Mai-Mai Kata Katanga, also called Mai-Mai Bakata Katanga, is a ''
mai-mai
The term Mai-Mai or Mayi-Mayi refers to any kind of community-based militia group active in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) that is formed to defend local communities and territory against other armed groups. Most were formed to resis ...
'' rebel group in the
Democratic Republic of the Congo
The Democratic Republic of the Congo (french: République démocratique du Congo (RDC), colloquially "La RDC" ), informally Congo-Kinshasa, DR Congo, the DRC, the DROC, or the Congo, and formerly and also colloquially Zaire, is a country in ...
which advocates the independence of the Congo's
Katanga Province
Katanga was one of the four large provinces created in the Belgian Congo in 1914.
It was one of the eleven provinces of the Democratic Republic of the Congo between 1966 and 2015, when it was split into the Tanganyika, Haut-Lomami, Lualaba, ...
.
It was formed shortly after the group's leader,
Gédéon Kyungu Mutanga, escaped from prison in September 2011 where he was serving a sentence for crimes against humanity committed by his supporters between 2002 and 2006 in central Katanga.
[ ''Kata Katanga'' means "cut .g. secedeKatanga" in Swahili.][ It has been estimated that, at its height in 2013, the Kata Katanga rebels numbered approximately 3,000 of whom most were based in ]Mitwaba Territory Mitwaba is a territory in the Haut-Katanga Province of the Democratic Republic of the Congo
The Democratic Republic of the Congo (french: République démocratique du Congo (RDC), colloquially "La RDC" ), informally Congo-Kinshasa, DR Congo, ...
.
Kata Katanga was a participant in the Katanga insurgency. Its most significant operation occurred on 23 March 2013 when 200 rebels entered Lubumbashi
Lubumbashi (former names: ( French), (Dutch)) is the second-largest city in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, located in the country's southeasternmost part, along the border with Zambia. The capital and principal city of the Haut-Katanga ...
, the provincial capital of Katanga and the Congo's second city, carrying the flag of the former secessionist state of Katanga (1960–63). At least 35 people died before the rebels surrendered to United Nations
The United Nations (UN) is an intergovernmental organization whose stated purposes are to maintain international peace and security, develop friendly relations among nations, achieve international cooperation, and be a centre for harmonizi ...
(UN) peacekeepers.[ As a result of the conflict, nearly 400,000 people from Katanga live in camps as ]internally displaced persons
An internally displaced person (IDP) is someone who is forced to leave their home but who remains within their country's borders. They are often referred to as refugees, although they do not fall within the legal definitions of a refugee.
A ...
.[
In August 2013, the United Nations mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, ]MONUSCO
The United Nations Organization Stabilization Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo or MONUSCO, an acronym based on its French name , is a United Nations peacekeeping force in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) which was estab ...
, rescued 82 children, some as young as eight, who had been forcibly recruited by the militia as child soldiers. MONUSCO claimed that a total of 163, including 22 girls, had been freed since the beginning of the year.[ The ]UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs
The United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) is a United Nations (UN) body established in December 1991 by the General Assembly to strengthen the international response to complex emergencies and natural disaster ...
said that the effects of the Kata Katanga's insurgency had spread to half of Katanga's 22 territories by March 2013.[
Kata Katanga violence declined after 2013 and, in 2015, Kyungu announced that he would create a ]political party
A political party is an organization that coordinates candidates to compete in a particular country's elections. It is common for the members of a party to hold similar ideas about politics, and parties may promote specific ideological or po ...
to stand in the anticipated elections in 2017. In October 2016, Kyungu himself and several hundred rebels surrendered their weapons in a ceremony in Lubumbashi. His party is the Movement of African Revolutionary Independentists (''Mouvement des Indépendantistes Révolutionnaires Africains'', MIRA).
Kata Katanga remains active and made several "incursions" into towns and cities in Katanga. Three government soldiers and two rebels were killed during a confrontation in Lubumbashi in October 2019. Several further incursions were made into towns across Katanga on 29 March 2020 in which 30 rebels were killed. A further attack in Lubumbashi took place on 25 September 2020 in which 16 rebels and three soldiers were killed. In the attack, the militia again used the Katanga flag and were armed primarily with machete
Older machete from Latin America
Gerber machete/saw combo
Agustín Cruz Tinoco of San Agustín de las Juntas, Oaxaca">San_Agustín_de_las_Juntas.html" ;"title="Agustín Cruz Tinoco of San Agustín de las Juntas">Agustín Cruz Tinoco of San ...
s.
On 29 January 2022, about 100 Mai Mai Kata Katanga fighters under Gédéon captured Mitwaba in Mitwaba Territory Mitwaba is a territory in the Haut-Katanga Province of the Democratic Republic of the Congo
The Democratic Republic of the Congo (french: République démocratique du Congo (RDC), colloquially "La RDC" ), informally Congo-Kinshasa, DR Congo, ...
; the rebels used the opportunity to once more declare the intention to restore Katanga's independence. They retreated from the area before security forces could respond effectively. FARDC claimed that some rebels had surrendered as the remainder withdrew.
See also
*Congo Crisis
The Congo Crisis (french: Crise congolaise, link=no) was a period of political upheaval and conflict between 1960 and 1965 in the Republic of the Congo (today the Democratic Republic of the Congo). The crisis began almost immediately after ...
(1960-1965), during which Katanga seceded from the Congo
*Front for Congolese National Liberation
The Congolese National Liberation Front (french: Front de libération nationale congolaise, FLNC) is a political party funded by rebels of Katangese origin and composed of ex-members of the Katangese Gendarmerie. It was active mainly in Angola an ...
(FLNC), an exiled Katangese militia active in the 1970s
*History of Katanga
This is a history of Katanga Province and the former independent State of Katanga, as well as the history of the region prior to colonization.
Earliest residents
Prior to Bantu migration around 500 BCE, the area was probably the site of dwellings ...
References
Bibliography
*{{cite book, last1=Kennes, first1=Eric, last2=Larmer, first2=Miles, title=The Katangese Gendarmes and War in Central Africa: Fighting Their Way Home, publisher=Indiana University Press, location=Bloomington, year=2016, isbn=9780253021304
History of Katanga
Rebel groups in the Democratic Republic of the Congo
2011 establishments in the Democratic Republic of the Congo
2016 disestablishments in the Democratic Republic of the Congo
Military units and formations established in 2011
Military units and formations disestablished in 2016