Tshilenge District was one of the

districts A district is a type of administrative division that, in some countries, is managed by the local government. Across the world, areas known as "districts" vary greatly in size, spanning regions or counties, several municipalities, subdivisions o ...

of former Kasai-Oriental province (1966–2015) 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 ...

. While it enclosed the city of

Mbuji-Mayi Mbuji-Mayi or Mbujimayi (formerly Bakwanga) is a city and the capital of Kasai-Oriental Province in the south-central Democratic Republic of Congo. It is the second largest city in the country, following the capital Kinshasa but ahead of Lubumbas ...

, the city was administered independently. As specified under Article 2 of the country's 2006 Constitution, in 2015 the district was merged with the city of Mbuji-Mayi to form the new province

Kasai Oriental Kasai or Kasaï may refer to: Places Congo * Congo-Kasaï, one of the four large provinces of Belgian Congo * Kasaï District, in the Kasai-Occidental province of the Democratic Republic of the Congo * Kasai Province, one of the province ...

. The capital of the province is Mbuji-Mayi.

People

Kasai-Oriental is inhabited by members of the

Luba people The Luba people or Baluba are an ethno-linguistic group indigenous to the south-central region of the Democratic Republic of the Congo. The majority of them live in this country, residing mainly in Katanga, Kasai and Maniema. The Baluba Tribe c ...

French French (french: français(e), link=no) may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France, and its various dialects and accents ** French people, a nation and ethnic group identified with Franc ...

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 and

Kasai-Occidental Kasaï-Occidental (French language, French for "Western Kasai"; lua, Kasai Wa Mubuelu) was one of the eleven provinces of the Democratic Republic of the Congo between 1966 and 2015, when it was split into the Kasaï-Central and the Kasai Province ...

provinces and the

Lulua District Lulua District (french: District de la Lulua) was a Districts of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, district of the Belgian Congo and the Democratic Republic of the Congo. The city of Kananga (formerly known as Luluabourg) was at the center of t ...

History

Congo obtained independence from

Belgium Belgium, ; french: Belgique ; german: Belgien officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. The country is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeast, France to th ...

in 1960. Friction with Congo's other ethnic groups and encouragement by

Belgian Belgian may refer to: * Something of, or related to, Belgium * Belgians, people from Belgium or of Belgian descent * Languages of Belgium, languages spoken in Belgium, such as Dutch, French, and German *Ancient Belgian language, an extinct language ...

corporations hoping to keep their mining concessions led to the secession of the province of

South Kasai South Kasai (french: Sud-Kasaï) was an List of historical unrecognized states and dependencies, unrecognised Secession, secessionist state within the Republic of the Congo (Léopoldville), Republic of the Congo (the modern-day Democratic Republi ...

as a separate state headed by

Albert Kalonji Albert Kalonji Ditunga (6 June 1929 – 20 April 2015) was a Democratic Republic of the Congo, Congolese politician best known as the leader of the short-lived secessionist state of South Kasai (''Sud-Kasaï'') during the Congo Crisis. Ear ...

. 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 Kimberly or Kimberley may refer to: Places and historical events Australia * Kimberley (Western Australia) ** Roman Catholic Diocese of Kimberley * Kimberley Warm Springs, Tasmania * Kimberley, Tasmania a small town * County of Kimberley, a ...

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the north by the neighbouring countri ...

. Mbuji-Mayi handles most of the industrial diamonds produced in the Congo.

Political divisions

The province consists of the following five territories: *

Kabeya-Kamwanga Kabeya-Kamwanga is a town of the Democratic Republic of the Congo and is the administrative center of Kabeya-Kamwanga territory of Kasaï-Oriental Kasaï-Oriental (French for "East Kasai") is one of the 21 new provinces of the Democratic Rep ...

Katanda Katanda may refer to: * Katanda, Russia, a locality in the Altai Republic *In the Democratic Republic of the Congo: ** Katanda Territory, an administrative division of Kasaï-Oriental province *** Katanda, the town that is its administrative cente ...

Lupatapata Lupatapata is a city in Kasaï-Oriental 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, ...

Miabi Miabi is a territory of the Kasai-Oriental province of the Democratic Republic of the Congo. It is inhabited by the Bakwa Dishi and the land which is approximately is owned by its royal family. Miabi is also a town within the territory; it was fo ...

* Tshilenge

References

Tshilenge Kasaï-Oriental {{DRCongo-geo-stub