Fizi Territory


Fizi Territory is a territory located in the southern part of South Kivu Province, in the eastern region of the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Covering an estimated area of 15,789 square kilometers, it shares borders with Uvira Territory to the north, Mwenga and Shabunda territories to the west, Kalemie Territory of Tanganyika Province to the south, and Lake Tanganyika to the east, beyond the Ubwari Peninsula.
The Bembe people predominantly inhabit the territory, though it is also characterized by considerable ethnocultural diversity, with smaller ethnic groups such as the Babuyu, Babwari, and Bazoba residing in various villages throughout the area. Administratively, Fizi Territory is subdivided into four sectors: Lulenge, Mutambala, Ngandja, and Tanganyika. Its economy is primarily driven by agriculture, fishing, livestock farming, and artisanal mineral extraction. The Kyimbi hydroelectric plant serves as a key source of power generation, although the territory's energy infrastructure remains limited. Other facilities, such as the Magembe and Nundu stations, ceased operation during the Second Congo War, whereas a small hydroelectric unit in Malikya, close to Baraka, remains active.

Geography

Terrain and climate

Fizi Territory landscape is dominated by mountainous terrain and a coastal plain along the eastern edge bordering Lake Tanganyika. This plain averages about two kilometers in width but widens significantly in the southern region, known as Kenya, where it reaches roughly twelve kilometers. In certain stretches, such as near Pemba and Luanga, the plain disappears entirely, leaving the lake's waters to crash directly against steep escarpments. The coastal belt extends from the Kambakulu River up to the Lweka River, which serves as the natural border between the Tanganyika and Mutambala sectors.
Inland, toward the center, south, and north of the territory, rises a vast plateau framed by parallel mountain chains oriented in a south–north direction. The highest peaks of these mountains exceed 2,500 meters in altitude and form part of the larger Mitumba range. The plateau descends abruptly to the east, overlooking Lake Tanganyika. The Lukongo summit, located near the administrative headquarters of the territory, stands at about 1,400 meters above sea level. The Baraka–Fizi road, which connects the lakeside city of Baraka to the interior, crosses a steep rocky escarpment reminiscent of the Nyangezi escarpment found in the neighboring Walungu Territory. Toward the west, the plateau inclines gently from east to west, a gradient that is mirrored by the flow of local rivers.
Major rivers and their corresponding sectors
The territory experiences varied climatic conditions influenced by altitude. The low-lying coastal plains are generally hot, with average temperatures around 35°C, while the middle and high plateaus are significantly cooler, averaging 24°C. Altitude in the territory ranges from approximately 750 meters near the lakeshore to 1,300 meters and up to 1,700 meters inland toward the highlands.

Administration and governance

Administratively, Fizi Territory was established under the Belgian colonial ordinance-law of 8 August 1935. The original administrative center was located in Kalembelembe before being relocated to a settlement named Fishi, a name derived from the Kibembe language, later modified by colonial authorities to Fizi. The territory takes its name from this administrative center.
Fizi Territory is subdivided into four sectors: Lulenge, Mutambala, Ngandja, and Tanganyika. These are further divided into 18 groupements and 132 localités. The territory serves as an administrative unit responsible for the coordination, supervision, and support of state and provincial functions. Governance at the territorial level is overseen by a Territorial Administrator, who is supported by two Assistant Territorial Administrators. These officials are appointed by the president of the republic upon recommendation from the Minister of the Interior and Security, Decentralization, and Customary Affairs, following proposals by the provincial governor. The Territorial Administrator acts as the representative of the state and the province. Additionally, the Territorial Administrator and their assistants hold the status of judicial police officers with general jurisdiction and are empowered to requisition state services when required for the public interest. Regular administrative reports are submitted to the provincial governor and forwarded to the national Ministry of the Interior and Security, Decentralization, and Customary Affairs.
Subdivisions
SectorsGroupementsBasic activitiesRef.
LulengeBasimimbiAgriculture
Basimunyaka-SudAgriculture
BasikasingoAgriculture
Basombo
Obekulu
MutambalaBasimukindjiFishing and breeding
Balala-SudAgriculture
Basimukuma-SudAgriculture
BotombweAgriculture and fishing
BabwariFishing
NgandjaBasikalangwaAgriculture
BasikasiluMine
BabungweAgriculture and Mining
TanganyikaBabungwe-NordAgriculture
Balala-NordAgriculture
Basimunyaka-NordAgriculture
Basimukuma-NordAgriculture
BasilotchaAgriculture

In terms of political representation, Fizi Territory is represented in the 2024–2029 National Assembly by four deputies: Théophile Basoshi Lubwe, Janvier Msenyibwa Apele, who replaced Jean-Jacques Myewa Elakano, Obedi Nyamangyoku Ishibwela, and Th Tchakubuta Mufaume.

