Kwango is a province of the Democratic Republic of the Congo. It is one of the 21 provinces created in the 2015 repartitioning. Kwango, Kwilu, and Mai-Ndombe provinces are the result of the dismemberment of the former

Bandundu province Bandundu is one of eleven former provinces of the Democratic Republic of the Congo. It bordered the provinces of Kinshasa and Bas-Congo to the west, Équateur (former province), Équateur to the north, and Kasai-Occidental to the east. The provi ...

. Kwango was formed from the

Kwango district Kwango District (, ) was a district of the Congo Free State, Belgian Congo and the Democratic Republic of the Congo. It went through various changes in extent. It roughly corresponded to the present provinces of Kwilu and Kwango. Congo Free State ...

whose town of Kenge was made the provincial capital and thus gained

city status City status is a symbolic and legal designation given by a monarch, national or subnational government. A municipality may receive city status because it already has the qualities of a city, or because it has some special purpose. Historically, ci ...

. The province takes its name from the

Kwango River The Cuango or Kwango (; ; ) is a transboundary river of Angola and Democratic Republic of Congo. It is the largest left bank tributary of the Kasai River in the Congo River basin. It flows through Malanje in Angola. The Kwango River basin ha ...

, a tributary of 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 ...

that defines part of the international boundary between the DRC and Angola.

Towns/territories

The capital of Kwango district is Kenge, and other towns in the region are

Popokabaka Popokabaka is a city in the Kwango Province, Democratic Republic of the Congo. It is the administrative center of Popokabaka Territory. Popokabaka lies on the right bank of the river Kwango River. Francis Dhanis, an agent of the Congo Free State, ...

, Feshi, Kasongo Lunda, Lusanga and Kahemba. The province is in the southwest of the DRC, bordering

Angola Angola, officially the Republic of Angola, is a country on the west-Central Africa, central coast of Southern Africa. It is the second-largest Portuguese-speaking world, Portuguese-speaking (Lusophone) country in both total area and List of c ...

to the south. Territories are: * Feshi * Kahemba * Kasongo Lunda * Kenge *

History

Kwango previously existed as a province from 1962 to 1966. Presidents (from 1965, governors) *23 September 1962 – 11 November 1962 Albert Delvaux (fl. 1918) * November 1962 Emmanuel Mayamba * 1962 – April 1963 Alphonse Pashi * August 1963 – April 1964 Pierre Masikita (1st time) * April 1964 – 30 September 1964 Belunda Kavunzu * 30 September 1964 –24 August 1965 Joseph Kulumba * 24 August 1965 – 25 April 1966 Pierre Masikita (2nd time) From 1966 to 2015, Kwango was administered as a district as part of

Bandundu Province Bandundu is one of eleven former provinces of the Democratic Republic of the Congo. It bordered the provinces of Kinshasa and Bas-Congo to the west, Équateur (former province), Équateur to the north, and Kasai-Occidental to the east. The provi ...

, later returning to full provincial status with its capital based at Kenge on 18 July 2015. In December 2024, deputy provincial governor Rémy Saki reported that between 10 and 25 November, 67 and 143 people had died of an unknown disease in the Panzi health zone. Apollinaire Yumba, the province's health minister, requested that citizens stay away from dead bodies and urged outside groups to give medical aid.

World Health Organization The World Health Organization (WHO) is a list of specialized agencies of the United Nations, specialized agency of the United Nations which coordinates responses to international public health issues and emergencies. It is headquartered in Gen ...

officials were also in the region to collect samples.

References

Provinces of the Democratic Republic of the Congo {{DRCongo-geo-stub