Kasai-Oriental is one of
25 new provinces of the
Democratic Republic of the Congo specified in the country's
2005 Constitution , under Article 2. It was to be created from country's the existing
10 provinces within 36 months (18 February 2009), according to Article 226. Until 2009 it was ruled as the
District of Tshilenge.
The
capital of the province is
Mbuji-Mayi, formerly Bakwanga, on the Sankuru river.
History
Kasai-Oriental is inhabited by members of the
Luba tribe.
Congo obtained independence from
Belgium in 1960. Friction with Congo's other ethnic groups and encouragement by
Belgian corporations hoping to keep their mining concessions led to the secession of the province of
South Kasai as a separate state headed by
Albert Kalonji.
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......
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