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The Kasaï region (also referred to as the Greater Kasaï region, Greater Kasaï, Grand Kasaï, or simply Kasaï) is a geographic and cultural region in south-central
Democratic Republic of the Congo The Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), also known as the DR Congo, Congo-Kinshasa, or simply the Congo (the last ambiguously also referring to the neighbouring Republic of the Congo), is a country in Central Africa. By land area, it is t ...
. Once a single province, it now comprises the provinces of Kasaï Province,
Kasaï-Central Kasaï-Central is one of the 21 provinces of the Democratic Republic of the Congo created in the 2015 repartitioning. Kasaï-Central and Kasaï provinces are the result of the dismemberment of the former Kasaï-Occidental province. Kasaï-Ce ...
,
Sankuru Sankuru is one of the 21 provinces of the Democratic Republic of the Congo created in the 2015 repartitioning. Sankuru, Kasaï-Oriental, and Lomami provinces are the result of the dismemberment of the former Kasaï-Oriental province. Sankuru ...
,
Kasaï-Oriental 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 ...
, and
Lomami Province Lomami is one of the 21 newest provinces of the Democratic Republic of the Congo created in the Subdivisions of the DR Congo#New provinces, 2015 repartitioning. Lomami, Kasaï-Oriental, and Sankuru provinces are the result of the dismembermen ...
. It shares its name with the
Kasai River The Kasai River (, ; called Cassai in Angola) is a left bank tributary of the Congo River, located in Central Africa. The river begins in central Angola and flows to the east until it reaches the border between Angola and the Democratic Republ ...
. Historically, the Kasaï region has been a stronghold for the
Union for Democracy and Social Progress The Union for Democracy and Social Progress (, UDPS) is a major political party in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). Founded in 1982, amid the one-party rule of Mobutu Sese Seko and his Popular Movement of the Revolution, it is the co ...
(UDPS) party. As an opposition stronghold, it experienced both political and economic marginalization by the central government. This long-running resentment of the central government's remoteness and corruption exploded into a
rebellion Rebellion is an uprising that resists and is organized against one's government. A rebel is a person who engages in a rebellion. A rebel group is a consciously coordinated group that seeks to gain political control over an entire state or a ...
, triggered by the official rejection of a local chief, Kamwina Nsapu, who in August 2016 was killed by security forces. After UDPS candidate
Félix Tshisekedi Félix Antoine Tshisekedi Tshilombo (; born 13 June 1963) is a Congolese politician who has served as the fifth president of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, since 2019. He was the leader of the Union for Democracy and Social Progress (Demo ...
's victory in the 2018 presidential election, most militia members surrendered and returned to their communities of origin. Until 2015 Kasai region was divided administratively into two provinces, Kasai-Occidental and Kasai-Oriental. After 2015, the former Districts within these provinces were in some cases combined with cities that had been independently administered, and their status was elevated to the five current provinces.


History


Pre-Bantu residence

Not much is known of pre-Bantu residence in the region, although it is likely that
Pygmies In anthropology, pygmy peoples are ethnic groups whose average height is unusually short. The term pygmyism is used to describe the phenotype of endemic short stature (as opposed to disproportionate dwarfism occurring in isolated cases in a po ...
once dwelled in Kasai.


Belgian colonization

Belgian rule in Kasai, post-Leopold, eventually saw the consolidation of the region as a single political unit. In 1919, Bas-Congo, Moyen-Congo, Kasaï, Kwango and Sankuru districts (out of 22 districts created in the Belgian Congo) were merged into Congo Kasai, one of four provinces created that year. In 1933 Kasaï and Sankuru (the two eastern districts of the former vice government general of Congo-Kasaï) and parts of the districts of Léopold II (in Equateur) and Lomami (in Katanga) were separated to form the new Congolese province of
Lusambo Lusambo () is the capital Cities of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, city of Sankuru province, Democratic Republic of the Congo. The town lies north of the confluence of the Sankuru River and the Lubi River. Lusambo is served by Lusambo Airp ...
(after 1947, Kasai); in turn, Bas-Congo, Kwango, Léopoldville and the major part of Lake Léopold II became the new province of Léopoldville. In 1957, the capital of Kasai was moved from
Lusambo Lusambo () is the capital Cities of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, city of Sankuru province, Democratic Republic of the Congo. The town lies north of the confluence of the Sankuru River and the Lubi River. Lusambo is served by Lusambo Airp ...
to Luluabourg.


