Kamanyola

Kamanyola is a town located in the Ngweshe Chiefdom of the Walungu Territory, lies to the north of Uvira in the South Kivu Province of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). Kamanyola has an elevation of 901 meters and is situated in close proximity to the suburb of Mwaro and the village of Mubombo, bordering Rwanda and Burundi.

A farmer in Kamanyola, South Kivu, Democratic Republic of the Congo.

Kamanyola is renowned for its vast reserves of minerals, which have attracted the attention of numerous mining companies. In addition to mining, the town's economy relies heavily on cereal agriculture, particularly the cultivation of corn and cassava. The fertile soil and favorable climate of the region also allow for the cultivation of crops such as cotton and coffee, which have become essential exports for the town.[1][2]

Despite its abundant natural resources, Kamanyola is heavily reliant on imports for its basic necessities. Due to the lack of a diversified local manufacturing industry, many goods are imported, which can be cost-intensive and time-consuming. The town's energy problems also pose a significant challenge to its industrial development, as the unreliable supply of electricity hinders the growth of local businesses. Similarly, the distribution of running water is uneven and inadequate, with many residents lacking access to clean drinking water. This has made it difficult for the town's agricultural sector to thrive. Nonetheless, the retail trade is thriving, with numerous small businesses and markets catering to the needs of the local population.[3][4][2]

History

Pre-colonial and epoch of independence

Kamanyola, as a part of the Ngweshe Chiefdom in the Walungu Territory, was inhabited by Bashi people, a large number of Bantu heterogeneous peoples who populate the territories of Walungu, Kabare, Mwenga, Kalehe, and Uvira.[5][6]

The region was a border town and historic lieu where the Zairian army (Forces Armées Zaïroises [FAZ]) landed a key victory against the Mulelist insurgency in 1964.[7][8][9]

Massacres of Hutu refugees

During the Rwandan Genocide, which displaced millions of Hutu civilians and provoked retaliatory carnage, Kamanyola housed many surviving Hutu refugees as well as ex-FAR/Interahamwe elements and Burundian CNDD-FDD rebels who fled to Walungu territory in the eastern part of Zaire, fleeing RPA (Rwandan Patriotic Army)[10][11]

The High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) estimated the number of refugees at 307,499 people, divided between 26 camps: Kamanyola, Izirangabo, Karabangira, Nyangezi, Nyantende, Muku and Mushweshwe south of Bukavu, Bideka, Chimanga (Burhale), Bulonge (a camp not recognized by UNHCR), Nyamirangwe and Chabarhabe to the west of the city, Panzi, Nyakavogo, Mudaka/Murhala, INERA [National Institute for Agricultural Studies and Research], ADI-Kivu [Action pour le Integrated Development in Kivu], Kashusha, Katana, Kalehe, Kabira, north of Bukavu and Chondo, Chayo, Bugarula, Maugwere and Karama on the island of Idjwi.[12] In October 1996, AFDL/APR units from Bwegera and the Rwandan town of Bugarama attacked the Kamanyola refugee camp, in Walungu territory, killing an unknown number of Zairian refugees and civilians.[13][14] The soldiers then threw the bodies of the victims into the latrines of camp.[15]

Apart from Walungu and Kabare, lethal abuses against refugees continued in other areas of South Kivu. The DRC Mapping Exercise Report published in August 2010 nevertheless points out that refugee camps located along the border with Rwanda and Burundi have been used as rear bases and military training camps.[16][17]

