Topzle Topzle

Kikwit

Updated: Wikipedia source

Kikwit

Kikwit is the largest city of Kwilu Province, in the southwestern part of the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Located at the furthest navigable point of the Kwilu River, the urban area of Kikwit is primarily on its left bank. The city has over half a million inhabitants. Kikwit is divided into four communes, with decentralised leadership: Kazamba, Lukemi, Lukolela, and Nzinda. Originating as a small village, Kikwit was developed by Belgian colonists in the late 19th century and became a centre of ivory and rubber trade. After the establishment of the Belgian Congo, Kikwit was granted to the company Huileries du Congo Belge, which established palm oil plantations in the 1910s and 1920s. Kikwit became an important administrative centre as well as the largest producer of palm oil in the Kwilu region. Beginning in 1959, Kikwit was a centre of political activities of the Parti Solidaire Africain. The region around the city was impacted by the Kwilu rebellion and Simba rebellion of the 1960s, but Kikwit was not a conflict zone. Kikwit's economy and infrastructure declined by the 1990s. In 1995, the city saw an outbreak of the deadly Ebola virus. The first municipal elections were held in 2023. Kikwit's population comprises largely the Pende and Mbala ethnic groups and speaks the Kikongo and Lingala languages. The city has thousands of migrants, including workers from rural areas. Most of the population is Catholic, and the city is the headquarters of the Catholic Diocese of Kikwit. Economic activities in Kikwit include agriculture and informal enterprises. The city has a high rate of poverty and of youth unemployment, which contributes to criminal activity such as Kuluna gangs. The city has poor infrastructure such as electricity. Kikwit is served by a single highway, National Road 1, and by Kikwit Airport.

Infobox

Country
DR Congo
Province
Kwilu Province
City status
1970
Communes
Kazamba, Lukemi, Lukolela, Nzinda
• Mayor
Abe Ngiama
• Total
92 km2 (36 sq mi)
Elevation
470 m (1,540 ft)
• Estimate (2020)
1,336,992
Demonym
Kikwitois
Time zone
UTC 1 (West Africa Time)
Climate
Aw

Tables

Communes of Kikwit · Governance
Kazamba
Kazamba
Commune
Kazamba
Population(2020 est.)
481,651
Lukemi
Lukemi
Commune
Lukemi
Population(2020 est.)
312,792
Lukolela
Lukolela
Commune
Lukolela
Population(2020 est.)
311,936
Nzinda
Nzinda
Commune
Nzinda
Population(2020 est.)
230,517
Commune
Population(2020 est.)
Kazamba
481,651
Lukemi
312,792
Lukolela
311,936
Nzinda
230,517

