Luluabourg (city)
| Kananga | |
|---|---|
Kananga seen from the air, 2012
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 Kananga
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| Coordinates: 5°53′32″S 22°24′10″E / 5.89222°S 22.40278°E | |
| Country |
 Democratic Republic of the Congo
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| Province | Kasai-Occidental |
| Founded | 1884 |
| Area | |
| • Total | 742,8 km2 (2,868 sq mi) |
| Elevation | 608 m (1,995 ft) |
| Population (2015) | |
| • Total | 1,271,704 |
| Climate | Aw |
| National language | Tshiluba |
Kananga, formerly known as Luluabourg or Luluaburg, is the capital city of the Lulua Province in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and was the capital of the former Kasaï-Occidental Province. The city has an estimated population of 463,556.
The city lies near the Lulua River, a tributary of the Kasai River and the Ilebo-Lubumbashi railway. An important commercial and administrative centre, it is home to a museum and to Kananga Airport.
German explorer Hermann Wissmann established a station in the area around present-day Kananga, on the left bank of the Lulua. Wissmann named the station Malandji, a name suggested by his 400 carriers, who were from the city of Malanje in Angola. Later on, with the construction of the railway on the other bank of the river, the station was moved, and the Lulua train station gave its name to the new town, namely Luluabourg. The old location is named Malandji-Makulu (old Malandji) to this day.
At the Brussels Round Table, in 1960, the name given to the negotiations for the independence of the (then) Belgian Congo, a decision was taken that the new state would move the location of its capital from Kinshasa to Kananga (then Luluabourg), due to the latter's central location. However, due to multiple political setbacks, and particularly the secession attempt by Albert Kalonji and his South Kasai, this decision was never implemented. When the central government reconquered South Kasai in 1962, Luluabourg became the capital of the new Kasai-Occidental province. Kananga (as Luluabourg) was the site of the drafting of the first Congolese-written constitution for the Democratic Republic of the Congo, in 1964.
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