2017 Incident

On September 15, 2017, 39 Burundians were killed, and a hundred others were injured as a result of clashes with FARDC (Forces Armées de la République Démocratique du Congo) in Kamanyola in the Walungu territory, South Kivu.[18] Most of these Burundians left Burundi to take refuge in eastern DRC after the March 12, 2013 incidents in Businde, in the Kayanza Province (North), where clashes between the police and the faithful of Eusebie Ngendakumana, left six dead and 40 injured.[19][20] Ngendakumana managed to cross the border into the eastern part of the DRC with her supporters. On 12 and 13 September 2017, four Burundians were detained by the police and brought to the Congolese Intelligence Service (ANR) for conducting such night patrols wearing clubs. Fearing these four would be forcefully repatriated, fellow Burundians marched in front of the Congolese ANR's office in Kamanyola, demanding the release of four Burundian detainees.[21][22] According to Justin Bitakwira, former government Minister and member of the National Assembly, these were not Burundian refugees or asylum seekers, but a group armed with weapons of war who fought with a Congolese army patrol.[23][24]

Bitakwira stated:

“There is no refugee camp in Kamanyola. It was found that for a while, some of these people allowed themselves to patrol at night with edged weapons. We caught four of them and wanted to transfer them to Uvira so that they could go home. Women, children and old people came to attack the intelligence office to destroy it.” “The FARDC came to the rescue and they shot our commander again. You can imagine the reaction of a soldier who finds himself in front of a civilian who has already snatched weapons! In self-defense as it was night, they started shooting ”.[25]

The security services suspected them of making bladed weapons in their residence. They also alleged that an AK-47 rifle was found among the Burundian demonstrators who shot and killed two Congolese soldiers and injured others.[26] The rally deteriorated and resulted in an affront, first with the throwing of stones at the police, then with guns after the intervention of the FARDC.[27] As a result, Congolese security forces repeatedly shot at nearly 2,000 asylum seekers who were demonstrating, killing 37 and wounding others.[28]

Agriculture

Subsistence agriculture is the largest economic activity in the town.[29] Often geared towards self-consumption, the main food crops are maize, banana, cassava, corn, rice, tomato, and groundnuts. Kamanyola is not a productive hub, although some agricultural activities exist, some local initiatives (agro-food products), small artisanal production units, and informal activities raising small livestock and poultry.[30][31]

