Bukavu
{{Infobox settlement
| name = Bukavu
| official_name = Ville de Bukavu
| settlement_type = Provincial capital and city
| image_skyline = Bukavu, DR congo, 2020.jpg
| imagesize = 280
| image_caption = Bukavu in September 2020
| pushpin_map = Democratic Republic of the Congo
| pushpin_label_position = bottom
| pushpin_map_caption = Location in the Democratic Republic of the Congo
| subdivision_type = Country
| subdivision_name = 25px DR Congo
| subdivision_type1 = Province
| subdivision_name1 = South Kivu
| parts_type = Communes
| parts_style = para
| p1 = Bagira
| p2 = Ibanda
| p3 = Kadutu
| government_footnotes =
| government_type =
| leader_title = Mayor
| leader_name = Zénon Karumba{{cite news |last1=Bashige |first1=Héritier |title=Bukavu : la page Bilubi tournée, le nouveau Maire prend ses fonctions |url=https://laprunellerdc.info/bukavu-la-page-bilubi-tournee-le-nouveau-maire-prend-ses-fonctions/ |access-date=11 January 2023 |work=La Prunelle RDC |date=11 January 2023 |language=fr}}
| established_title = Founded
| established_date = 1901
| established_title2 = City status
| established_date2 = 1958
| total_type = City
| population_as_of = 2016
| population_total = 870954{{cite web | url=https://www.caid.cd/index.php/donnees-par-villes/ville-de-bukavu/?domaine=fiche | title=Accueil }}
| population_density_km2 = 19355
| population_urban_footnotes = [https://populationstat.com/democratic-republic-of-the-congo/bukavu PopulationStat.com]
| population_urban = 1133000
| population_blank1_title = Ethnicities
| population_density_blank1_sq_mi =
| timezone = Central Africa Time
| utc_offset = +2
| coordinates = {{coord|2|30|22|S|28|51|39|E|region:CD|display=inline,title}}
| elevation_m = 1498
| blank_name = Climate
| blank_info = Aw
}}
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.
History
{{See also|Timeline of Bukavu}}
Bukavu is part of the ancient territory of Bushi Kingdom, an ethnic group of South-Kivu. It was governed by a "Muluzi" Nyalukemba, when the first Arabs arrived. They were traders and often trafficked in enslaved Africans; they were influential in much of Africa.
Near the end of the 19th century, Europeans entered Bushi, and the Congo Free State attempted to colonize the large territory. 'Muluzi' or 'Baluzi' in the plural means 'the nobleman' or 'nobility' to Shi. Before the Europeans came in Bushi Kingdom, Bukavu was called "Rusozi". The name Bukavu comes from the transformation of word 'bu 'nkafu ' (farm of cows) in Mashi, the language of Bashi.{{Citation needed|date=March 2011}}
Bukavu was established in 1901 by the Congo Free State which became the Belgian Congo in 1908.John Everett-Heath, The Concise Dictionary of World Place Names, Oxford University Press, USA, 2017 Originally named Bukavu, it was named "Costermansville" (in French) or "Costermansstad" (in Dutch) in 1927, after Vice Governor-General Paul Costermans. In 1953, the name was changed back to Bukavu. It had a prominent European population under colonial rule.Britannica, [https://www.britannica.com/place/Bukavu Bukavu], britannica.com, USA, accessed on July 7, 2019 They were attracted by the subtropical climate (Lake Kivu is 1,500 metres above sea level) and scenic location (Bukavu is built on five peninsulas and has been described as "a green hand, dipped in the lake"). Many colonial villas have gardens sloping down to the lakeshore.
By contrast, the main residential district for ordinary people, Kadutu, climbs up the hillside inland. The surrounding hills reach a height of 2,000 metres. Formerly an administrative centre for the whole of the Kivu region, the town lost some of its status as a result of the growth of Goma and the late 20th century wars that erupted in the Congo following the 1994 Rwandan Genocide.
Following those massacres, Hutu refugees and many members of the former Hutu-led government fled Rwanda, contributing to the Great Lakes refugee crisis. The refugee camps around Goma and Bukavu became a center of Hutu insurgency from the camps against the new Watutsi government of Rwanda.
