Lulenge Explained

Lulenge constitutes one of the four sectors within the Fizi Territory of South Kivu Province, situated in the eastern region of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). Geographically positioned adjacent to the Kiloba and Makena villages at an elevation of 943 meters, the sector's administrative center is Kilembwe.^{[2] [3] [4]} Lulenge is delineated to the north by the Itombwe sector and Mwenga Territory, to the east by Lake Tanganyika and the Mutambala sector, to the south by the N'gangya sector, and to the west by Shabunda Territory.^{[5] [6] [7]}

Mining and agriculture are Lulenge's most significant revenue-generating and economic sectors. Agricultural cooperatives, particularly the Coopérative Business Centre Olive (CBCO), function significantly within the sector, producing key agricultural outputs such as cassava, peanuts, beans, mushrooms, and rice. Fishing, mainly from Lake Tanganyika, also serves as a source of revenue. Parenthetically, small enterprises are well-developed in the area.^{[8] [9] [10]}

Since the First Congo War, Lulenge has been embroiled in persistent conflicts. The emergence of the Ngumino and Twigwaneho militias in November 2021 has exacerbated ethnic tension between Babembe and Banyamulenge populations.^[11] Verbal and physical attacks against the Babembe, Bafuliiru, Banyindu, and Babuyu have proliferated in Lulenge.^[12]

Administrative divisions

The Lulenge sector is administratively divided into groupements (groupings), each governed by a customary chief (chef de groupement).^[13] The groupements are established to facilitate local governance, service delivery, and community organization. These groupements are further subdivided into localités (villages), each of which is also governed by a customary chief.^{[14] [15]}

Groupements and localités

The Lulenge sector is made up of five groupements:^{[16] [17]}

Groupements
1.	Basimimbi
2.	Basimunyaka-Sud
3.	Basikasingo
4.	Basombo
5.	Obekulu

History

Lulenge was a historic chieftaincy inhabited by the Babuyu and Babembe communities. They resided in an environment characterized by cultural heterogeneity.^{[18] [19] [20]} To the north and east, there were patrilineal agro-pastoralist-oriented communities, while the west was inhabited by the related patrilineal Lega communities, known for their agriculture, hunting, and food-gathering practices. To the south were matrilineal hunters and agriculturalists, descendants of the northern Luba cluster.^[21] The Buyu were the first to settle in the region, while the Bembe established themselves later, migrating from the mountains to occupy the remaining land due to Babuyu's sparse population. During the 20th century, under the Belgian Congo administration, Babembe and Babuyu were administratively divided into five sectors: Itombwe, Lulenge, Mutambala, Ngandja, and Tangani'a.^{[22] [23]} Belgian colonial economic policies facilitated the migration of significant numbers of Banyarwanda cattle-herders into ostensibly "vacant" grassy regions from Rwanda via Uvira Territory. However, the Bembe largely refrained from exogamy and maintained a truculent and adversarial disposition toward Banyarwanda.^{[24] [25]}

Ongoing security problems

In June 2020, two civilians were wounded by gunfire during an attack by alleged Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda (Forces Démocratiques de Libération du Rwanda; FDLR) rebels in the village of Kasolelo in Lulenge. Local sources ascribe the attack to FDLR, operating from the Hewa Bora forest. The assailants pillaged the possessions of the populace.^[26] In September 2020, approximately ten people were killed following three days of fighting between militia factions in the high plateau of the Fizi, Mwenga, and Uvira territories.^[27] The coalition of militiamen, including groups such as Android, Al-Shabaab, Twiganeho, and Ngumino, was led by Rukundo Makanika at the stronghold of the Mai-Mai Mutetezi militia. According to civil society sources in Minembwe, located in Lulenge, 18 militiamen from the Makanika coalition were killed and 41 wounded, with the Mai-Mai Mutetezi also seizing livestock. At least 800 cattle were driven by the Mai-Mai Mutetezi towards Lulenge and the Itombwe forest.

