SUMMARY

The Bafulero people (also known as the Bafuliiru, Fuliiru, Bafuliru, Kifuliru, Kifuliiru, Bafuliru, Bafuliiru and Bafuliru) are a Bantu ethnic group that primarily resides in the east-central highlands of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (Zaire), in the Sud Kivu province south of Lake Kivu and north and northwest of Uvira, along the Ruzizi plain near the border with Rwanda and Burundi. They spoke Furiiru, a Bantu language, and traditionally relied on farming. The Bafulero regarded themselves as one of the “autochthonous” peoples of DR Congo and emphasized long-standing customary ties to land in Uvira and surrounding areas. In periods of political liberalization, land pressure and regional war, they often found themselves in tension with neighbouring communities, including groups they perceived as more recent arrivals or “Rwandophones”, over questions of land ownership, local authority and representation in customary and administrative structures. Approximately 250 000 people consider themselves to be ethnically Bafulero.

Bafulero communal interests and grievances were historically articulated through customary chiefs and local notables, but during the Congo wars a number of Bafulero leaders emerged as commanders or political figures associated with local armed groups. During the 1998–2002 war, one of the largest Bafulero-linked Mayi Mayi organizations in the region was based in Fizi and led by Dunia Lwendama, who mobilized fighters in the name of local defence and protection of “autochthonous” communities. In subsequent years, other Bafulero figures led or influenced militias such as Mayi Mayi Zabuloni, Mayi Mayi Bede, FALL (Forces d’autodéfense locales et légitimes) and, later, the CNPSC-aligned group Mai-Mai Biloze Bishambuke, which presented themselves as defenders of Bafulero and allied populations against perceived external threats.

The Bafulero’s position in a border region and their self-identification as autochthonous also shaped their relationship with neighbouring states. While they did not constitute a state-backed “diaspora” in the same way as some other communities in the Kivus, Bafulero leaders interacted with Burundian authorities and political actors, especially during periods when Burundian armed groups operated from or through South Kivu. Regional conflict dynamics, shifting alliances and cross-border trade and kinship networks meant that local Bafulero interests were often entangled with Burundian security concerns and interventions, which in turn influenced how other Congolese groups perceived Bafulero loyalties.

The Bafulero were closely linked to more organized armed groups, particularly Mai-Mai formations and Burundian factions active in South Kivu. Armed groups that drew heavily on Bafulero recruitment, such as the Fizi-based Mai-Mai under Dunia Lwendama and later militias like Mai-Mai Zabuloni, Mai-Mai Bede, FALL and Mai-Mai Biloze Bishambuke, portrayed themselves as community self-defence forces and were involved in both local conflicts and wider regional wars. Almost all Bafulero-led armed groups in Uvira maintained some form of connection to Burundian armed movements, ranging from logistical cooperation and rear bases to joint operations and political coordination, reflecting the cross-border nature of insecurity along the Ruzizi plain and the overlapping conflicts in eastern DR Congo and Burundi.