See also

References
  1. Villeneuve, Michel; Wazi, Nandefo; Kalikone, Christian; Gärtner, Andreas (June 2022). "A Review of the G4 "Tin Granites" and Associated Mineral Occurrences in the Kivu Belt (Eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo) and Their Relationships with the Last Kibaran Tectono-Thermal Events". Minerals. 12 (6): 737. Bibcode:2022Mine...12..737V. doi:10.3390/min12060737. ISSN 2075-163X.
  2. Bacigale, Samy; Nabahungu, Nsharwasi L.; Okafor, Chris; Manyawu, Godfrey J.; Duncan, Alan (2018). "Assessment of livestock feed resources and potential feed options in the farming systems of Eastern DR Congo and Burundi" (PDF). pp. 12–19. Retrieved 2023-04-04.
  3. "How a due diligence scheme appears to launder conflict minerals" (PDF). Global Witness. April 2022. Retrieved 2023-04-04.
  4. "You are being redirected..." www.iita.org. Retrieved 2023-04-04.
  5. RedactionH (2021-07-19). "LES BASHI". HESHIMA MAGAZINE (in French). Retrieved 2023-04-04.
  6. "Bibliographie". Journal des Africanistes. 39 (2): 233–240. 1969.
  7. Gerard-Libois, Jules; Verhaegen, Benoit (2015-12-08), "Congo 1965: Political Documents of a Developing Nation", Congo 1965, Princeton University Press, doi:10.1515/9781400875436, ISBN 978-1-4008-7543-6, retrieved 2023-04-05
  8. "La Bataille de Kamanyola ou Bataille de la Peur et de l'Espoir". www.aml-cfwb.be. Retrieved 2023-04-05.
  9. https://www.sonuma.be/archive/kivu-la-bataille-de-la-ruzizi
  10. wa Kinghombe, C.B. Kinghombe (December 2003). "La réalité du génocide par la faim au Bushi (Sud-Kivu)". The University of Texas at Austin. p. 2. Retrieved 2023-04-04.
  11. "Goodreads". Goodreads. Retrieved 2023-04-04.
  12. "Attacks against Hutu refugees - Walungu and Kabare (South Kivu)". Retrieved 2023-04-04.
  13. "Report of the Mapping Exercise documenting the most serious violations of human rights and international humanitarian law committed within the territory of the Democratic Republic of the Congo between March 1993 and June 2003" (PDF). August 2010. p. 95 (200). Retrieved 2023-04-04.
  14. peacework (2017-09-11). "Un rescapé raconte…". PEACE WORK AFRICA (in French). Retrieved 2023-04-04.
  15. "Attaques contre les réfugiés hutu : Walungu et Kabare (Sud Kivu)". Mapping Report (in French). 2018-05-09. Retrieved 2023-04-04.
  16. "Report of the Mapping Exercise documenting the most serious violations of human rights and international humanitarian law committed within the territory of the Democratic Republic of the Congo between March 1993 and June 2003" (PDF). August 2010. Retrieved 2023-04-04.
  17. "Attaques contre les réfugiés hutu : Walungu et Kabare (Sud Kivu)". Mapping Report (in French). 2018-05-09. Retrieved 2023-04-04.
  18. "DR Congo: Massacre Trial Puts Focus on Justice". Human Rights Watch. 2019-07-29. Retrieved 2023-04-04.
  19. Canada, Immigration and Refugee Board of (2018-06-05). "Responses to Information Requests". irb.gc.ca. Retrieved 2023-04-04.
  20. "BURUNDI 2016 INTERNATIONAL RELIGIOUS FREEDOM REPORT" (PDF). United States. 2016. p. 3. Retrieved 2023-04-04.
  21. "RDC: les versions divergent après les violences meurtrières dans le Sud-Kivu". RFI (in French). 2017-09-16. Retrieved 2023-04-04.
  22. "RDC : Une trentaine de réfugiés burundais tués par balle à Kamanyola". Actualite.cd (in French). 2017-09-16. Retrieved 2023-04-04.
  23. "Kamanyola : 5 militaires FARDC ont été tués, en face il ne s'agissait pas de réfugiés - (Lambert Mende)". Actualite.cd (in French). 2017-09-16. Retrieved 2023-04-04.
  24. "Tueries des Burundais à Kamanyola : Justin Bitakwira recommande une enquête". Radio Okapi (in French). 2017-09-18. Retrieved 2023-04-04.
  25. "Tueries des Burundais à Kamanyola : Justin Bitakwira recommande une enquête". Radio Okapi (in French). 2017-09-18. Retrieved 2023-04-04.
  26. "Kamanyola : 5 militaires FARDC ont été tués, en face il ne s'agissait pas de réfugiés - (Lambert Mende)". Actualite.cd (in French). 2017-09-16. Retrieved 2023-04-04.
  27. "Sud-Kivu : échauffourées entre armée et demandeurs d'asile burundais, 35 morts (bilan revu)". Radio Okapi (in French). 2017-09-16. Retrieved 2023-04-04.
  28. "DR Congo: Massacre Trial Puts Focus on Justice". Human Rights Watch. 2019-07-29. Retrieved 2023-04-04.
  29. Bacigale, Samy; Nabahungu, Nsharwasi L.; Manyawu, Godfrey J.; Okafor, Chris; Duncan, Alan (2018). "Assessment of livestock feed resources and potential feed options in the farming systems of Eastern DR Congo and Burundi" (PDF). pp. 12–19. Retrieved 2023-04-04.
  30. Mubalama, Jean M.; Espoir, Bagula; Bisimwa, Es B.; Bushunju, P. A. (18 February 2020). "Benefits And Drivers Of Farm Mechanisation In Ruzizi Plain, Eastern Democratic Republic of Congo". African Crop Science Journal. pp. 3–12. Retrieved 2023-04-04.
  31. "Featured Photo: Democratic Republic of Congo: Produce". Global Press Journal. 2016-10-02. Retrieved 2023-04-04.
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