In October 2020, the Twigwaneho, a rebel faction led by a Munyamulenge army defector, Colonel Rukundo Makanika, launched attacks on several villages in the Itombwe sector in the Mwenga Territory as well as in Lulenge. The villages of Tabunde, Kukwe, Kashasha, Ibumba, Abangya, and Ibulu were set ablaze, resulting in at least 20 fatalities.^[28] These villages belonged to Babembe and Bafuliiru. Consequently, the Mai-Mai of the Bembe, Fuliiru, and Nyindu communities engaged in clashes with the Banyamulenge until the latter were expelled from all the villages. In September 2022, an estimated 500 displaced households were relocated to Lulenge. These families fled the skirmishes between the Armed Forces of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (FARDC) and the Rwandan-backed rebel group, the National Resistance Council for Democracy (Conseil National de la Résistance pour la Démocratie; CNRD), in Hewa Bora.^[29]

In August 2023, the Rwandan-backed M23 insurgency was reported to be liaising with Twigwaneho in the highlands of Minembwe, as detailed in a report by United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres on the security situation in the eastern DRC.^[30] According to the report, these interactions heightened the risk that hostilities resuming in North Kivu could open a second front in South Kivu, potentially mobilizing previously inactive local armed groups in response to perceived foreign aggression. On the night of 1–2 October, the Twigwaheno attacked the headquarters of the 121st Parachute Battalion.^[31] On 3 September, Twigwaheno forces assassinated a soldier at the UGEAFI, with his body discovered 48 hours later in the Lwiko River in Minembwe. The same Twigwaheno elements, under army deserter Colonel Charles Sematama, carried out another assassination at a joint guard post with the Police Nationale Congolaise (PNC) in Kakenge. Two first-class soldiers were killed, their weapons were taken, and their bodies were clandestinely disposed of to erase any traces. This pattern of attacks became recurrent. On 12 September, twelve members of Twigwaneho surrendered to FARDC's 12th Rapid Reaction Brigade in Minembwe, including two minors who were Colonel Sematama's bodyguards.^[32] They were handed over to MONUSCO for child protection, while the other 10 were transferred to the 10th military region in Bukavu. In December 2023, clashes erupted between FARDC's 12th Rapid Reaction Brigade and a coalition of Mai-Mai Yakutumba, Mai-Mai-Biloze Bishambuke, and RED-Tabara militias in several villages around Minembwe, particularly in Kivumu, Rutigita, Masha, Monyi, and Kabingo.^[33] Seven militiamen were killed, four were wounded, and the violence led to significant population displacement.

See also

• Fizi Territory
• Kipupu massacre
• Minembwe
• Bembe people
• Uvira
• Mwenga Territory

