Butembo is 90% populated by the Nande tribe,[3] a community distinguished by ethnic solidarity, conservative moral standards and influential leaders.[4]
Administratively, Butembo has four communes: Bulengera, Kimemi, Mususa and Vulamba. Following various flows of displaced persons fleeing the war, the city has seen its population grow rapidly. It has about two million inhabitants, a 2022 estimate.
The city has 28 quarters (fr quartiers), distributed as follows:
1. Bulengera commune has 9 quarters: Kalemire, Kamesi Mbonzo, Kimbulu, Kyaghala, Mukuna, Mutiri, Rughenda, Wayene and Eveché.
2. Kimemi commune has 8 quarters: Biondi, Bwinyole, Commercial, Lumumba, Malende, Ngerengere, Vutetshe and Vutsundo.
3. Mususa commune has 7 quarters: Bwinongo, Katwa, Kitulu, Matanda, Ngingi, Vigholo and Vungi.
4. Vulamba commune has 4 quarters: Congo Ya Sika, Kambali, Matembe and Mukalangura.
Butembo brings together all twelve Yira (Nande) clans, which is why it is considered the extra-customary capital of this people.[citation needed]
Economy
The main activities of its inhabitants are trade, agriculture and livestock. Butembo is built thanks to the dynamism of its inhabitants alone.
Indeed, thanks to the fallout from trade with especially the countries of East Africa, the Middle and the Far East, the city is gradually being endowed with new buildings and charming private residences and it has become the warehouse of goods that supply the cities of Beni (city), Bunia, Kisangani, Goma, Bukavu, Kindu, Isiro, Buta, Bumba, and many others.
The merchants of the city have their own airlines.[citation needed] Butembo has a hundred industries of coffee, cocoa, beverages, sheet metal, tar, candy,...[vague]
Free University of the Great Lakes Region, founded in 2000
Official University of Ruwenzori (UOR)
University of the Assumption in Congo (UAC), founded in 1982
Kasugho University of Nature Conservation and Development (UCNDK)
Higher Pedagogical Institute of Muhangi
Institute of Buildings and Public Works (IBTP)
Higher Institute of Applied Chemistry (ISCA)
Higher Institute of Commerce (ISC BUTEMBO)
High schools
Malkia Wa Mbingu
Kambali Institute (formerly Pie-X)
Agricultural and Veterinary Technical Institute (ITAV)
Monseigneur-Kataliko Institute
Mahamba Industrial Technical Institute
Oriental Mage School Complex
Vulindi Major Seminary
Health
Butembo is home to several major hospitals in northeastern DRC, including:
Katwa General Referral Hospital;
Matanda Hospital;
Caritas Hospital;
Holy Family Hospital in Mukuna;
Vuhimba Hospital;
IRIS medical and surgical center.
History
Before 1924, the village of Lusando served as the residence of the Mwami of the Bayora. It was a center dedicated to the trade of salt from Lake Katwe (Uganda), fish and "milumba", beaten bark cloth, from neighboring regions. From 1928 to 1930, the Compagnie Minière des Grands-Lacs (MGL) set up the administrative headquarters of the northern branch of its operations in Butembo, which became the transit and acclimatization center for the workforce located at road junctions. In the 1930s to 1940s, a core of Europeans composed mainly of traders and industrialists settled 1km south of the MGL headquarters on either side of the Congo-Nile road, the current Route National 2. It is the genesis of an indigenous town between Kambali hill and Ruwenzori avenue.
In the 1943 edition of Codes et Lois du Congo Belge, annotated by Léon Strouvens with Pierre Piron, the name of Butembo was already mentioned in decree no. 47 of August 19, 1937, relating to the urban districts of the province of "Constermansville", future Kivu then fragmented into North Kivu, South Kivu and Maniema. This decree recognizes Butembo as a large village. Subsequently, in 1949 by Order No. 21/053 of September 23, 1949 in accordance with the provisions of Ordinance-Law No. 170/AIMO of July 20, 1945 establishing indigenous cities, Butembo was recognized as an indigenous city.
From 1950 to 1959, Butembo then reached the avenue des écoles, the Congo ya Sika district with respectively 9,653 inhabitants in 1957 and 11,189 inhabitants in 1959. The year 1958 marked the signing of Ordinance No. 97/138 of the May 15, 1956 subjecting Butembo to the regime of the decree of February 21, 1949 relating to town planning. Butembo is therefore recognized as an extra-customary center by Decree No. 221/180 of September 12, 1958. The following decade, the city will extend to Goma Avenue, the Vungi cell, Kimemi, Londo, Muhayirwa and Vihya. With a population of 26,065 inhabitants. In 1962, a law was passed by the assembly of Kivu-Maniema to elevate Butembo to the rank of commune. In 1963, Butembo became the capital of the Lake Edward district. In 1965 was the transfer of the bishopric of the diocese of Beni to Butembo. Repeal of the status of urban commune enjoyed by Butembo following the abolition of the province of North Kivu and the District of Lake Edward in 1967. Butembo was still governed according to the local community system until 1970.
