Bashali Chiefdom

Bashali Chiefdom
Chiefdom
Chefferie de Bashali
A terraced tea plantation along the Nyanzale-Kitchanga axis
A terraced tea plantation along the Nyanzale-Kitchanga axis
Country Democratic Republic of the Congo
ProvinceNorth Kivu
TerritoryMasisi
CapitalKitchanga
Government
 • MwamiBashali Mokoto Nyanguba Sylvestre
Official languageFrench
National languageKiswahili

The Bashali Chiefdom (French: Chefferie de Bashali) is a chiefdom located in the Masisi Territory of North Kivu Province in the eastern region of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). Topographically, it is bounded to the east by the Virunga National Park, to the north by the Bwito Chiefdom of Rutshuru Territory, to the northwest by Walikale Territory, to the south by the Bahunde Chiefdom, and to the west by the Osso sector.[1] Encompassing a total area of 1,582 square kilometers,[1] the chiefdom is the administrative and sociopolitical structure for the Hunde ethnic group and is administratively subdivided into two groupements: Bashali-Mokoto and Bashali-Kaembe. Kitchanga, the urban center and administrative capital of the Bashali-Mokoto groupement, is the most densely populated locality within the chiefdom.[2][3][4][5]

The region has been perennially beleaguered by incessant conflicts, leading to widespread violence and large-scale displacement.[6][7][8][9] Adjacent to Kitchanga, the Mungote and Kahe Internally Displaced Persons (IDP) camps accommodate a significant number of displaced people. As of 2015, the Kahe camp housed 5,760 displaced persons, including refugees from Rwanda, while the Mungote camp sheltered 14,599 people.[10]

  1. ^ a b Bitamba, Jean Faida (September 2016). "Etat de l'environnement dans la Chefferie de Bashali, Territoire de Masisi" [State of the environment in Bashali Chiefdom, Masisi Territory] (PDF). Istougoma.ac.cd (in French). Goma, North Kivu, Democratic Republic of the Congo: Institut Supérieur de Tourisme de Goma (ISTOU-Goma). p. 114. Retrieved June 18, 2024.
  2. ^ Sungura, Amir; Ndeze, Ndakasi; Mbamba, Murenzi; Rugambwa, Hadji; Kitonga, Limbo (May 2021). "Politics of the Past and the Present: The changes and continuities of conflict in Eastern Congo's petit Nord-Kivu" (PDF). Gicnetwork.be. p. 8. Retrieved June 16, 2024.
  3. ^ Biregeya, Daniel Bahati (2011). "Tontines et développement dans le groupement Bashali Mokoto à Masisi en RDC" [Tontines and development in the Bashali-Mokoto groupement in Masisi in the DRC] (in French). Gona, North Kivu, Democratic Republic of the Congo: Université de Goma. Retrieved June 16, 2024.
  4. ^ "Annexe IV: De la repartition des sieges pour l'election des conseillers de secteur ou de chefferie" (PDF). www.ceni.cd (in French). Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of the Congo. September 20, 2018. p. 333. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2018-09-20. Retrieved 2023-07-27.
  5. ^ "Qu'est-ce qui s'est passé dans le Territoire de Masisi au courant de ce mois de Janvier 2004?" [What happened in the Territory of Masisi during the month of January 2004?]. Utexas.edu (in French). CPDH-PHRC. February 11, 2004. p. 3. Retrieved June 17, 2024.
  6. ^ "Conflict Dynamics and Community Resilience In Masisi Territory: A case study of Biiri, Kibabi, and Muvunyi Shanga groupements" (PDF). Usaid.gov. August 21, 2019. pp. 13–17. Retrieved June 18, 2024.
  7. ^ Zidi, Paulina (2023-01-27). "RDC: la ville de Kitchanga passe sous le contrôle de la rébellion M23" [DRC: the town of Kitchanga comes under the control of the M23 rebellion]. RFI (in French). Paris, France. Retrieved 2023-05-24.
  8. ^ "RDC: l'ONU alerte sur le sort des déplacés, notamment à Kitchanga" [DRC: the UN warns of the fate of the displaced, particularly in Kitchanga]. RFI (in French). Paris, France. 2023-02-06. Retrieved 2023-05-24.
  9. ^ "Nord-Kivu : Ban Ki-moon dans un camp de déplacés à Kitchanga" [North Kivu: Ban Ki-moon in a displaced persons camp in Kitchanga]. www.mediacongo.net (in French). Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of the Congo. February 24, 2016. Retrieved 2023-12-13.
  10. ^ Mathys, Gillian; Büscher, Karen (2019). "Politique d'urbanisation, déplacement interne et conflit armé dans l'Est de la RDC: l'histoire de Kitchanga" [Urbanization policy, internal displacement and armed conflict in eastern DRC: the story of Kitchanga] (PDF). Eca-creac.eu (in French). p. 107. Retrieved June 16, 2024.