References

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Notes and References

1. Web site: Chapitre II: Methodologie du Travail: Situation géographique du secteur de Lulenge . Africmemoire.com.
2. Web site: Kitungano . Jean-Luc Malango . 2002 . L'administration publique locale face à la sécurité des personnes et de leurs biens dans la province du Sud Kivu . Local public administration facing the security of people and their property in the province of South Kivu . June 17, 2024 . University of Kisangani . fr . Kisangani, Tshopo, Democratic Republic of the Congo.
3. Web site: June 13, 2014 . RDC - Sud-Kivu - Territoire de Fizi: Zone de santé de Kimbi-Lulenge . RDC - Sud-Kivu - Territoire de Fizi: Zone de santé de Kimbi-Lulenge . March 16, 2023 . Reliefweb.int . fr.
4. Web site: M'mangwa . Maluxes Malumbe . 2007 . Les ASBL et la problématique de développement socioéconomique du territoire de Fizi en RDC . Non-profit organizations and the socio-economic development problem of the Fizi territory in the DRC . June 17, 2024 . Institut Supérieur de Développement Rural de Bukavu (ISDR/Bukavu) . fr . Bukavu, South Kivu, Democratic Republic of the Congo.
5. Web site: January 27, 2011 . History of Fizi: Fizi consciousness . June 5, 2023 . Vision for Development of Fizi (VIDEFI) . en.
6. Web site: Territoire – Fizi Itombwe . 2023-06-05 . en-US.
7. Web site: Economie – Fizi Itombwe . 2023-06-05 . en-US.
8. Web site: 2004 . Rapport final des consultations participatives de la base pour l'élaboration du Document de Stratégies de Réduction de la Pauvreté (DSRP) Territoire de FIZI - Province du Sud Kivu. . Final report of grassroots participatory consultations for the development of the Poverty Reduction Strategy Paper (PRSP) Territory of FIZI - Province of South Kivu. . 2023-03-16 . Sous la coordination du SERACOB . French.
9. Web site: de Brier . Guillaume . 2015 . Chaines d'approvisionment en minerais et iens avec les conflicts dans l'est de la Republique Democratique Du Congo . 2023-03-16.
10. Web site: Economie – Fizi Itombwe . 2023-06-05 . en-US.
11. Web site: December 19, 2022 . RDC/Sud-Kivu: le groupe armé Twirwaneho a renforcé son contrôle sur Minembwe . DRC/South Kivu: the Twirwaneho armed group has strengthened its control over Minembwe . March 16, 2023 . Actualite.cd . fr.
12. Web site: Lavoix . Lubunga . October 23, 2020 . RDC: nouvelles violences dans plusieurs villages dans les hauts plateaux de Fizi et Mwenga, au moins une vingtaine de morts enregistrée . DRC: new violence in several villages in the high plateaus of Fizi and Mwenga, at least twenty deaths recorded . March 16, 2023 . Actualite.cd . fr.
13. Web site: Mushi . Ferdinand Mugumo . January 2013 . Insecurity and Local Governance in Congo's South Kivu . 2023-07-27 . IDS OpenDocs . 17.
14. Kombo Yetilo . Jéthro . 2010-01-01 . La sous-administration territoriale en République démocratique du Congo. Etat des lieux et perspectives . Pyramides. Revue du Centre d'études et de recherches en administration publique . fr . 19 . 105–128 . 1376-098X.
15. Web site: Battory . Jean . Vircoulon . Thierry . March 2020 . Les pouvoirs coutumiers en RDC Institutionnalisation, politisation et résilience . Customary powers in the DRC Institutionalization, politicization and resilience . 30 June 2024 . Ifri.org . Institut Français des Relations Internationales (IFRI) . 1–24 . fr . Paris, France.
16. Web site: September 20, 2018 . Annexe IV: De la repartition des sieges pour l'election des conseillers de secteur ou de chefferie . https://web.archive.org/web/20180920234927/https://www.ceni.cd/assets/bundles/documents/cadre-legal/cadre-legal_1531157427.pdf . 2018-09-20 . 2023-07-27 . www.ceni.cd . 365 . French . Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of the Congo.
17. Web site: Rukakiza . Bosco Muchukiwa . 2016 . Identités territoriales et conflits dans la province du Sud-Kivu, R. D. Congo . Territorial identities and conflicts in the province of South Kivu, DR Congo . 30 June 2024 . Liferay.globethics.net . Globethics.net . 16 . fr . Geneva, Switzerland . 978-2-88931-112-5.