In November 1996, at the start of the First Congo War, Rwandan government forces attacked the Hutu camps and forces of the Zaire government, which had allowed the insurgency. The Rwandan government supported rebels in Zaire led by Laurent Kabila, who overthrew the Kinshasa government with their help. Later, the Rwandan government fell out with the rebels, which lead to the Second Congo War. Rwanda supported the rebel Rally for Congolese Democracy (RCD) against Kabila. Bukavu and the rest of Sud-Kivu was the site of sporadic fighting between rebels and government forces and their proxies, including the Mayi-Mayi, especially in 1998 and 2004.
On June 3, 2004, protestors in several Congolese cities took to the streets to demonstrate against the United Nations for failing to prevent Bukavu from falling to Rwandan-backed RCD forces led by General Laurent Nkunda.{{Cite web |url=http://www.niza.nl/docs/200507071153136817.pdf |title=Global Witness Under-Mining Peace – The Explosive Trade in Cassiterite in Eastern DRC |access-date=2007-12-24 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080227171007/http://www.niza.nl/docs/200507071153136817.pdf |archive-date=2008-02-27 |url-status=dead }} About 16,000 women were raped on a single weekend after Nkunda told his troops "This city is yours for three days."{{Cite news|url=http://www.spiegel.de/politik/ausland/0,1518,415601,00.html|title=Kongo: Berserker von Bukavu torpediert die Wahlen|last=Schwabe|first=Alexander|date=2006-05-16|work=Spiegel Online|access-date=2017-09-17}} Nkunda was later persuaded to fall in line with the peace accords which ended the war and re-integrate his troops with the Congolese government forces. In September 2007 he rebelled again and started attacking government troops north of Goma.
During the 2015 South Kivu earthquake, at least one policeman was killed.
The city was damaged by the 2022 Bukavu floods.{{Citation |title=Powerful flood waters swept away cars and dumped them into Lake Kivu Bukavu Congo |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JdyBabTMT4M |language=en |access-date=2022-04-12}}
On 14 February 2025, the city was entered by M23 rebels as part of an ongoing military campaign.{{Cite web |date=14 February 2025 |title=DR Congo M23 rebels enter city of Bukavu |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cvgmj00zjrpo |access-date=15 February 2025 |website=BBC |language=en}} The group took full control over the city on 16 February.{{Cite web |date=16 February 2025 |title=Second DR Congo city falls to Rwanda-backed rebels |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c0rqr8q5v52o |access-date=17 February 2025 |website=BBC |language=en}}
On 28 February 2025, an explosion occurred at a rally that killed 13 people and wounded several others. The Congolese government blamed the M23 rebels for the explosions.{{cite news|title= Congo and rebels trade blame for deadly blasts at rally|url= https://www.reuters.com/world/africa/congo-trades-blame-with-rebels-over-deadly-rally-blasts-2025-02-28/|website=Reuters|date=1 March 2025}}
Geography
File:Lake Kivu.jpg in Bukavu]]
File:Dawn on Lake Kivu.jpg view]]
Although not threatened by volcanoes as Goma is, Bukavu is equally in danger from a potential limnic eruption from Lake Kivu, in which vast quantities of dissolved carbon dioxide and methane could explode from the lake and threaten the lives of the 2 million people who live near the lake.[http://www.bbc.co.uk/science/horizon/2001/killerlakes.shtml "Killer Lakes."] ''
BBC Two Thursday 4 April 2002, summarised at www.bbc.co.uk.
Climate
Köppen-Geiger climate classification system classifies Bukavu's climate as tropical savanna (Aw), although it is milder than most climates of its type due to high altitude. Bukavu sees very warm days and pleasant nights year round.
