The Kilungutwe River is a watercourse located in the Mwenga Territory of the South Kivu Province, situated in the eastern part of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC).[1] With an elevation of 882 meters, it functions as a tributary to the Ulindi River. Following the confluence with the Ulindi River approximately 30 km northwest, the Ulindi River proceeds on its course, eventually joining the Congo River.[2][3][4] The Kilungutwe River was historically known as the gateway to the jungle from the highlands to the northeast.[3][5]
The river is a habitat for various species, including catfish, tilapia, and Clarias anguillaris. Further downstream, the Kilungutwe village is rich in biodiversity, with luxuriant vegetation and a diverse range of flora and fauna. The river is also a regional economic component and a substantial water source for irrigation and fishing.[6][7][8]
The Kilungutwe River was a strategic site for Kasika massacre survivors who were subsequently accosted and murdered by the Rally for Congolese Democracy (Rassemblement Congolais pour la Démocratie; RCD), a Rwandan-backed armed group. Many victims were hacked to death with machetes or other sharp objects, with a smaller fraction being shot.[11] Parenthetically, some women were raped before being disemboweled with daggers from their vaginas, with their children being banged on walls and thrown into toilets or along the river.[12][13][14][15][16]
^Association française pour l'avancement des sciences (1953). Actes du congrès, Volume 72 (in French). Secrétariat de l'Association. p. 379.
^Yamada, Takako (1984). Nyindu Culture and the Plant World : The Dynamic Relationship between the Knowledge on Plant Use and the Change in House Form. Kyoto, Japan: Kyoto University.
^Biebuyck, Daniel P. (1981). Statuary from the Pre-Bembe Hunters: Issues in the Interpretation of Ancestral Figurines Ascribed to the Basikasingo-Bembe-Boyo. Tervuren, Belgium: Royal Museum of Central Afrika. pp. English, French, and Dutch.
