{"id":51,"date":"2024-03-23T20:05:25","date_gmt":"2024-03-23T20:05:25","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/townsvillages.com\/dr-congo\/?p=51"},"modified":"2026-08-01T00:06:49","modified_gmt":"2026-08-01T00:06:49","slug":"lomami-province","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/townsvillages.com\/dr-congo\/lomami-province\/","title":{"rendered":"Lomami Province"},"content":{"rendered":"

Lomami is a province at the centre of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, with its capital at Kabinda. It covers 56,426 km², holds a projected 2,801,000 people, and borders seven other provinces — more than almost anywhere else in the country. It is one of the 26 provinces created in the 2015 repartitioning.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n
Capital<\/th>\nKabinda<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Population<\/th>\n2,801,000 (2019 projection)<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Area<\/th>\n56,426 km²<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Territories<\/th>\n5<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Cities<\/th>\nKabinda, Mwene-Ditu<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Languages<\/th>\nFrench (official); Tshiluba, Kiswahili<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Neighbours<\/th>\nSankuru, Maniema, Tanganyika, Haut-Lomami, Lualaba, Kasa\u00ef-Central, Kasa\u00ef-Oriental<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

Towns, Cities and Territories<\/h2>\n

Lomami has five territories and two statutory cities. Kabinda is the capital; Mwene-Ditu, in the south, is the larger of the two and the province’s transport hub.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n
Territory or city<\/th>\nHeadquarters<\/th>\nNote<\/th>\n<\/tr>\n
Kabinda<\/td>\nCity (ville)<\/td>\nProvincial capital<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Mwene-Ditu<\/td>\nCity (ville)<\/td>\nRail and road junction<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Kabinda<\/td>\nKabinda<\/td>\nTerritory around the capital<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Kamiji<\/td>\nKamiji<\/td>\nFarming centre<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Lubao<\/td>\nLubao<\/td>\nNorth-east, on the Lomami<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Luilu<\/td>\nLuputa<\/td>\nHeadquarters is Luputa<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Ngandajika<\/td>\nNgandajika<\/td>\nMain grain-growing area<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

Note that Luilu is the one territory whose headquarters does not share its name: the seat is Luputa, a market and mining town. Mwene-Ditu had 195,622 residents in 2012 and Kabinda about 126,723 in 2004, the most recent figures published for either. Other towns worth knowing are Ngandajika, an agricultural centre estimated at 120,170 in 2004, and Wikong in the eastern diamond belt.<\/p>\n

Geography<\/h2>\n

The province is named for the Lomami River, which forms much of its eastern flank before flowing north to join the Congo. The Luilu, Lubi and Mbuji-Mayi rivers drain the west and centre. Terrain is wooded savanna in the south rising to more forested country in the north-east around Lubao. Lomami borders Sankuru<\/a> to the north, Maniema<\/a> to the north-east, Tanganyika<\/a> and Haut-Lomami<\/a> to the east and south-east, Lualaba<\/a> to the south, and Kasa\u00ef-Central<\/a> and Kasa\u00ef-Oriental<\/a> to the west. Mwene-Ditu lies 126 km south of Mbuji-Mayi.<\/p>\n

Demographics<\/h2>\n

Density averages about 50 people per km², concentrated in the west near the Kasa\u00ef-Oriental boundary and thinning toward Lubao. The last national census was in 1984, so every current figure is a projection; the 2006 administrative count recorded 2,048,839 and a 2020 estimate reached 3,001,900. Tshiluba is the main language in the west and south, with Kiswahili increasingly heard toward the Maniema and Tanganyika sides, and French in official use. The principal peoples are the Luba-Kasa\u00ef, the Songye across the centre and north, the Kanyok around Mwene-Ditu, and the Kele and Lokele in the north-east.<\/p>\n

Economy and Local Life<\/h2>\n

Lomami farms. Ngandajika and Kamiji are the supply centres that feed the maize, cassava, beans and groundnuts into Mbuji-Mayi, and the province is one of the few places in the region with real grain surpluses. Cattle and small livestock matter around Mwene-Ditu, where the pasture is good.<\/p>\n

Mining is artisanal rather than industrial. Diamonds are dug by hand at Lubao, Luputa, Kabinda and Wikong; gold is worked across Luilu territory; and coltan occurs near Luputa. Cotton was a major colonial-era crop here and has effectively stopped. Commerce moves on the RN1 and the railway, and the weekly markets at the territory headquarters are where produce changes hands.<\/p>\n