{{Weather box|width=auto
|metric first=yes
|single line=yes
|location= Bukavu (1952–1959)
|Jan high C=25.4
|Feb high C=25.3
|Mar high C=25.3
|Apr high C=24.9
|May high C=24.9
|Jun high C=25.4
|Jul high C=26.1
|Aug high C=27.1
|Sep high C=26.5
|Oct high C=25.4
|Nov high C=24.8
|Dec high C=24.7
|Jan mean C=20.4
|Feb mean C=20.4
|Mar mean C=20.4
|Apr mean C=20.2
|May mean C=20.3
|Jun mean C=20.1
|Jul mean C=20.0
|Aug mean C=20.9
|Sep mean C=21.0
|Oct mean C=20.5
|Nov mean C=20.1
|Dec mean C=20.4
|Jan low C=15.4
|Feb low C=15.4
|Mar low C=15.4
|Apr low C=15.6
|May low C=15.7
|Jun low C=14.8
|Jul low C=13.8
|Aug low C=14.7
|Sep low C=15.4
|Oct low C=15.6
|Nov low C=15.4
|Dec low C=15.4
|Jan record high C = 29.0
|Feb record high C = 30.1
|Mar record high C = 29.1
|Apr record high C = 28.5
|May record high C = 27.7
|Jun record high C = 28.6
|Jul record high C = 29.2
|Aug record high C = 31.4
|Sep record high C = 31.8
|Oct record high C = 30.2
|Nov record high C = 28.7
|Dec record high C = 28.4
|Jan record low C = 12.4
|Feb record low C = 13.2
|Mar record low C = 12.7
|Apr record low C = 12.7
|May record low C = 13.2
|Jun record low C = 13.2
|Jul record low C = 12.4
|Aug record low C = 10.7
|Sep record low C = 12.2
|Oct record low C = 13.3
|Nov record low C = 13.2
|Dec record low C = 13.1
|precipitation colour=green
|Jan precipitation mm=118
|Feb precipitation mm=132
|Mar precipitation mm=183
|Apr precipitation mm=148
|May precipitation mm=74
|Jun precipitation mm=20
|Jul precipitation mm=13
|Aug precipitation mm=56
|Sep precipitation mm=103
|Oct precipitation mm=144
|Nov precipitation mm=179
|Dec precipitation mm=147
|unit precipitation days = 0.1 mm
|Jan precipitation days = 20
|Feb precipitation days = 19
|Mar precipitation days = 24
|Apr precipitation days = 24
|May precipitation days = 14
|Jun precipitation days = 5
|Jul precipitation days = 3
|Aug precipitation days = 4
|Sep precipitation days = 14
|Oct precipitation days = 19
|Nov precipitation days = 24
|Dec precipitation days = 23
|year precipitation days =
|Jan humidity = 83
|Feb humidity = 84
|Mar humidity = 85
|Apr humidity = 86
|May humidity = 86
|Jun humidity = 81
|Jul humidity = 75
|Aug humidity = 68
|Sep humidity = 74
|Oct humidity = 80
|Nov humidity = 83
|Dec humidity = 84
|year humidity =
|Jan sun = 151.9
|Feb sun = 135.6
|Mar sun = 148.8
|Apr sun = 147.0
|May sun = 161.2
|Jun sun = 216.0
|Jul sun = 241.8
|Aug sun = 223.2
|Sep sun = 180.0
|Oct sun = 155.0
|Nov sun = 135.0
|Dec sun = 130.2
|year sun =
|Jan percentsun = 40
|Feb percentsun = 40
|Mar percentsun = 40
|Apr percentsun = 41
|May percentsun = 44
|Jun percentsun = 61
|Jul percentsun = 66
|Aug percentsun = 60
|Sep percentsun = 50
|Oct percentsun = 41
|Nov percentsun = 37
|Dec percentsun = 35
|source 1 = DWD{{cite web
| url = https://www.dwd.de/DWD/klima/beratung/ak/ak_641800_kt.pdf
| title = Klimatafel von Bukavu, Region Kivu / Dem. Rep. Kongo (ehemalig: Zaire)
| publisher = Deutscher Wetterdienst
| accessdate = January 29, 2023
}}
}}
Architecture
File:Mairie Bukavu.jpg building, in 2013]]
The city has over 100 art deco buildings which were constructed during Belgian colonial rule and proposals have been made to preserve these so that the city can be a tourist attraction for architecture enthusiasts.{{Cite web |date=2013-03-20 |title=Bukavu, Africa's forgotten art deco jewel |url=https://www.independent.co.uk/climate-change/news/bukavu-africa-s-forgotten-art-deco-jewel-8542338.html |access-date=2022-11-09 |website=The Independent |language=en}}
Transport
Bukavu is an important transport hub and gateway to eastern DR Congo, but as a result of the wars the road network has deteriorated and highways to Goma, Kisangani and other towns have not been fully restored. As with Goma, close proximity to the paved road network of East Africa and the functioning eastern section of the Trans-African Highway to Mombasa may allow a faster recovery than other Congolese towns. Bukavu's proximity to the Lake Tanganyika ports of Bujumbura and Kalundu-Uvira give it an additional advantage, with access on the lake to the railheads of Kigoma (linked to Dar es Salaam) and Kalemie (rail link to Katanga, in need of rehabilitation). Isolation, largely due to bad road infrastructure, has been found to be an important determinant of wealth and/or development in South Kivu.Ulimwengu, J., Funes, J., Headey, D. and You, L. 2009. Paving the way for development? The impact of transport infrastructure on agricultural production and poverty reduction in the Democratic Republic of Congo, IFPRI Discussion Paper 00944, International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI), Washington DC, USA. 48 pp. [http://www.ifpri.org/sites/default/files/publications/ifpridp00944.pdf]
Bukavu has numerous lakeside wharves and boat transport is used extensively in the Congolese waters of the lake in the absence of well maintained roads.
