SUMMARY

Mayi Mayi Kyandenga, also known as the Mouvement National pour la Libération Durable du Kongo (MNLDK), was an armed group active in the Ituri and Nord Kivu provinces of DR Congo (Zaire). The group was founded and led by Jean-Baptiste Kambale Kyandenga, also known as Kupaku or Paluku, a former fisherman from the village Kyavinyonge. According to local legend, Kyandenga gained customary powers in 2002 after retrieving a mysterious package from Lake Edward, which contained symbolic items such as a flower, a diamond, a stick, a dollar bill, a Bible, and a Koran. This event elevated his status among local communities and attracted the attention of various armed group leaders, including Fabien Mudoghu.

Kyandenga's involvement with armed groups began when he became a traditional doctor with Mayi Mayi Simba. In 2011, he joined the Ecumenical Force for the Liberation of Congo (FOLC), an armed group operating in Beni territory. Later, he aligned with Kilalo Katembo, leader of the ULPC, and was tasked with developing a ULPC faction near Beni. Collaborating with a priest known as Bernard, Kyandenga recruited local youth west of Mbau, forming a group of approximately 300 combatants claiming to protect the local population and their land. While leading a group under UPLC, Kyandenga was captured by government forces and detained in a military facility in Beni. On 3 November 2018, ULPC troops attacked the facility, freeing Kyandenga along with other detainees.

In 2019 Kyandenga formed his own Mayi Mayi militia under the name MNLDK, with its headquarters in the Otomabere area of Ituri. on 18 September 2022 Jean-Baptiste Kambale Kyandenga was arrested By Congolese armed forces. In some articles about his arrest it became public that he had pledged allegiance to the Islamic State (IS) a group he had cooperated with in the past. After this date UCDP considers Mayi Mayi Kyandenga as part of IS.