Bunkeya et ses chefs: évolution sociale dúne ville précoloniale (1870 - 1992)

Abstract

Bunkeya et ses chefs provides a

history of town of Bunkeya, a traditional centre of rule in Katanga, the

south-easterly province of the Democratic Republic of Congo. Primarily,

it tells the history of the Yeke chiefs, the first of whom, Msiri, founded a kingdom based on slave exports and the control of firearms. In 1891 Msiri was assassinated by the Belgian colonisers, and his capital was abandoned. However, his successors established good relations with the Belgians, and from 1910 returned to Bunkeya, which became a regional centre, with schools, missions and a flourishing commerce. On the basis of the education they received, the successors of Msiri, above all the brothers Antoine and Godefroid Munongo, became major political figures in the region. In particular Godefroid was a leading politician, advocating Katangese succession. In the turbulent times after the independence of Congo, Godefroid was i.a. heavily involved in the murder of Patrice Lumumba, and the government of Moise Tshombe, but nevertheless managed to survive, and to became a leading lieutenant of the dictator Mobuto. Godeforid was able to use the power he so accrued to greatly improve the economic position of Bunkeya, so that it is now a flourishing commercial town.