18. Web site: Musumbu . Kitoka . Chapitre I: Informations générales sur l'impact des conflits ethniques entre les Babembe et les Babuyu sur le développement socio-économique de la communauté du secteur de Lulenge et revue de la littérature . Chapter I: General information on the impact of ethnic conflicts between the Babembe and the Babuyu on the socio-economic development of the community in the Lulenge sector and the literature review . June 5, 2023 . Africmemoire.com.
19. Web site: Moeller . Alfred . 1936 . Les grandes lignes des migrations des Bantus de la province orientale du Congo belge . 2023-03-16 . Bruxelles: G. van Campenhout . French.
20. Web site: Cosma . Wilungula B. . Jean-Luc Vellut . 1997 . Fizi 1967-1986: le maquis Kabila . 2023-03-16 . Institut Africain CEDAF . French.
21. Web site: Biebuyck . Daniel P. . 1952 . The Seniority Principle in the Bembe Marriage System . June 17, 2024 . Danielbiebuyck.com . 1–2.
22. Web site: Cosma . Wilungula B. . Vellut . Jean-Luc . 1997 . Fizi 1967 - 1986: Le Maquis Kabila . 2023-03-16 . Institut Africain CEDAF . French.
23. Web site: July 2000 . Rapport Sur La situation humanitaire dans le Territoire de Fizi, Au Mois De Juillet 2000 . Report on the humanitarian situation in the Fizi Territory . June 17, 2024 . Utexas.edu . 2–10 . fr.
24. Web site: Mararo . Stanislas Bucyalimwe . 2005 . Marysse . Stefaan . Ryntjens . Filip . Kivu and Ituri in the Congo War: The Roots and Nature of a Linkage . March 16, 2023 . New York, Palgrave Macmillan . 5–10.
25. Book: Commission pour l'Étude du problème de la main-d'oeuvre au Congo Belge . Rapport du Sous-Comité de la Province Orientale du Comité Consultatif de la main-d'oeuvre . 1929 . Belgium . 257–265 . French.
26. Web site: Lavoix . Lubunga . June 28, 2020 . Fizi: deux civils blessés par balles lors d'une attaque des présumés rebelles FDLR dans le secteur de Lulenge . Fizi: two civilians injured by bullets during an attack by alleged FDLR rebels in the Lulenge sector . March 16, 2023 . Actualite.cd . fr.
27. Web site: Lavoix . Lubunga . September 10, 2020 . RDC: Une dizaine de morts après trois jours des combats entre des groupes miliciens dans les hauts plateaux de Fizi, Mwenga et Uvira . DRC: Around ten dead after three days of fighting between militia groups in the highlands of Fizi, Mwenga and Uvira . March 16, 2023 . Actualite.cd . fr.
28. Web site: Lavoix . Lubunga . October 23, 2020 . RDC: nouvelles violences dans plusieurs villages dans les hauts plateaux de Fizi et Mwenga, au moins une vingtaine de morts enregistrée . DRC: new violence in several villages in the high plateaus of Fizi and Mwenga, at least twenty deaths recorded . March 16, 2023 . Actualite.cd . fr.
29. Web site: September 26, 2022 . Fizi: environ 500 ménages de déplacés en détresse à Lulenge . Fizi: around 500 displaced households in distress in Lulenge . March 16, 2023 . Radio Okapi . fr.
30. Web site: Maki . Patrick . 17 August 2023 . RDC: le M23 risque d'ouvrir un nouveau front au Sud-Kivu, les contacts se sont intensifiés avec le groupe Twigwaneho à Minembwe, alerte l'ONU . DRC: M23 risks opening a new front in South Kivu, contacts have intensified with the Twigwaneho group in Minembwe, warns the UN . 3 July 2024 . Actualite.cd . fr.
31. Web site: Mwamba . Justin . 5 October 2023 . Minembwe: les miliciens Twigwaheno tuent deux militaires et dissimulent leurs corps . Minembwe: Twigwaheno militiamen kill two soldiers and hide their bodies . 3 July 2024 . Actualite.cd . fr.
32. Web site: Lubunga La Voix . 30 September 2023 . Sud-Kivu: 12 combattants du groupe armé Twirwaneho se rendent aux FARDC à Minembwe . South Kivu: 12 fighters from the Twirwaneho armed group surrender to the FARDC in Minembwe . 3 July 2024 . Actualite.cd . fr.
33. Web site: Lubunga La Voix . 9 December 2023 . Sud-Kivu: affrontements entre l’armée et une coalition des milices à Minembwe, au moins sept assaillants tués . South Kivu: clashes between the army and a coalition of militias in Minembwe, at least seven attackers killed . 3 July 2024 . Actualite.cd . fr.