Mutambala
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Mutambala (or M'tambala) is a sector that constitutes one of the four sectors in the Fizi Territory of the South Kivu Province in the eastern part of the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Mutambala is situated near Lake Tanganyika, in the west by the Lulenge sector, in the north by the Tanganyika sector, and in the south by the Ngandja sector. It has a surface area of 776 km 2. The sector consists of five groupings (groupements), including Basimukindje (in the center), Batombwe (in the south), and Babwari (in the east).[1][2][3]
Agriculture is a significant economic activity in the region; it is revenue-generating for farmers. It is geared towards self-sufficiency but also generates profit through SOCODEFI, an agricultural organization that sells cassava to Baraka. Local food crops include cassava, palm oil, rice, maize, beans, banana, tomato, yam, peanut, sweet potato and sugarcane.[4][5][6] In addition to agriculture, fishing constitutes another important source of income in the sector. It is practiced in Lake Tanganyika in traditional fishing (small canoes, hooks, small nets) and artisanal fishing (motorized canoes, fishing nets). Although fishing is a significant activity in the sector, there is no industrial fishing; men and women are involved in commercializing or selling fish in the market.[6][7]
The Mutambala was inhabited by the Mbuti people, who practiced hunting and food-gathering as an essentially nomadic way of life. Incidentally, the Bembe people were established in the region, which on several occasions was incorporated by the colonial administration in the territories of Fizi or Mwenga. There were also a small number of Lega, Babwari, Babuyu and Nyindu and small lineages established within the area. The Belgian colonial administration later established Mutambala as a sector alongside Itombwe, Lulenge, Ngandja, and Tanganyika.[8][9][10][11]
In the mid-twentieth century, the region housed many cattle-herding Banyarwanda, who have been leading their herds towards Itombwe.[12] The region experienced another influx of immigrants from Burundi in 1972 during the Great Calamity, a series of mass killings against the Hutu populace by the Tutsi-dominated army and government after the advent of Michel Micombero. Parenthetically, the region hosted a second wave of immigrants following the displacement of Burundians in 1976–77. The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees and the Zairean government organized the influx of immigrants from the Ruzizi Plain to the Fizi territory in Mutambala sector.[13][14][15][16]