Kavumu Airport (ICAO code: FZMA, IATA code: BKY) located about 30 kilometres north is the domestic airport for Bukavu. This airport has not been renovated for many years.
Education
There are many schools and universities present in Bukavu. The city also is known to be one that gives good education in D. R. Congo.{{cn|date=August 2022}}
Université Catholique de Bukavu, Université Évangélique en Afrique. The Official University of Bukavu was founded in 1993.{{cn|date=August 2022}}
Parks
Kahuzi-Biéga National Park, a World Heritage Site and one of two homes of the eastern lowland gorilla, is close to the city and can be reached from the road to Kavumu. The park headquarters at Tshivanga is located 31 km from Bukavu.
Places of worship
File:Cathedrale notre dame de la victoire bukavu.png
Among the places of worship, they are predominantly Christian churches and temples: Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Bukavu (Catholic Church), Kimbanguist Church, Baptist Community of Congo (Baptist World Alliance), Baptist Community of the Congo River (Baptist World Alliance), Assemblies of God, Province of the Anglican Church of the Congo (Anglican Communion), Presbyterian Community in Congo (World Communion of Reformed Churches).J. Gordon Melton, Martin Baumann, Religions of the World: A Comprehensive Encyclopedia of Beliefs and Practices, ABC-CLIO, USA, 2010, p. 777 The city also counts a few mosques.
Medical care
The city is home to the Panzi Hospital. Founded by the Swedish Pentecostal Mission in 1921, its director Denis Mukwege operates on women who survive sexual violence, and is one of two doctors in the eastern Congo qualified to perform a reconstructive surgery.{{cite web | title="Not Women Anymore…": The Congo's rape survivors face pain, shame and AIDS | url=http://www.msmagazine.com/spring2005/congo.asp | author=Stephanie Nolen | quote=It took Thérèse Mwandeko a year to save the money... She walked with balled-up fabric clenched between her thighs, to soak up blood that had been oozing from her vagina for two years, since she had been gang-raped by Rwandan militia soldiers who plundered her village in the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). Finally, she arrived at Panzi Hospital... Dr. Denis Mukwege, Panzi's sole gynecologist and one of two doctors in the eastern Congo who can perform such reconstructive surgeries, can repair only five women a week. | publisher=Ms. | date=Spring 2005 | access-date=2011-12-04 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161031104703/http://www.msmagazine.com/spring2005/congo.asp | archive-date=2016-10-31 | url-status=dead }}
Panzi Hospital is a teaching hospital of the Evangelical University in Africa. Bukavu is also home to the Catholic University of Bukavu's School of Medicine and General Reference teaching hospital. The pharmaceutical factory Pharmakina owned by a German immigrant and a French immigrant produces the antimalarial drug quinine and the generic AIDS medicament Afri-vir. Pharmakina also runs an AIDS diagnostic and treatment center.{{Cite web|url=http://www.bundestag.de/dasparlament/2007/13/EuropaWelt/14424814.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070629033451/http://www.bundestag.de/dasparlament/2007/13/EuropaWelt/14424814.html|url-status=dead|title=Das Parlament – Publication of the German Bundestag|archive-date=June 29, 2007}} With 740 employees and about 1000 free-lance workers. After Great Lake Plantations SARL, which is Congo's only modern tea manufacturing company, Pharmakina is the largest employer in town.{{Cite news|url=https://www.zeit.de/2005/29/Pharmakina/komplettansicht|title=afrika: Kongos kleines Wirtschaftswunder|first=Bartholomäus|last=Grill|date=July 14, 2005|newspaper=Die Zeit}}
Social issues
Women continue to face major problems of violence in the wake of war in the eastern DRC. Fondation Chirezi in August 2007 launched a project based in Bukavu for women's trauma healing and care.
