Shabunda Territory

{{Infobox settlement | name = Shabunda | official_name = Territoire de Shabunda | native_name = {{small|{{native phrase|swa|Wilaya ya Shabunda}}}} | native_name_lang =  | settlement_type = Territory | image_skyline = File:An air view of Shabunda, showing both the city and the river Ulindi - Dec 2016.jpg | imagesize = | image_alt = | image_caption = An air view of Shabunda, showing both the city and the river Ulindi | image_flag = | flag_alt = | image_seal = | seal_alt = | image_shield = | shield_alt = | etymology = | nickname = | motto = | image_map = | map_alt = | map_caption = | mapframe = yes | mapframe-custom = {{maplink | frame-coordinates={{Coord|-3.3|28.25}} | zoom = 6 | frame = yes | plain = yes | frame-align = center | frame-width = 250 | type=line | stroke-width=2 | id=Q3481150 | title=Map of Territory | type2=shape-inverse | fill2= #CCCCCC | stroke-color2= #777777 | stroke-width2=1 | id2=Q488326 | title2=Shaded area outside South Kivu province | switch= }} | mapframe-caption = | pushpin_map = Democratic Republic of the Congo | pushpin_map_alt = | pushpin_map_caption = | pushpin_mapsize = | pushpin_label_position = | coordinates = {{Coord|-3.1|27.5}} | coor_pinpoint = | coordinates_footnotes = | subdivision_type = Country | subdivision_name = {{flag|DR Congo}} | subdivision_type1 = Province | subdivision_name1 = South Kivu | subdivision_type2 = | subdivision_name2 = | subdivision_type3 = | subdivision_name3 = | established_title = | established_date = | founder = | seat_type = HQ | seat = Shabunda | government_footnotes = | government_type = | governing_body = | leader_party = | leader_title = | leader_name = | leader_title1 = | leader_name1 = | leader_title2 = | leader_name2 = | leader_title3 = | leader_name3 = | leader_title4 = | leader_name4 = | unit_pref = Metric  | area_footnotes = | area_urban_footnotes =  | area_rural_footnotes =  | area_metro_footnotes =  | area_note = | area_water_percent = | area_rank = | area_blank1_title = | area_blank2_title =  | area_total_km2 = | area_land_km2 = | area_water_km2 = | area_urban_km2 = | area_rural_km2 = | area_metro_km2 = | area_blank1_km2 = | area_blank2_km2 =  | area_total_ha = | area_land_ha = | area_water_ha = | area_urban_ha = | area_rural_ha = | area_metro_ha = | area_blank1_ha = | area_blank2_ha = | length_km = | width_km = | dimensions_footnotes = | elevation_footnotes = | elevation_m = | population_footnotes = | population_as_of = | population_total = | population_density_km2 = auto | population_note = | population_demonym = | timezone1 = CAT | utc_offset1 = +2 | timezone1_DST = | utc_offset1_DST = | postal_code_type = | postal_code = | area_code_type = | area_code = | area_codes =  | iso_code = | website =  | module = | footnotes = }}

'''Shabunda''' is a town and a territory of South Kivu in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Shabunda is the largest territory in the province, covering more than 25,000 square kilometres.<ref>{{Cite web |date=August 2015 |title=La ruée vers l'or à Shabunda: pratiques et impacts de l'exploitation minière par dragues |trans-title=The Gold Rush in Shabunda: Practices and impacts of dredge mining |url=https://www.lolamora.net/images/stories/documentos/cosoc_dragues_shabunda.pdf |access-date=22 May 2026 |website=Lolamora.net |publisher=Coalition de la société civile de la région des Grands Lacs contre l'exploitation illégale des ressources naturelles |page=8 |language=fr}}</ref>

According to the Humanitarian Exchange Magazine, in 2002 it was "home to over a million people. The administrative centre, Shabunda, is nearly 3,000 km from the capital, Kinshasa. There are no postal services and no radio. Only landing strips keep the territory from being completely cut off".<ref>Charles Mampasu, [http://www.odihpn.org/report.asp?id=2410 Shabunda: the 'forgotten Kosovo'] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110720033426/http://www.odihpn.org/report.asp?id=2410 |date=2011-07-20 }}, Humanitarian Exchange Magazine, Issue 20, March 2002</ref> It is possible to access Shabunda by motorbike from Kindu but it is a two-day trip.

In June 1997 reports surfaced of a massacre of refugees in February that year at a bridge over the Ulindi River just north of the town of Shabunda. The refugees included unarmed civilians and armed Hutu fighters who had been involved in the 1994 massacre of Tutsis in Rwanda. They were attacked by Rwandan Tutsi troops who were fighting with the rebel forces of Laurent Kabila to overthrow the dictator Mobutu Sese Seko. Witnesses said that hundreds of people were killed.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://thecabin.net/stories/062997/witness.html |title=Witnesses say troops killed refugees at bridge in Zaire 6/29/97 |date=June 29, 1997 |author=DIANNA CAHN |work=Associated Press |accessdate=2011-12-10 |archive-date=2012-06-16 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120616162150/http://thecabin.net/stories/062997/witness.html |url-status=dead }}</ref>

In 2022 water supply was established in the centre of Shabunda. There had been no water supply there for 100 years.<ref>{{Citation |last=Photos |first=MONUSCO |title=PHOTO DU JOUR DU JEUDI 31 MARS 2022 |date=2022-03-28 |url=https://www.flickr.com/photos/monusco/51973142235/ |access-date=2022-03-31}}</ref>

==Politics== Shabunda Territory is represented in the National Assembly by two deputies: *Benjamin Mukulungu (PPPD) *Mwenebantu Amuri (NAD)

==References== {{reflist}}

{{coord|02|42|S|27|21|E|source:frwiki_region:CD_type:adm2nd|display=title}}

Category:Territories of South Kivu