Butembo will then be recognized as a city among the cities created by presidential decrees. The years 1970 to 1979, the city of Butembo is composed of 6 districts named Kambali, Matanda, Vungi, Lumumba, Congo ya Sika and President of the Republic. Later it expands east to Kitulu, Kisingiri, south to Kalimbute, Vutetse, Vulumbi, Vulema and Vuhika. The population then numbered 50,921 in 1975 and 69,227 in 1979. In 1980, Butembo became the residence of a sub-regional deputy commissioner, from where he supervised the administration of the Beni and Lubero zones between 1980 and 1985 In 1987: Butembo is registered on the list of 83 cities recognized and/or created in Zaire by presidential decrees n° 87/231 to 87/238 of 29/6/1987. Around the year 1987 when Butembo had 92,932 inhabitants and the period of the 1990s, a neighboring agglomeration, that of Makerere in the chiefdom-community of Bashu developed while in the chiefdom of Baswagha, the localities of Vohakatwa, Mukuna, Ivatama, Malera, Rughenda, Katsya and Vutsundo are experiencing remarkable population growth, bringing the population to 141,707.
In 1988: Opening of the Catholic University of Graben in Butembo with faculties of human and veterinary medicine, agronomy and economics. In 1993: Inauguration of the first private satellite telecommunications station PATELSAT (telephone, television, fax, etc.).
In 1999: The city of Butembo was granted city status by decree n° 01/001 bis/CAB/GP-MK/99 of September 29, 1999, creating the cities of Beni and Butembo in the provinces of North Kivu, by the rebel authorities of the RCD/K-ML who had chosen Beni as the seat of their political institution during the second so-called war of liberation which broke out on 2 August 1999, in the DRC.
In 2001: The president of the RCD/K-ML the Antipas Mbusa Nyamwisi, son of the region, signed decree No. 2001/038 on December 22 on the creation and delimitation of the city of Butembo and its municipalities in the province of North Kivu.
The President of the Republic Joseph Kabila signed Decree No. 042/2003 of March 28, 2003 recognizing Butembo as a city and setting its boundaries. According to this evolution, it can be seen that Butembo has escaped the application of the planning decrees of 1949 and 1957, which affects its urban fabric.
Ebola
Ebola broke out in August 2018 in North Kivu province. A series of attacks on Ebola treatment centers in Butembo led up to the death of a policeman in March 2019 and of a doctor in April 2019.[10][11] Locals mistakenly believe aid workers brought the virus to the area.[11] More than 102,000 people received an experimental vaccine in this period,[12] but 843 of 1300 confirmed and probable Ebola patients died.[11] Treatment centers were earlier torched in Butembo and Katwa, and medical professionals threatened to strike.[13]
Climate
Climate data for Butembo, elevation 1,840m (6,040ft), (1971–2000)
North Kivu is a province bordering Lake Kivu in the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo. The capital city is Goma. Spanning approximately 59,483 square kilometers with a population estimate of 8,147,400 as of 2020, it is bordered by Ituri Province to the north, Tshopo Province to the northwest, Maniema Province to the southwest, and South Kivu Province to the south, as well as Uganda and Rwanda to the east.
Karisimbi is a commune in Goma in the North Kivu Province of the eastern region of the Democratic Republic of the Congo. The commune takes its name from the nearby Mount Karisimbi, a prominent volcano in the Virunga Mountains. Spanning an area of approximately 33,372 square kilometers, Karisimbi extends from Goma International Airport to the outskirts of the Mugunga neighborhood. It is bordered by the Masisi Territory to the south and Rwanda to the east.
Goma is the capital and largest city of the North Kivu Province in the eastern region of the Democratic Republic of the Congo. It is located on the northern shore of Lake Kivu and shares borders with Bukumu Chiefdom to the north, Rwanda to the east and Masisi Territory to the west. The city lies in the Albertine Rift, the western branch of the East African Rift, and is only 13–18 km (8.1–11.2 mi) south of the active volcano Mount Nyiragongo. With an approximate area of 75.72 km2 (29.24 sq mi), the city has an estimated population of nearly 2 million people in 2022, with at least 500,000 displaced people.
Beni is a city in north eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo, lying immediately west of the Virunga National Park and the Rwenzori Mountains, on the edge of the Ituri Forest.
Julien Paluku Kahongya is a Congolese politician. He served as the governor of the province of North Kivu from 27 January 2007 to 22 February 2019.
Masisi Territory is a territory which is located within the North Kivu Province of the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Its political headquarters are located in the town of Masisi.
The Kivu conflict is an umbrella term for a series of protracted armed conflicts in the North Kivu and South Kivu provinces in the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo which have occurred since the end of the Second Congo War. Including neighboring Ituri province, there are more than 120 different armed groups active in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo. Currently, some of the most active rebel groups include the Allied Democratic Forces, the Cooperative for the Development of the Congo, the March 23 Movement, and many local Mai Mai militias. In addition to rebel groups and the governmental FARDC troops, a number of national and international organizations have intervened militarily in the conflict, including the United Nations force known as MONUSCO, and an East African Community regional force.