Another NGO launched a program to help women affected by Violence in Panzi next to Fondation Panzi called V-Day.{{Cite news|url=http://drc.vday.org/about-city-of-joy/congo/|title=Why Congo? - City of Joy|work=City of Joy|access-date=2017-09-16|language=en-US}}
After the repeated wars in the east of the Democratic Republic of Congo, the number of people wounded by the war and living with disabilities has increased considerably. A national non-profit association called Congo Handicap was created in 2004 in Bukavu to support people living with disabilities. It provides comprehensive care for this segment of the population, including people living with disabilities who were raped during the war.{{Cite web|url=https://www.handiplanet-echanges.info/organisations/congo-handicap-en|title=CONGO HANDICAP — Handiplanet|website=www.handiplanet-echanges.info}}
Notable residents
{{See also|Category:People from Bukavu|List of mayors of Bukavu}}
- Caddy Adzuba
- Cor Akim
- Alexis Brimeyer
- {{ill|Jean-Marie Bulambo Kilosho|fr}}
- {{ill|Marcellin Cishambo|fr}}
- {{ill|Amini Cishugi|fr}}
- Vital Kamerhe
- Jeannette Kavira Mapera
- Solange Lusiku Nsimire
- Solange Lwashiga Furaha
- Yolande Mabika
- Saïd Makasi
- Léon Mamboleo{{Cite web|url=https://congoprofond.net/rdc-portrait-qui-est-leon-mamboleo-president-provisoire-du-senat-congolais/|title=RDC/Portrait: Qui est Léon Mamboleo, président provisoire du sénat congolais ?|first=Rédaction|last=Cp|date=April 22, 2019}}
- {{ill|François-Xavier Maroy|fr}}
- Popole Misenga
- {{ill|Louis Muderhwa|fr}}
- Denis Mukwege
- Francine Muyumba
- Douce Namwezi N'Ibamba
- Mwezé Ngangura
- Kakengwa Pikinini
- Raoul Shungu
- Stephanos of Tallinn
- Jean van de Velde (director)
References
{{Reflist}}
=Sources=
- {{cite book
| first = Siradiou
| last = Diallo
| year = 1975
| title = Le Zaire aujourd'hui
| publisher = Editions Jeune Afrique
| isbn = 2-85258-021-7
}}
- UN Department for Humanitarian Affairs, Inter-Regional Information Network briefings [http://www.irinnews.org IRIN]
Bibliography
{{See also|Timeline of Bukavu#Bibliography|l1=Bibliography of the history of Bukavu}}
External links
{{Commons}}
{{Wikivoyage|Bukavu}}
- {{Cite web|title=Detailed Map of Bukavu|date=25 August 2003|publisher=GIS Unit MONUC (United Nations Organization Stabilization Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo)|location=Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of the Congo|url=http://www.monuc.org/downloads/Bukavu.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071013073519/http://www.monuc.org/downloads/Bukavu.pdf|archive-date=13 October 2007|url-status=dead}}
- Map {{Cite web|date=21 December 2012|title=Bukavu, Sud-Kivu, Congo-Kinshasa|publisher=Reférential Geographique Commun, République Démocratique du Congo|url=http://www.rgc.cd/site/images/bukavu_121221.pdf}}{{dead link|date=September 2017 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}
- {{in lang|fr}} [https://web.archive.org/web/20190706102126/http://bukavuonline.com/ Worldwide Bukavu Community Website]
- {{in lang|de}} [http://www.spiegel.de/politik/ausland/0,1518,415601,00.html Spiegel-Online article]
- {{in lang|fr}} [http://www.panzihospitalbukavu.org Panzi Hospital of Bukavu]
- [https://web.archive.org/web/20051224194711/http://www.3tamis.org/ 3tamis - website of Bukavu and its area]
- [https://web.archive.org/web/20080820233156/http://www.stiopka.com/Bukavu/photos_bukavu.html Pictures of Bukavu, previously Costermansville]
{{New DRC provincial capitals}}
{{Sud-Kivu}}
{{Authority control}}
Category:Populated places established in 1901
Category:Populated places in South Kivu
Category:Populated places on Lake Kivu