Bukavu is a city in eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), lying at the extreme south-western edge of Lake Kivu, west of Cyangugu in Rwanda, and separated from it by the outlet of the Ruzizi River. It is the capital of the South Kivu Province and as of 2012 it had an estimated population of 806,940.
In 2021 it has an estimated urban population of 1,133,000.
South Kivu (Swahili: Jimbo la Kivu Kusini; French: Sud-Kivu) is one of 26 provinces of the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Its capital is Bukavu. Located within the East African Rift's western branch Albertine Rift, it is bordered to the east by Lake Kivu, Rwanda, Burundi, and Tanzania; to the west by Maniema Province; to the north by North Kivu Province; and the south by Tanganyika Province. The province covers an area of approximately 69,130 square kilometers and has an estimated population of 8,147,400 as of 2024.
The region has historically been inhabited by various Bantu-speaking ethnic groups, including the Bamushi, Bafuliiru, Bahavu, Banyindu, Babembe, Babuyu, Balega, Babwari, Baholoholo, Banyanga, Bavira, Bakusu, Batembo, Barongeronge, and Baswaga, as well as Pygmy communities. During the colonial period, the borders of the Congo Free State were established by the 1885 Berlin Conference, placing all of Lake Kivu and both banks of the Ruzizi River within the Free State. The region's boundaries were later subject to disputes, including the Kivu frontier incident of 1909, which was resolved in 1910 when the eastern portion of Kivu was allocated to Uganda Protectorate and German East Africa. Kivu District was formally created in 1912 and later divided into Sud-Kivu and Nord-Kivu Districts in 1951. After a series of administrative reorganizations, South Kivu became a separate province in 1988, alongside North Kivu and Maniema.
The National Congress for the Defence of the People (French: Congrès national pour la défense du peuple, CNDP) was a Congolese Rwandan-backed paramilitary rebel group active in the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo during the Kivu conflict. Established on 26 July 2006 by Laurent Nkunda in North Kivu Province, the CNDP emerged as the immediate successor to the Congolese Rally for Democracy–Goma (RCD-Goma), another Rwandan-sponsored rebel faction. With strong military and financial ties to Rwanda, the CNDP positioned itself as a defender of the Tutsi population and claimed to be combating the Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda (FDLR), a pretext it used to challenge President Joseph Kabila's government while engaging in the illicit extraction and commercialization of natural resources.
In 2002, Nkunda served as RCD-Goma's brigade commander in Kisangani. By early 2003, he inaugurated the political movement Synergie pour la paix et la concorde. The RCD-Goma remained active until a 2003 peace deal in South Africa led to a transitional government and the goal of unifying the country by integrating all major armed groups into a national army. However, fearing marginalization under Kabila's administration, the RCD-Goma sought to preserve its influence. Nkunda was appointed as the group's commander in North Kivu but declined to attend his swearing-in in Kinshasa, citing security concerns. Analysts suggested Rwanda positioned Nkunda as a proxy to retain its control over the eastern DRC. In December 2003, Synergie pour la paix et la concorde was formalized in Bukavu and established its operational base in Goma. Tensions escalated after the February 2004 arrest of Officer Joseph Kasongo in South Kivu for his alleged involvement in the assassination of President Laurent-Désiré Kabila. Clashes between the army and the RCD-Goma erupted, culminating in a ten-day siege of Bukavu, after which Nkunda's forces retreated. By December 2004, internal schisms within the RCD-Goma deteriorated when local Hutu leaders issued letters condemning the manipulation of Banyarwanda identity and pledging loyalty to the central government. This division prompted North Kivu's Governor Eugène Serufuli to shift allegiance to Kinshasa, signaling the decline of the RCD-Goma's influence. By mid-2005, Nkunda's network had grown as former RCD-Goma commanders defected to his cause. On 8 September 2005, he accused the government of ethnic cleansing in North Kivu and called for its removal by force. The same year, many ex-RCD-Goma soldiers defected to Nkunda's ranks amid the ongoing military integration process known as brassage. The government issued an arrest warrant for Nkunda, and in late 2005, the first major confrontation between defectors and national forces took place in Rutshuru Territory.
Walikale Territory is a territory situated in North Kivu Province, within the eastern region of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DR Congo). Its administrative headquarters are located in the town of Walikale, which lies along Democratic Republic of the Congo National Road No. 3 between Bukavu and Lubutu (Maniema Province). The territory occupies the Lowa River valley and is positioned approximately 135 km west of Goma.
Walikale is renowned for its cassiterite deposits, a mineral refined into tin. As of 2008, control over these resources was heavily contested due to the Kivu conflict, with warlords and armed factions dominating extraction activities. The Bisie mine, one of the territory’s largest cassiterite sources, was under the authority of the renegade 85th Brigade of the Armed Forces of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (FARDC), commanded by Colonel Samy Matumo, until early 2009. That year, the mine transitioned to oversight by FARDC units undergoing "accelerated integration," a government-led initiative to absorb former rebel forces into the national army.
Bushi is a cultural and common linguistic region located in the eastern part of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, primarily within South Kivu Province. It lies along the Mitumba Mountains and includes the administrative territories of Walungu, Kabare, Kalehe, Mwenga, and Idjwi, as well as the city of Bukavu. Estimates of the population vary widely, ranging from 7 to 12 million inhabitants. The region is historically organized as a kingdom, subdivided chiefdoms.
The inhabitants of Bushi are known as the Shi (plural: Bashi; singular: Mushi), who are also referred to as Banyabungo. The Shi language, known as Mashi, belongs to the Central (Zone J) Bantu group and served as a lingua franca across the region, while common religious practices included belief in the supreme deity Nyamuzinda, venerated through ancestral spirits (Bazimu)—notably Lyangombe, a central spiritual figure in the 19th century. Agriculture forms the basis of the local economy, with the majority of the population engaged in farming. The Shi kingdom is headed by a hereditary monarch, the Mwami, currently Alexandre Kabare Rugemanizi III.
The Kahuzi-Biega National Park (Swahili: Hifadhi ya Taifa ya Kahuzi-Biega, French: Parc national de Kahuzi-Biega) is a protected area near Bukavu town in eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo. It is situated near the western bank of Lake Kivu and the Rwandan border.