— Ch. 1 · Colonial Origins And Ethnic Division —
South Kasai.
~5 min read · Ch. 1 of 7
King Leopold II of Belgium created the Congo Free State in 1885, annexing the Luba Empire into this new territory. The Belgian administration later divided the population into arbitrary ethnic groups despite shared language and culture. Colonial officials labeled inhabitants of the Lulua river area as Bena Lulua while calling others Baluba. Administrators believed the Baluba were more intelligent and hardworking than their neighbors. From the 1930s onward, the state promoted Baluba people to positions above other ethnicities. This policy created deep resentment among the Bena Lulua community. In 1952, an organization called Lulua Frères emerged to campaign for socio-economic advancement of the Lulua group. By 1959, a colonial proposal to move Luba farmers out of fertile Lulua land triggered violent clashes. August 1959 saw Luba demonstrations violently repressed by colonial military forces. Attempts to broker peace between these two groups failed throughout early 1960.
The Kalonji-Lumumba Political Split
Patrice Lumumba led the largest nationalist party known as the Mouvement National Congolais with 58,000 members by late 1959. A radical federalist faction headed by Albert Kalonji split away in July 1959 to form MNC-Kalonji or MNC-K. The majority group became known as MNC-Lumumba or MNC-L. The 1960 elections turned into what observers called an anti-Baluba plebiscite within Kasai province. The MNC-K won 21 of 70 seats in the provincial assembly and eight seats in the Leopoldville Parliament. Voters in northern Kasai favored the MNC-L since Lumumba had grown up there. In the south, division occurred specifically between the Lulua and Luba communities. Lumumba promoted a Lulua candidate named Barthélemy Mukenge as provincial president while denying Kalonji any important ministerial portfolio. Kalonji refused Lumumba's offer of the Agriculture portfolio entirely. On June 14, the MNC-K resolved to establish an alternative government under Joseph Ngalula's leadership.Declaration Of The Mining State
Albert Kalonji declared the region of southeastern Kasai to be the new Mining State of South Kasai on the 9th of August 1960. He made this declaration while still located in neighboring Katanga province. The state claimed borders including all of Kasai Province except Sankuru District and Lulua District. In practice, Kalonjists controlled only a much smaller portion of territory than they claimed. The capital was established at Bakwanga with an estimated population of 2 million by 1962. Unlike Katanga, South Kasai did not explicitly reject Congolese sovereignty but instead created what it called an Autonomous State. This title aimed to reinforce the impression that secession was merely creating a federally-governed region within Congo. The state produced its own constitution first promulgated in November 1960. It also issued postage stamps and vehicle registration plates unique to the new entity. Revenue from diamond exports totaled approximately $30 million annually according to state estimates.