History<\/h2>\n

Lomami was created in 2015 when the former Kasa\u00ef-Oriental province was broken into three: Lomami, the new Kasa\u00ef-Oriental<\/a> and Sankuru<\/a>. The province joined the old Kabinda district to the separately administered city of Mwene-Ditu, with Kabinda named as capital. The split had been provided for in the 2005 constitution but took a decade to carry out. Kabinda was the district seat through the colonial and Mobutu periods, which is why the smaller of the two cities holds the capital.<\/p>\n

Getting There<\/h2>\n

Kabinda has the province’s one functioning airport; the airstrips at Ngandajika, Luputa and Mwene-Ditu date from the Belgian period and are used mainly for humanitarian flights. Mwene-Ditu is the useful arrival point overland: it has a station on the Ilebo–Lubumbashi railway, sits on National Road 1 (RN1), and is the terminus of National Road 40 (RN40). Rail services run but the track is in poor condition. Most travel between towns is by motorcycle or bicycle on earth roads, and the rains from October to May make the long routes slow.<\/p>\n

FAQ<\/h2>\n

What is the capital of Lomami province?<\/h3>\n

Kabinda, in the centre of the province. Mwene-Ditu is the larger city, but Kabinda holds the administration as the former district seat.<\/p>\n

How many territories does Lomami have?<\/h3>\n

Five: Kabinda, Kamiji, Lubao, Luilu and Ngandajika, plus two statutory cities, Kabinda and Mwene-Ditu.<\/p>\n

What is the headquarters of Luilu territory?<\/h3>\n

Luputa, not Luilu. It is the only territory in the province whose seat carries a different name.<\/p>\n

What language is spoken in Lomami?<\/h3>\n

Tshiluba across most of the province, with Kiswahili toward the eastern boundary and French in government and schools.<\/p>\n

How many provinces border Lomami?<\/h3>\n

Seven: Sankuru, Maniema, Tanganyika, Haut-Lomami, Lualaba, Kasa\u00ef-Central and Kasa\u00ef-Oriental. It has no international border.<\/p>\n

Is there a railway in Lomami?<\/h3>\n

Yes. The Ilebo–Lubumbashi line passes through Mwene-Ditu, which is the nearest railhead for Mbuji-Mayi as well. The track needs repair and services are irregular.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Lomami is a province at the centre of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, with its capital at Kabinda. It covers 56,426 km², holds a projected 2,801,000 people, and borders seven other provinces — more than almost anywhere else in the country. It is one of the 26 provinces created in the 2015 repartitioning. Capital […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_seopress_titles_title":"Lomami: Towns, Cities & 5 Territories in DR Congo","_seopress_titles_desc":"Lomami province, DR Congo: capital Kabinda, cities Kabinda and Mwene-Ditu, all 5 territories and their headquarters, population, farming, mining and travel.","_seopress_robots_index":"","_seopress_robots_follow":"","_seopress_robots_imageindex":"","_seopress_robots_snippet":"","_seopress_robots_primary_cat":"","_seopress_robots_breadcrumbs":"","_seopress_robots_freeze_modified_date":"","_seopress_robots_custom_modified_date":"","_seopress_robots_canonical":"","_seopress_social_fb_title":"","_seopress_social_fb_desc":"","_seopress_social_fb_img":"","_seopress_social_fb_img_attachment_id":0,"_seopress_social_fb_img_width":0,"_seopress_social_fb_img_height":0,"_seopress_social_twitter_title":"","_seopress_social_twitter_desc":"","_seopress_social_twitter_img":"","_seopress_social_twitter_img_attachment_id":0,"_seopress_social_twitter_img_width":0,"_seopress_social_twitter_img_height":0,"_seopress_redirections_value":"","_seopress_redirections_enabled":"","_seopress_redirections_enabled_regex":"","_seopress_redirections_logged_status":"","_seopress_redirections_param":"","_seopress_redirections_type":0,"_seopress_analysis_target_kw":"","_genesis_hide_title":false,"_genesis_hide_breadcrumbs":false,"_genesis_hide_singular_image":false,"_genesis_hide_footer_widgets":false,"_genesis_custom_body_class":"","_genesis_custom_post_class":"","_genesis_layout":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-51","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","category-dr-congo","entry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/townsvillages.com\/dr-congo\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/51","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/townsvillages.com\/dr-congo\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/townsvillages.com\/dr-congo\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/townsvillages.com\/dr-congo\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/townsvillages.com\/dr-congo\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=51"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/townsvillages.com\/dr-congo\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/51\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":147,"href":"https:\/\/townsvillages.com\/dr-congo\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/51\/revisions\/147"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/townsvillages.com\/dr-congo\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=51"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/townsvillages.com\/dr-congo\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=51"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/townsvillages.com\/dr-congo\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=51"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}