Kasai-Oriental is one of 25 new provinces

Provinces of the Democratic Republic of the Congo

There are currently ten provinces and one city-province in the Democratic Republic of the Congo:* An Ituri Interim Administration also exists in the Ituri region of Orientale province- Proposed provinces :...

 of the Democratic Republic of the Congo

Democratic Republic of the Congo

The Democratic Republic of the Congo is a state located in Central Africa. It is the second largest country in Africa by area and the eleventh largest in the world...

 specified in the country's 2005 Constitution (effective 18 February 2006), under Article 2. It was to be created from country's the existing 10 provinces

ISO 3166-2:CD

ISO 3166-2:CD is the entry for the Democratic Republic of the Congo in ISO 3166-2, part of the ISO 3166 standard published by the International Organization for Standardization , which defines codes for the names of the principal subdivisions of all countries coded in ISO 3166-1.Currently for the...

 within 36 months (18 February 2009), according to Article 226. As of October 2010, this had not taken place. Until 2009 it was ruled as the Tshilenge District

Tshilenge District

Tshilenge District is a district located in the Kasai-Oriental province, in the Democratic Republic of the Congo....

.

The capital

Capital City

Capital City was a television show produced by Euston Films which focused on the lives of investment bankers in London living and working on the corporate trading floor for the fictional international bank Shane-Longman....

 of the province is Mbuji-Mayi

Mbuji-Mayi

Mbuji-Mayi serves as the capital of Kasai-Oriental Province in the south-central Democratic Republic of Congo. It is the third largest city in the country, following the capital Kinshasa and second largest city Lubumbashi but ahead of Kisangani and Kananga. The city is the DRC's third-largest,...

, formerly Bakwanga, on the Sankuru river.

History

Kasai-Oriental is inhabited by members of the Luba

Luba

Luba may refer to:*Slavic origin feminine name which means "someone who has love"*Luba, Equatorial Guinea*Luba, Abra, a municipality in the Philippines*Ľubá, a village and municipality in the Nitra region of south-west Slovakia...

 tribe.

Congo obtained independence from Belgium

Belgium

Belgium , officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a federal state in Western Europe. It is a founding member of the European Union and hosts the EU's headquarters, and those of several other major international organisations such as NATO.Belgium is also a member of, or affiliated to, many...

 in 1960. Friction with Congo's other ethnic groups and encouragement by Belgian

Belgium

Belgium , officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a federal state in Western Europe. It is a founding member of the European Union and hosts the EU's headquarters, and those of several other major international organisations such as NATO.Belgium is also a member of, or affiliated to, many...

 corporations hoping to keep their mining concessions led to the secession of the province of South Kasai

South Kasai

South Kasai was a secessionist region in the area of south central Republic of the Congo during the early 1960s. The region sought independence in similar circumstances to neighboring State of Katanga during the political turmoil arising from the decolonization of Belgian Congo...

 as a separate state headed by Albert Kalonji

Albert Kalonji

Albert Kalonji is a Congolese politician best known for leading the short-lived secessionist state of South Kasai during the Congo Crisis...

.

After being repulsed, the Congo occupied the province in September 1961. Several thousand people were killed during the "pacification" of South Kasai, which lasted through the spring of 1962.

The population of Mbuji-Mayi grew rapidly with the immigration of Luba people from other parts of the country.

Diamond mining

The region in which Mbuji-Mayi is situated annually produces one-tenth in weight of the world's industrial diamonds, with mining managed by the Société Minière de Bakwanga. This is the largest accumulation of diamonds in the world, more concentrated than those at Kimberley

Kimberley, Northern Cape

Kimberley is a city in South Africa, and the capital of the Northern Cape. It is located near the confluence of the Vaal and Orange Rivers. The town has considerable historical significance due its diamond mining past and siege during the Second Boer War...

, South Africa

South Africa

The Republic of South Africa is a country in southern Africa. Located at the southern tip of Africa, it is divided into nine provinces, with of coastline on the Atlantic and Indian oceans...

. Mbuji-Mayi handles most of the industrial diamonds produced in the Congo.

Political divisions

The province consists of the following five territories:

• Kabeya-Kamwanga
• Katanda
• Lupatapata
• Miabi
  Miabi
  Miabi is a territory of the Kasai-Oriental Province in the south-central of the Democratic Republic of Congo. It is inhabited by the Bakwa Dishi and the land which is approximately is owned by its royal family....
  
  
• Tshilenge

Languages

French

French language

French is a Romance language spoken as a first language in France, the Romandy region in Switzerland, Wallonia and Brussels in Belgium, Monaco, the regions of Quebec and Acadia in Canada, and by various communities elsewhere. Second-language speakers of French are distributed throughout many parts...

 is the official language. Tshiluba is one of the four national languages of the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Tshiluba is spoken by about 6.3 million people in the Kasai-Oriental

Kasai-Oriental

Kasai-Oriental is one of the ten provinces of the Democratic Republic of Congo. It borders the provinces of Kasai-Occidental to the west, Équateur to the northwest, Orientale to the northeast, Maniema to the east, and Katanga to the south. Kasai-Oriental is one of the richest diamond producing...

, Kasai-Occidental

Kasai-Occidental

Kasai-Occidental is one of the ten provinces of the Democratic Republic of Congo. It borders the provinces of Bandundu to the west, Équateur to the north, Kasai-Oriental to the east, and Katanga to the southeast. To the south it borders the country of Angola...

 and Lulua provinces.