The Union of Federalists and Independent Republicans (french: Union des fédéralistes et des Républicains Indépendants, UFERI) is 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 political ideology ...

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 ...

. Since the actual electoral strength of the political parties in Congo is not known, the size of the party cannot be determined. It was founded in August 1990 by former First State Commissioner

Jean Nguza Karl-i-Bond Jean Nguza Karl-i-Bond (August 4, 1938 – July 27, 2003) was a prominent Zairian politician. Biography Early years and career in Zaire Born in Musumba, Lualaba District, a member of the Lunda tribe and a nephew of the Katangan leader, ...

, who led the party until he fell ill in May 1994.

Gabriel Kyungu wa Kumwanza Gabriel Kyungu wa Kumwanza (24 October 1938 – 21 August 2021) was a Congolese politician. Career A member of UNAFEC, he served as President of the Provincial Assembly of Haut-Katanga from 20 February to 21 August 2021, President of the Cou ...

, then governor of Shaba region, was then named the president of the party, but a faction led by Karl-I-Bond's wife Wivine split from the organization, leaving Kyungu with the remainder of the party in Shaba region (now

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 Province, Tanganyika, Hau ...

). To the present day, most of the party's membership and leadership comes from the Katanga region, and the earlier days of the party's existence was filled with ethnopolitical battles between the predominantly-

BaLunda The Lunda (''Balunda'', ''Luunda'', ''Ruund'') are a Bantu ethnic group that originated in what is now the Democratic Republic of the Congo along the Kalanyi River and formed the Kingdom of Lunda in the 17th century under their ruler, Mwata Yam ...

UFERI and the predominantly-

BaLuba 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 Province, Katanga, Kasai region, Kasai a ...

of Karl-I-Bond's rival Kyungu Wa Kumwanza. It, along with the UDPS and the PDSC, was part of the short-lived opposition-based

Sacred Union The Sacred Union (french: Union Sacrée, ) was a political truce in France in which the left-wing agreed, during World War I, not to oppose the government or call any strikes. Made in the name of patriotism, it stood in opposition to the pledge mad ...

in 1991, but was kicked out after Karl-I-Bond accepted the position of prime minister from Mobutu that year. In 1998, Kyungu was given the ambassadorship of the DRC to

Kenya ) , national_anthem = "Ee Mungu Nguvu Yetu"() , image_map = , map_caption = , image_map2 = , capital = Nairobi , coordinates = , largest_city = Nairobi , ...

by then-president

Laurent Kabila Laurent may refer to: *Laurent (name), a French masculine given name and a surname **Saint Laurence (aka: Saint ''Laurent''), the martyr Laurent **Pierre Alphonse Laurent, mathematician **Joseph Jean Pierre Laurent, amateur astronomer, discoverer ...

; the Kenyan president's office was sent a letter of protest by UDPS against the appointment of Kyungu by Kabila due to Kyungu's usage of the UFERI's youth militia, JUFERI, in violence against the Kasai supporters of the UDPS during his time as governor. It is known to support greater autonomy for Katanga, and to be a BaLunda-ethnocentric party that sought to drive out the Kasai minority from the Katanga region.

References

1990 establishments in Zaire Federalism in the Democratic Republic of the Congo Federalist parties Political parties established in 1990 Political parties in the Democratic Republic of the Congo Separatism in the Democratic Republic of the Congo {{DRCongo-party-stub