Nande (Yira), is a Bantu language also are Bantu population of Central Africa established in the east of the Democratic Republic of Congo in the territories of Beni and Lubero, they constitute more than 60% of the population of the province of North Kivu, they are also in Uganda where they are called Konjo (see Konjo language).
Kanyabayonga is a town straddling the Lubero and Rutshuru territories of North Kivu province in eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). Administratively, the part which is in Lubero is the commune of Kanyabayonga and, the part in Rutshuru belongs to the Kanyabayonga groupement (grouping) which extends well south of the town and is within the Bwito chiefdom. The region as a whole has seen much armed conflict since 1993.
The March 23 Movement, often abbreviated as M23 and also known as the Congolese Revolutionary Army, is a Congolese Tutsi-led rebel military group. Based in eastern areas of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), it operates mainly in the province of North Kivu, which borders both Uganda and Rwanda, and is backed by Rwanda. The M23 rebellion of 2012 to 2013 against the DRC government led to the displacement of large numbers of people. On 20 November 2012, M23 took control of Goma, a provincial capital with a population of a million people, but it was requested to evacuate it by the International Conference on the Great Lakes Region because the DRC government had finally agreed to negotiate. In late 2012, Congolese troops, along with UN troops, retook control of Goma, and M23 announced a ceasefire and said that it wanted to resume peace talks.
Goma is a commune located in the city of Goma, within North Kivu Province in the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo. Covering an area of 33,245 square kilometers, it forms the southernmost part of the city while also including sections of its eastern and western regions. As of 2018, the commune's population was estimated at approximately 333,727 residents. Goma is bordered by Lake Kivu to the south, the Republic of Rwanda to the east, Karisimbi commune to the north, and Masisi Territory to the west.
Lubero is a town in the North Kivu Province of the Democratic Republic of the Congo. It is the administrative center of the Lubero Territory. Following the surrender of the Mai-Mai fighters in 2021, construction of a new market began in 2022, involving the mayor, ex-soldiers, "young people at risk and the vulnerable women". As of March 2014, the population of Lubero is not publicly known.
Oicha is a town in North Kivu Province, in eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo which was built around a mission hospital that opened in 1935. It is a commune of Beni Territory and is it's administrative center.
The Kivu Ebola epidemic was an outbreak of Ebola virus disease (EVD) mainly in eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), and in other parts of Central Africa, from 2018 to 2020. Between 1 August 2018 and 25 June 2020 it resulted in 3,470 reported cases. The Kivu outbreak also affected Ituri Province, whose first case was confirmed on 13 August 2018. In November 2018, the outbreak became the biggest Ebola outbreak in the DRC's history, and had become the second-largest Ebola outbreak in recorded history worldwide, behind only the 2013–2016 Western Africa epidemic. In June 2019, the virus reached Uganda, having infected a 5-year-old Congolese boy who entered Uganda with his family, but was contained.
Katwa is a commune of Butembo in North Kivu province, Democratic Republic of Congo, north of Lake Edward and close to the border with Uganda. As of 2012, it had an estimated population of 63,422
The Bwito Chiefdom is a chiefdom located in the Rutshuru Territory of North Kivu Province in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). It is bordered to the north by Batangi Chiefdom and Kanyabayonga commune in Lubero Territory, Bwisha Chiefdom in the east, and to the north-east by Lake Edward and the Republic of Uganda. To the west, it is bordered by Bashali Chiefdom in Masisi Territory, and to the northwest by Wanyanga Chiefdom in Walikale Territory. To the south, it is bordered by Nyiragongo Territory.
The Free University of the Great Lakes Countries, is a private Christian educational institution located in Goma, in the North Kivu Province of the eastern region of the Democratic Republic of the Congo. ULPGL was founded in 1985, as a result of the Institut Supérieur de Théologie Protestante and was granted university status by the government in 1991. It is sponsored by six Protestant denominations, including two Baptists, two Pentecostals, one Anglican (EAC), and one Methodist (CLMC).
The Catholic University of Graben (U.C.G) is a private Catholic university in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, located in Butembo. The language of instruction is French.
Muhingo Nzangi Butondo is a Congolese politician who is currently serving as the Congolese Minister of Rural Development since May 2024 and as a member of the National Assembly for Goma since 2024. He had previously served as the Minister of Higher Education from 2021 to 2024, and as deputy for Butembo from 2012 to 2024.
Ndosho is a neighborhood in the Karisimbi commune of Goma, North Kivu, Democratic Republic of the Congo. It was historically an integral part of the adjacent Keshero neighborhood before gaining its own distinct administrative identity. The neighborhood is perched atop a hill and derives its name from the term "round stone" found between the villages of Kyeshero and Bugamba. As of 2017, Ndosho had an estimated population of 20, 823. It is bordered to the north by the Mudja groupement of Bukumu Chiefdom, to the south by the Goma-Sake Road and Keshero, to the east by Katoyi, and to the west by Mugunga. Administratively, Ndosho is divided into seven cells and 31 avenues.
YouTube Video of Nella Star (2007) Video by Godfried van Loo following Dutch sociologist/anthropologist Nella Star when going back to Butembo after over 30 years. With a lot of footage from the city Butembo and surroundings. Dutch/French spoken and subtitled.
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