References

  1. Another attempt to establish MNC presence was led by labour unionist Placide Penge.
  2. Population estimates include 500,000 (2023), 800,000 (2022), 1,200,000 (2023), and 1,336,992.
  3. La Prospérité
    https://laprosperiteonline.net/identification-et-enrolement-des-electeurs-kikwit-denis-kadima-impressionne-par-lengouement-de-la-population/
  4. Phippard 2023, p. 141.
  5. The New York Times
    https://www.nytimes.com/1991/11/15/world/kikwit-journal-once-a-colonial-jewel-a-city-hurtles-backward.html
  6. De Boeck 1998, p. 781.
  7. Feyaerts 2025, p. 6.
  8. Fehr 1994, p. 70.
  9. Feyaerts 2025, p. 7.
  10. Van Pul 2023, p. 63.
  11. Nicolaï 2013, p. 11.
  12. Weiss 1967, p. 175.
  13. Traugott 1979, pp. 468–469.
  14. Weiss 1967, p. 88.
  15. Weiss 1967, pp. 88–94.
  16. Weiss 1967, pp. 90, 166.
  17. Verhaegen & Gerard-Libois 1966, pp. 3–4.
  18. Traugott 1979, p. 466–467.
  19. Verhaegen & Gerard-Libois 1966, p. 4.
  20. Feyaerts 2025, pp. 10.
  21. Traugott 1979, p. 470.
  22. Verhaegen & Gerard-Libois 1966, p. 12.
  23. Feyaerts 2025, pp. 7, 10.
  24. Verhaegen & Gerard-Libois 1966, p. 24.
  25. Rich 2020, pp. 242–244.
  26. Kalema 2025, p. 295.
  27. Harms 1977, p. 296.
  28. Tshwana Kilolo 2022, p. 360.
  29. Mwatha Musanji 1995.
  30. Shapiro & Shapiro 1994.
  31. Traugott 1979, p. 465.
  32. Encyclopedia Britannica
    https://www.britannica.com/place/Kikwit
  33. De Boeck 1998, p. 801.
  34. Turner 2002, p. 82.
  35. Garrett 2015, p. 81.
  36. Hall, Hall & Chapman 2008, pp. 446–447.
  37. Hall, Hall & Chapman 2008, p. 448; Garrett 2015, p. 81.
  38. Hall, Hall & Chapman 2008, p. 448.
  39. Garrett 2001, p. 90.
  40. Hall, Hall & Chapman 2008, p. 446.
  41. Garrett 2001, p. 91.
  42. Tshwana Kilolo 2022, p. 372.
  43. Nicolaï 2013, p. 30.
  44. Deutsche Welle
    http://www.dw.de/deadly-stampede-at-tribute-concert-in-democratic-republic-of-congo/a-17591882
  45. BBC News
    https://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-27157266
  46. Pumbulu Kipasa 2022, p. 444.
  47. Pumbulu Kipasa 2022, pp. 450–451.
  48. Radio France Internationale
    https://www.rfi.fr/fr/afrique/20190111-rdc-kikwit-encore-proie-violences-lamuka-appelle-calme
  49. Human Rights Watch
    https://www.hrw.org/news/2019/02/14/dr-congo-post-election-killings-test-new-president
  50. Tshwana Kilolo 2024, p. 94.
  51. Fehr 1994, p. 69.
  52. Nienie et al. 2017, p. 821; Phippard 2023, p. 149.
  53. Van Pul 2023, p. 62.
  54. Van Pul 2023, pp. 62–63.
  55. Nienie et al. 2017, p. 825.
  56. Lutete Landu et al. 2023, p. 16.
  57. Lutete Landu et al. 2023, p. 22–23, 26.
  58. Feyaerts 2025, pp. 1–2.
  59. Lutete Landu et al. 2023, pp. 15–16.
  60. Fehr 1994, pp. 78, 83.
  61. Fehr 1994, p. 75.
  62. Fehr 1994, pp. 74–75.
  63. Nienie et al. 2017, p. 821.
  64. Fehr 1994, p. 79.
  65. Fehr 1994, p. 78.
  66. Fehr 1994, p. 69, 73.
  67. Fehr 1994, p. 82.
  68. Migaud et al. 2024, p. 1171.
  69. Van Wolputte, Cassiman & De Boeck 2022, p. 274.
  70. Tshwana Kilolo 2022, p. 368.
  71. Verhaegen & Gerard-Libois 1966, p. 5.
  72. Bokamba 2019, p. 62.
  73. Straus & Tripp 2024, p. 154.
  74. Pumbulu Kipasa 2022, p. 445.
  75. Feyaerts 2025, p. 2.
  76. Feyaerts 2025, p. 5.
  77. Feyaerts 2025, pp. 6, 13.
  78. Feyaerts 2025, p. 7–8.
  79. Feyaerts 2025, pp. 10–12.
  80. Mubangi Bet'Ukani 2004, p. 199–201.
  81. Fox, de Craemer & Ribeaucourt 1965, p. 85.
  82. Goddard 2016, p. 390.
  83. Verhaegen & Gerard-Libois 1966, p. 8; Gruénais 2001, p. 396.
  84. Fox, de Craemer & Ribeaucourt 1965, p. 86.
  85. Tshwana Kilolo 2022, pp. 368–367.
  86. Tshwana Kilolo 2022, p. 369.
  87. Tshwana Kilolo 2022, p. 370.
  88. Marivoet 2024, pp. 720–721.
  89. De Boeck 1998, p. 779.
  90. De Boeck 1998, p. 784.
  91. Tshwana Kilolo 2024, p. 95.
  92. Musway 2001, p. 169.
  93. Marivoet 2014, pp. 23–24.
  94. Marivoet 2014, pp. 30–34.
  95. Pumbulu Kipasa 2022, pp. 444–445.
  96. Pumbulu Kipasa 2022, pp. 444, 449.
  97. Mukulu Mayuma 2022, p. 455.
  98. Bobineau 2024, p. 591.
  99. Bobineau 2024, p. 624.
  100. Kim 2016, p. 425.
  101. Actualite.cd
    https://actualite.cd/2025/03/28/kikwit-le-musee-national-entre-vetuste-et-conditions-precaires-dexposition-doeuvres-dart
  102. Mukulu Mayuma 2022, p. 463.
  103. Frère 2013, p. 163.
  104. Tshwana Kilolo 2022, pp. 360–361; Tshwana Kilolo 2024, p. 89.
  105. Tshwana Kilolo 2022, p. 362.
  106. Tshwana Kilolo 2022, p. 364.
  107. Tshwana Kilolo 2022, pp. 361–362.
  108. Bwenia Muhenia 2022, p. 386.
  109. Tshwana Kilolo 2024, p. 93–95.
  110. Pumbulu Kipasa 2022, p. 447–448.
  111. Mukulu Mayuma 2022, p. 465.
  112. Patashi Katunda 2022, p. 348.
  113. Patashi Katunda 2024, p. 123.
  114. Patashi Katunda 2024, p. 120.
  115. Patashi Katunda 2022, p. 351.
  116. Mukulu Mayuma 2024, p. 61.
  117. Robinson 2012, p. 480.
  118. Pumbulu Kipasa 2022, p. 450.
  119. Van Pul 2023, p. 53.
  120. Phippard 2023, pp. 144–145.
  121. Phippard 2023, p. 144.
  122. Phippard 2023, p. 149.
  123. Phippard 2023, pp. 143, 145–146.
  124. Migaud et al. 2024.
  125. Phippard 2023, pp. 147, 149–150.
  126. Migaud et al. 2024, p. 1173.
  127. Power Africa
    https://rise.esmap.org/data/files/library/congo,-dem.-rep./Electricity%20Access/DRCongo_PAOP-DRC-MarketAssessment-Final_508_2019.pdf
  128. Tshwana Kilolo 2024, p. 95–96.
  129. Actualite.cd
    https://actualite.cd/2025/01/02/electrification-de-kikwit-des-espoirs-completement-envoles-apres-plusieurs-essais-en
Image
Source: —
Tip: Wheel or +/− to zoom, drag to pan, Esc to close.