Bas-Uélé

Bas-Uélé (“Lower Uélé”) is a province in northern Democratic Republic of the Congo, administered from Buta and named after the Uélé River that crosses it. It covers 148,331 km² with a projected 1,369,600 people, and is one of the 26 provinces created by the 2015 repartitioning of Orientale Province.

Towns, Cities and Territories

Bas-Uélé has six territories. Each is named after the town that serves as its headquarters, and Buta doubles as the provincial chef-lieu.

Buta stands on the Rubi River, a tributary of the Itimbiri, and had about 55,300 residents in 2012. Bondo sits on the Uélé near the Central African border and counted 435,549 people across its ten chiefdoms in 2016. Poko Territory held 436,293 in 2016 and Ango 153,117 in 2015, spread over 34,734 km² in four chiefdoms — Ezo, Mopoi, Ngindo and Sasa. Bondo Territory’s ten chiefdoms are Biamange, Boso, Deni, Duaru, Gama, Gaya, Goa, Kasa, Mobenge-Mondila and Soa.

Geography

Bas-Uélé is a belt of forest in the south grading into wooded savanna in the north. It borders the Central African Republic to the north, Nord-Ubangi and Mongala to the west, Tshopo to the south, and Haut-Uélé to the east.

The Uélé River runs west across the province for much of its 1,210 km course, joining the Mbomou at Yakoma to form the Ubangi. The Bomu marks the frontier with the Central African Republic. Other rivers include the Uere, the Rubi and the Itimbiri, which carries traffic south to the Congo at Bumba.

Demographics

At roughly nine people per km², Bas-Uélé is one of the emptiest provinces in the country. The Azande are the largest group; Boa, Bakere, Balele, Bakango and Babenza communities also live here. French is official, Lingala is the common trade language, and Pa-Zande is widely spoken in the north. No census has been held in DR Congo since 1984, so all population figures here are projections.

Economy and Local Life

Most households live on subsistence farming and hunting, with river commerce filling in the rest. Cassava, rice, maize, plantain and groundnuts are the staples, and coffee and palm oil are the crops that reach outside markets. Buta, Aketi and Bondo are the main trading towns. Goods move on the Uélé and the Itimbiri because the roads cannot be relied on for much of the year. Aketi, where the old railway met the water, is still the transfer point for freight heading south to the Congo at Bumba.

History

The province was carved out of the old Bas-Uele District of Orientale Province in 2015, with Buta raised from district headquarters to provincial capital. Buta was a Belgian administrative and rail centre from the 1930s; the Vicicongo narrow-gauge railway reached the town on 1 July 1931. In early 2005 Buta was the centre of a pulmonary plague outbreak documented by Médecins Sans Frontières.

Getting There

Buta Zega Airport handles light aircraft and humanitarian flights; Bondo also has an airstrip. The road from Kisangani to Buta runs 324 km and is unpaved for most of its length, difficult in the March–November rains. The Vicicongo narrow-gauge line from Bumba through Aketi and Buta to Isiro is no longer operational. In practice, river barges on the Uélé and Itimbiri and light aircraft do the work the railway once did.

FAQ

What is the capital of Bas-Uélé?

Buta, a town of about 55,300 people on the Rubi River in the centre of the province.

How many territories does Bas-Uélé have?

Six: Aketi, Ango, Bambesa, Bondo, Buta and Poko.

What language is spoken in Bas-Uélé?

French is official. Lingala is the everyday trade language, and Pa-Zande is spoken widely by the Azande majority.

What does Bas-Uélé mean?

It is French for “Lower Uélé”, after the downstream reach of the Uélé River. Haut-Uélé, upstream, takes the matching name.

Which country borders Bas-Uélé?

The Central African Republic, along the Bomu River to the north.

Which province was Bas-Uélé part of before 2015?

Orientale Province, split in 2015 into Bas-Uélé, Haut-Uélé, Ituri and Tshopo.