Kasaï Oriental (French)
Province
View of the Sankuru RiverView of the Sankuru River
Official seal of Kasaï-OrientalSeal
Location of Kasaï-Oriental
Coordinates: 06°09′S 23°36′E / 6.150°S 23.600°E / -6.150; 23.600
Country DR Congo
Established2015 (2015)
Named forKasai River
CapitalMbuji-Mayi
Government
 • GovernorJean-Paul Mbwebwa
Area
 • Total9,545 km (3,685 sq mi)
 • Rank26th
Population
 • Total3,864,300
 • Rank9th
 • Density400/km (1,000/sq mi)
Languages
 • OfficialFrench
 • NationalTshiluba
Time zoneUTC+02:00 (CAT)
License Plate CodeDemocratic Republic of the Congo CGO / 09

Kasaï-Oriental (French for "East Kasai") is one of the 21 provinces of the Democratic Republic of the Congo created in the 2015 repartitioning. Kasaï-Oriental, Lomami, and Sankuru provinces are the result of the dismemberment of the former Kasaï-Oriental province. Kasaï-Oriental was formed from the Tshilenge district and the independently administered city of Mbuji-Mayi which retained its status as a provincial capital.

The new province's territory corresponds to most of the historic Sud-Kasaï province which existed in the early period after independence between 1963 and 1966.

History

Kasai-Oriental is inhabited by members of the Luba tribe.

Congo obtained independence from Belgium in 1960. Friction with Congo's other ethnic groups and encouragement by Belgian corporations hoping to keep their mining concessions led to the secession of the province of South Kasai as a separate state headed by Albert Kalonji.

After being repulsed, the Congo occupied the province in September 1961. Several thousand people were killed during the "pacification" of South Kasai, which lasted through the spring of 1962.

The population of Mbuji-Mayi grew rapidly with the immigration of Luba people from other parts of the country.

Diamond mining

The region in which Mbuji-Mayi is situated annually produces one-tenth in weight of the world's industrial diamonds, with mining managed by the Société Minière de Bakwanga. This is the largest accumulation of diamonds in the world, more concentrated than those at Kimberley, South Africa. Mbuji-Mayi handles most of the industrial diamonds produced in the Congo.

Political divisions

The province consists of the following five territories:

Languages

French is the official language. Tshiluba is one of the four national languages of the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Tshiluba is spoken by about 6.3 million people in the Kasai-Oriental, Kasai-Occidental and Kasaï-Central provinces.

See also

References

  1. Luabeya, Ronsard (28 June 2024). "Kasaï oriental : le Gouverneur Jean-Paul Mbwebwa Kapo prend désormais les commandes de la province" (in French). Retrieved 29 June 2024.
  2. "RDC : le Kasaï-Oriental éclate en trois nouvelles provinces". Radio Okapi (in French). 16 July 2015. Archived from the original on 18 July 2015. Retrieved 3 June 2020.
Provinces of the Democratic Republic of the Congo
Current provinces
1966–2015
1963–1966
1960–1963
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