Aketi | |
|---|---|
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  Aketi Location in the Democratic Republic of the Congo | |
| Coordinates: 2°44′N23°45′E / 2.733°N 23.750°E | |
| Country |  Democratic Republic of the Congo |
| Province | Bas-Uele |
| Territory | Aketi |
| Population (2009) | |
| • Total | 38,588 |
| Time zone | UTC+2 (Central Africa Time) |
| Climate | Am |
| National language | Lingala |
Aketi is a town in the Bas-Uele Province of the Democratic Republic of the Congo. It is the seat of Aketi Territory. As of 2009 it had an estimated population of 38,588. [1]
The town was called Port-Chaltin during the colonial era after the Belgian officer Louis Napoléon Chaltin. It took its current name in 1971. [2] During the Congo Crisis, Aketi was the scene of some fighting with armed groups targeting Europeans and Roman Catholic priests and nuns. At least one American missionary was killed and a number of priests were beaten and nuns were harassed. [3] The village fell to government forces in late November 1964, and ten Americans and more than 130 Belgian hostages were rescued. [4]
The Vicicongo line built by the Société des Chemins de Fer Vicinaux du Congo terminated at Aketi. It led from Aketi east to Komba, then north via Likati to Bondo. Later it was extended to run east from Komba via Buta and Isiro to Mungbere. [5] The town is on the Itimbiri River, a navigable tributary of the Congo, which was used to carry goods onward to Kinshasa [6] The Itimbiri is navigable by Congo boats for only part of the year. At other times smaller boats took cargo from Aketi down to Bumba on the Congo River, where it was transferred to the larger Congo boats. Sometimes traffic was halted completely. [7]
Starting in 1970, work began on the section from Aketi to Bumba on the Congo River, so products from the Uele region could be taken directly to the Congo River barges, avoiding transshipment at Port Chaltin in Aketi. This section was inaugurated in 1975 in Aketi, and caused that town to lose its main reason for existence. [8] Under President Mobutu Sese Seko (1965–1997) the railway was neglected. [9] The last train from Bumba to Aketi ran in 2003. [8]
Aketi is served by Aketi Airport.
Buta is a city in the northern Democratic Republic of the Congo, lying on the Rubi River, a tributary of the Itimbiri River. It is the capital of Bas-Uele province. As of 2012, it had an estimated population of 55,313.
The Société Nationale des Chemins de Fer Zaïrois (SNCZ) was the state railway company in Zaire formed in 1974 by combining several privately owned railways. It suffered from lack of maintenance of the tracks and rolling stock, weak management, and external factors such as the Angolan Civil War and the collapse of the economy of Zaire under President Mobutu Sese Seko. Despite two projects funded by the World Bank, it had virtually ceased to function by the 1990s. It was replaced in 1995 by the short-lived private company SIZARAIL, which in turn was replaced by the present Société nationale des chemins de fer du Congo.
Likati River is a river of northern Democratic Republic of the Congo, a tributary of the Itimbiri River. It flows through Aketi Territory in Bas-Uele District.
Cataractes District was a district located in the Kongo Central province, in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. It dated back to the days of the Congo Free State and the Belgian Congo.
Chemins de fer des Uele is a 600 mm narrow-gauge line in the north east of the Democratic Republic of the Congo. It was built between 1924 and 1937 as a portage railway bypassing Congo River rapids.
Kwango District was a district of the Congo Free State, Belgian Congo and the Democratic Republic of the Congo. It went through various changes in extent. It roughly corresponded to the present provinces of Kwilu and Kwango.
Stanleyville District was a district of the Belgian Congo and Democratic Republic of the Congo. It went through various changes in extent. Between 1933 and 1963 it had roughly the same extent as the current Tshopo province.
Uele District was a district of the Congo Free State and the Belgian Congo. It roughly corresponded to the current provinces of Bas-Uélé and Haut-Uélé.
Bangala District was a district of the Congo Free State and the Belgian Congo. It went through various significant changes in extent. The eastern part very roughly corresponded to the present province of Mongala.
The Itimbiri River is a right tributary of the Congo River, which it joins above Bumba. At one time it was important as a navigable waterway for transporting good from the northeast of the country down to the Congo.
The Rubi River is a left tributary of the Itimbiri River, which forms where the Rubi joins the Likati River.
Ibembo is a village on the Itimbiri River in the Tshopo province of the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
The Société des Chemins de Fer Vicinaux du Congo, known as CVC or Vicicongo, was a railway company that operated the narrow gauge Vicicongo line and provided trucking services in the northeast Belgian Congo, and then in the Democratic Republic of the Congo between 1924 and 1974. It provided transport for agricultural goods produced in the northeast that were shipped on the Congo River to Léopoldville (Kinshasa). After independence in 1960 there were civil disturbances and the railway was poorly maintained. The company was taken over by the state in 1974. Later there were further disturbances in which the stations were destroyed and the rolling stock used as a source of metal. The track is decrepit and no longer usable.
Titulé is a village in the Bas-Uélé province of the Democratic Republic of the Congo. It was the terminus of a branch of the defunct Vicicongo line, a railway. The town is the center of a health zone and has a general referral hospital.
Libongo or Libogo is a village in the Bas-Uélé province of the Democratic Republic of the Congo. It was a stop on the defunct Vicicongo line, a railway.
Zobia is a village in the Bas-Uélé province of the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Zobia Gauche was a station on the defunct Vicicongo line, a railway.
Dulia is a village in the Bas-Uélé province of the Democratic Republic of the Congo. It was a station on the defunct Vicicongo line, a railway.
Kotili is a village in the Bas-Uélé province of the Democratic Republic of the Congo. It was a station on the defunct Vicicongo line, a railway.
Benge is a village in the Bas-Uélé province of the Democratic Republic of the Congo. It was a station on the defunct Vicicongo line, a railway.
Mawa Gare is a village in the Bas-Uélé province of the Democratic Republic of the Congo. It was a station on the defunct Vicicongo line, a railway.
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