History

The region has a long history of independence from Kinshasa. It was the location of the maquis set up by Laurent-Désiré Kabila in 1967, as well as the place where Laurent-Désiré Kabila raised his son, the former president Joseph Kabila, in 1973.

Regional conflicts and wars

First Congo War

The eruption of the First Congo War, precipitated by the fallout of the 1994 Rwandan genocide, drastically destabilized the region. Following the genocide, the Rwandan Patriotic Front, under the leadership of Paul Kagame, ousted the Hutu-led regime of President Juvénal Habyarimana. However, the RPF's military incursions extended into eastern Zaire, targeting not only Hutu insurgent factions but also perpetrating extensive violence against Hutu civilians. United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees consultant Robert Gersony documented these atrocities, estimating that between 5,000 and 10,000 individuals were killed monthly during mid-1994. The influx of over two million Rwandan Hutu refugees into eastern Zaire exacerbated tensions in provinces such as South Kivu. The Zairean government under President Mobutu Sese Seko was unable to adequately address the humanitarian and security crises resulting from this influx. By 1996, the Rwandan Patriotic Army, along with Ugandan forces and the Burundian Forces Armées Burundaises, began supporting Banyamulenge and other Tutsi militias operating in eastern Zaire. Belgian legal and political scholar Filip Reyntjens characterizes the First Congo War as the intersection of two concurrent agendas: a legitimate resistance movement by Congolese Tutsi fearing retaliation, and the strategic use of this struggle by the Rwandan government to justify the RPA's military intervention in Zaire. On 12 September 1996, Banyamulenge militias launched attacks in the Itombwe Sector of Mwenga Territory, specifically in the villages of Kanyura and Makutano. Nine civilians, including prominent local leaders and their families, were executed. The casualties included a Rega ethnic administrator and the chief of the Basimunyaka II groupement, a Bembe from Fizi Territory, along with two of his relatives. These killings were widely perceived by local communities as the onset of a systematic campaign of ethnically targeted violence.As the Alliance des Forces Démocratiques pour la Libération du Congo, supported by the RPA and Burundian forces, advanced through South Kivu, they were implicated in multiple massacres within Fizi Territory. Beginning in October 1996, AFDL and RPA units also initiated the conscription of child soldiers in the territories of Uvira, Fizi, and the city of Bukavu. In Bukavu, recruitment operations were carried out from the AFDL headquarters situated in the Lolango Building on Avenue Maniema. The recruited children underwent rudimentary military training in the village of Kidoti before being deployed to active combat zones. In late October 1996, AFDL and RPA forces killed 27 civilians, primarily women and children, in the village of Mboko, located approximately 52 kilometers south of Uvira. Victims attempting to escape across Lake Tanganyika to Tanzania were either shot or drowned. On 28 October 1996, another massacre occurred in Abala-Ngulube, a village situated at the junction of the Moyen Plateau and Haut Plateau near Minembwe. In this attack, 101 civilians belonging to the Bembe ethnic group and members of the Third Malikia wa Ubembe Church were killed by AFDL and RPA forces. Many victims were burned alive inside the church after refusing to evacuate the village. This attack followed an ambush in which Bembe fighters reportedly killed two AFDL and RPA soldiers in the surrounding area. Since then, the Third Malikia wa Ubembe Church has observed an annual commemoration on 28 October to honor the victims.
The violence of this period ultimately contributed to the fall of Kinshasa in May 1997, which led to the overthrow of Mobutu and the rise of Laurent-Désiré Kabila as the new head of state. Subsequently, the country was renamed the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Despite the Congolese facade of the AFDL movement, a significant number of its officials were, in fact, members of the RPF. As a result, numerous Rwandan nationals occupied prominent positions within the new Congolese administration. The Congolese armed forces came under the de facto leadership of Rwandan General James Kabarebe, who was appointed Chief of Staff.