Kiringye
{{Short description|Village in Bafuliiru Chiefdom, Uvira Territory}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=February 2025}}
Kiringye is a village situated in the Lemera groupement within the Bafuliiru Chiefdom, which is part of Uvira Territory in the South Kivu Province in the eastern region of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). The village is located at an elevation of 928 meters and is in close proximity to the localities of Luburule and Karenzu.{{Cite web |date=7 September 2018 |title=Sud-Kivu: l'ONG OADR déplore l'aggravation de la famine et la pauvreté à Kiringye |trans-title=South Kivu: NGO OADR deplores worsening famine and poverty in Kiringye |url=https://www.radiookapi.net/2018/09/07/actualite/societe/sud-kivu-long-oadr-deplore-laggravation-de-la-famine-et-la-pauvrete |access-date=31 May 2023 |website=Radio Okapi |language=fr}}{{Cite web |last=Kishamata |first=Jérôme Katongo |title=Monographie de la chefferie des Bafuliiru |url=https://www.africmemoire.com/part.4-monographie-de-la-cheffeerie-des-bafuliiru-628.html |access-date=24 June 2023 |publisher=Université Officielle de Bukavu (UOB) |language=French |publication-place=Bukavu, South Kivu, Democratic Republic of the Congo}}
Agriculture is the main economic activity in the region.{{Cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=kf4QoA9quC8C |title=Auto-organisation des réfugiés dans les camps à l'Est du Zaïre (1994-1996) |publisher=Presses universitaires de Namur |year=2004 |isbn=9782870374276 |editor-last=Sibomana |editor-first=René |location=Namur, Belgium |pages=87–92 |language=French |editor-last2=Dusenge |editor-first2=Virginie}} It provides local communities with self-sufficiency. Its fertile soil and favorable climate make it an ideal region for agricultural activities. Farmers grow various crops, including staple foods such as maize, beans, cassava, potatoes, sweet potatoes, and rice, as well as cash crops like coffee, tea and cocoa. Livestock farming, including cattle, sheep, and poultry.{{Cite journal |last1=Mondo |first1=J. M. |last2=Bagula |first2=E. M. |last3=Bisimwa |first3=E. B. |last4=Bushunju |first4=P. A. |last5=Mirindi |first5=C. M. |last6=Kazamwali |first6=L. M. |last7=Chirhuza |first7=S. B. |last8=Karume |first8=K. & Mushagalusa |title=Benefits and drivers of farm mechanisation in Ruzizi Plain, Eastern Democratic Republic of Congo |url=http://www.bioline.org.br/abstract?cs20009 |journal=African Crop Science Journal |language=English |volume=28 |issue=1 |pages=111–130 |issn=1021-9730}}{{Cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=BPY-pyynDEMC&q=Kiringye%20Uvira |title=Special Publication: Volumes 17-27 |publisher=Experiment Stations |others=Contributor: University of Georgia and College of Agriculture. |year=1982 |pages=10 |language=English}}
History
The area was predominantly inhabited by Fuliiru and Vira agriculturists, as well as some Mbuti pygmies. It constituted an integral part of the Bafuliru Chiefdom, which exerted its authority over diverse regions within the Uvira Territory.{{Cite journal |last=Chubaka |first=Bishikwabo |date=1987 |title=Aux Origines De La Ville D'uvira Selon Les Explorateurs Et Les Pionniers De La Colonisation Belge Au Zaire (1840-1914) |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/41968746 |journal=Civilisations |volume=37 |issue=1 |pages=83–126 |jstor=41968746 |issn=0009-8140}}{{Cite book |last=Bizimana |first=Josée Kana |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=FTyAEAAAQBAJ&dq=Bafulero+Uvira&pg=PT88 |title=The Survivor Champion: The Remarkable Story of a Refugee Child |publisher=Grosvenor House Publishing |date=September 2022 |isbn=9781839759727 |location=Surbiton, England |language=English}}
During the 1980s, the village gained recognition for its flourishing agricultural sector, which exerted a significant influence on the regional economy. Renowned for its fertile terrain and propitious climate, the village emerged as a prominent agricultural nucleus, attracting interest through its successful farming practices and abundant harvests.{{Cite book |last1=Thaholokya |first1=Kahindo S. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Kl5EAAAAYAAJ&q=Kiringye%20Uvira |title=Rice Marketing in the Ruzizi Valley of Zaire |last2=Williams |first2=Floyd Wendell |last3=W. Ames |first3=Glenn C. |publisher=University of Georgia, Agricultural Experiment Stations |year=1983 |location=Griffin, Georgia |pages=10 |language=English}}
In the early stages of the First Congo War, Kiringye served as a stronghold for the Alliance of Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Congo-Zaire (Alliance des Forces Démocratiques pour la Libération du Congo-Zaïre; AFDL). This alliance received support from soldiers from Rwanda and Burundi, who covertly infiltrated the region to provide support to the Banyamulenge militia against the entrenched rule of Mobutu's government. Notably, on 31 August 1997, Oscar Lugendo, the government spokesperson, reported that Zairean troops had killed three Rwandan soldiers and apprehended five others within the confines of Kiringye.{{Cite book |last=Thomas Turner |first=Doctor |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=PvpiDgAAQBAJ&dq=Kiringye+Uvira&pg=PT82 |title=The Congo Wars: Conflict, Myth and Reality |publisher=Zed Books |year=2010 |isbn=9781848135031 |location=London, United Kingdom |language=English}} Subsequently, during the Second Congo War, a massacre transpired on 6 August 1998, resulting in 13 deaths, including the chief of Kiringye. The violence further escalated into the neighboring village of Lwiburule in South Kivu.{{Cite web |title=Second Congo War – Attacks on other civilian populations – South Kivu |url=http://www.mapping-report.org/en/second-congo-war-attacks-on-other-civilian-populations-south-kivu/ |access-date=31 May 2023 |website=DRC Mapping Exercise Report |language=en-US}}