Kasaï-Oriental ( French for "East Kasai") was one of the eleven

provinces A province is almost always an administrative division within a country or state. The term derives from the ancient Roman ''provincia'', which was the major territorial and administrative unit of the Roman Empire's territorial possessions outsi ...

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 DRC, the DROC, or the Congo, and formerly and also colloquially Zaire, is a country in ...

between 1966 and 2015, when it was split into the new, smaller Kasai-Oriental province, the

Lomami Lomami may refer to: * Lomami River, a river in the Democratic Republic of the Congo * Lomami Province Lomami is one of the 21 new provinces of the Democratic Republic of the Congo created in the 2015 repartitioning. Lomami, Kasaï-Oriental, ...

and the

Sankuru Sankuru is one of the 21 new 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. San ...

provinces. It borders the provinces of

Kasaï-Occidental Kasaï-Occidental (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 Kasaï provinces. History T ...

to the west, Équateur to the northwest, Orientale to the northeast,

Maniema Maniema is one of 26 provinces of the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Its capital is Kindu. Toponymy Henry Morton Stanley explored the area, calling it Manyema.Stanley, H.M., 1899, Through the Dark Continent, London: G. Newnes, Vol. One , ...

to the east, and Katanga to the south. Kasaï-Oriental is one of the richest diamond producing regions in the world. The provincial capital is

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 ...

History

Kasaï-Oriental is inhabited by members of the

Luba Luba may refer to: Geography *Kingdom of Luba, a pre-colonial Central African empire * Ľubá, a village and municipality in the Nitra region of south-west Slovakia *Luba, Abra, a municipality in the Philippines *Luba, Equatorial Guinea, a town ...

tribe. 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 languag ...

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,

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 former Kasai-Oriental was divided into the three districts of Tshilenge,

Kabinda Kabinda is the capital city of Lomami Province in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Projected to be the second fastest growing African continent city between 2020 and 2025, with a 6.37% growth. Geography Kabinda is served by Tunta Airpor ...

, and

; and the two cities of

and

Mwene-Ditu Mwene-Ditu is a town in southern Democratic Republic of the Congo, Lomami Province. History The town of Mwene Ditu is born of the Presidential Order Act No. 43/2003 of 28 March 2003 on a proposal and request of a national adviser on defense and ...

. These were further divided into a total of 16 territories and 8 communes.

Languages

French 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 region 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 provinces ...

Education

* University of Mbuji Mayi

References