Tanganyika Province | |
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Province | |
Coordinates: 5°55′S 29°12′E / 5.917°S 29.200°ECoordinates: 5°55′S 29°12′E / 5.917°S 29.200°E | |
Country | Democratic Republic of the Congo |
Capital | Kalemie |
Government | |
• Governor | Richard Ngoy Kitangala |
Area | |
• Total | 134,940 km2 (52,100 sq mi) |
Population (2015 est.) | |
• Total | 3,035,852 |
• Density | 22/km2 (58/sq mi) |
Official language | French |
National language | Kiswahili |
Website | http://tanganyika.gouv.cd/ |
Tanganyika is one of the 26 provinces of the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Specified under Article 2 of the country's 2006 Constitution, Tanganyika was finally created in 2015 from the eponymous Tanganyika District, previously part of the pre-2015 Katanga Province. Its capital is Kalemie.
The new province's territory corresponds to the historic Nord-Katanga province that existed in the early period of post-colonial Democratic Republic of the Congo between 1962 and 1966.
Tanganyika province was the scene of a rebellion by the Luba-Katanga people against the independent state of Katanga. In 1961, it was reconquered by the Katanga state, only to be taken back by the Kinshasa government later that year. From July 11, 1962 to December 28, 1966, this area was known as the province of Nord-Katanga, but the administration of the province was taken over in 1966 by the central government, and it was finally merged into the restored Katanga Province by the Mobutu government, where it was administered as the Tanganyika District. In 2015, Tanganyika was restored to full provincial status.
U.S. diplomats said in July 2006 that during the Second Congo War, Katanga province was divided by fighting between the Rally for Congolese Democracy - Goma (RCD-G) faction, supported by Rwanda, and the ex-Government faction, supported by local Mai Mai troops. While the RCD-G and some Mai Mai militia have been subsumed into the FARDC, many Mai Mai elements remain outside of government control. According to MONUC in Kalemie, an estimated 5,000-6,000 Mai Mai militia were still active in the Tanganyika region and have strongholds around Nyunzu-Kabalo-Kongolo and the so-called "death triangle" of Manono-Mitwaba-Pweto. MONUC officials said at the time that the majority of these Mai Mai form small, unstructured units with no chain of command and have largely devolved into common bandits.