End of Belgian rule

In 1960, the
Democratic Republic of the Congo The Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), also known as the DR Congo, Congo-Kinshasa, or simply the Congo (the last ambiguously also referring to the neighbouring Republic of the Congo), is a country in Central Africa. By land area, it is t ...
declared independence from Belgium. However, it was beset by a number of secessions and bitter civil war.


Secession of South Kasai

The South Kasai region sought independence in similar circumstances to neighboring Katanga during the
Congo Crisis The Congo Crisis () was a period of Crisis, political upheaval and war, conflict between 1960 and 1965 in the Republic of the Congo (Léopoldville), Republic of the Congo (today the Democratic Republic of the Congo). The crisis began almost ...
. Ethnic conflicts and political tensions between leaders of the central government and local leaders plagued the diamond-rich region. On 14 June 1960, days before the colony was to become independent, officials declared the independence of Kasai (not of Congo) and proclaimed the Federal State of South Kasai. On 8 August 1960, the autonomous Mining State of South Kasai was proclaimed with its capital at Bakwanga. Albert Kalonji was named president of South Kasai and Joseph Ngalula was appointed head of government. Lumumba was determined to quickly subdue the renegade provinces of Kasai and Katanga. Dissatisfied with the UN, Lumumba followed through on his threat to request military assistance from the
Soviet Union The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...
, who responded with an airlift of Congolese troops to invade Kasai. A bloody campaign ensued causing the deaths of hundreds of Baluba tribesmen and the flight of a quarter of a million refugees. Lumumba's decision to accept Soviet help angered the US, who via the CIA increasingly supported
Mobutu Mobutu Sese Seko Kuku Ngbendu wa za Banga ( ; born Joseph-Désiré Mobutu; 14 October 1930 – 7 September 1997), often shortened to Mobutu Sese Seko or Mobutu and also known by his initials MSS, was a Congolese politician and military officer ...
and Kasa-Vubu.


Congolese forces re-conquer South Kasai

On December 30, 1961, after a four-month military campaign, troops of the Congolese central government re-conquered South Kasai and arrested Kalonji, thus ending the South Kasai secession.


Post civil war

Under the subsequent regime of Joseph Mobutu (
Mobutu Sese Seko Mobutu Sese Seko Kuku Ngbendu wa za Banga ( ; born Joseph-Désiré Mobutu; 14 October 1930 – 7 September 1997), often shortened to Mobutu Sese Seko or Mobutu and also known by his initials MSS, was a Congolese politician and military officer ...
), the former South Kasai was divided to discourage separatist sentiment or activity; most of the territory was allocated to Kasai-Oriental, while the rest of the historic Kasai region was renamed Kasai-Occidental.


Post Mobutu

In 2006, the new Constitution re-divided the region into five new provinces: * Kasai oriental *
Lomami Lomami may refer to: * Lomami River, a river in the Democratic Republic of the Congo * Lomami Province, a province of the Democratic Republic of the Congo * Lomami Province (former), a former province of Zaire {{Disambig ...
*
Sankuru Sankuru is one of the 21 provinces of the Democratic Republic of the Congo created in the 2015 repartitioning. Sankuru, Kasaï-Oriental, and Lomami provinces are the result of the dismemberment of the former Kasaï-Oriental province. Sankuru ...
* Kasai * Lulua In 2007, two cases of the Ebola haemorrhagic fever were announced in the region.


2017 rebellion

In spring 2017, long-running resentment of
central government A central government is the government that is a controlling power over a unitary state. Another distinct but sovereign political entity is a federal government, which may have distinct powers at various levels of government, authorized or deleg ...
's remoteness and corruption exploded into a rebellion, triggered by official rejection of a local chief, Kamwina Nsapu, who in August was killed by security forces. In the fighting that followed, nearly 1.4 million people were displaced, among them around 850,000 children, leading to a hunger crisis across the region as subsistence farmers were unable to plant crops.Surviving Congo's massacres: 'I climbed over bodies to flee'
, BBC, 14 December 2017


References

Geography of the Democratic Republic of the Congo Regions of Africa Historical regions Cultural regions {{DRCongo-geo-stub