SUMMARY
In 2016, the Kamuina Nsapu militia spread across the Kasaï regions of DR Congo, an area long known for its poverty and strong support for Étienne Tshisekedi and his Union for Democracy and Social Progress (UDPS), the main opposition party to President Joseph Kabila. Historically, Kasaï was divided into Kasaï-Oriental and Kasaï-Occidental in the 1960s, and further split in 2015 into Kasaï-Central, Kasaï, Kasaï-Oriental, Lomami, and Sankuru provinces.
Kamuina Nsapu is the hereditary title of the chief of the Bajila Kasanga (Bashila) groupement, which traditionally wielded influence over neighboring areas near Angola. In 2011, following the death of the previous chief, Jean-Pierre Mpandi was set to inherit the title. However, the DR Congo government refused to recognize his appointment, triggering a local leadership conflict.
In a 2013 paper, Jean-Pierre Mpandi described the DR Congo government as “an Occupation Government”, calling for its liberation through an operation known as "Kabukulu". He urged the people to resist foreign mercenaries and the ruling regime. In April 2016, after returning from South Africa, where he had worked as a doctor, the government attempted to replace him with his brother, a member of Kabila’s ruling PPRD party. On his return the first reports appeared of a group called Kamuina Nsapu armed with weapons.
The movement expanded as other traditional rulers joined the rebellion, urging their followers to attack state institutions, initiate young fighters, and destabilize the government. On 12 August 2016 Mpandi was killed in Tshimbulu along with eight other militiamen and 11 policemen . His death further fueled anti-government sentiment, and Kamuina Nsapu rapidly gained recruits, protesting the government's heavy-handed response. The Kamuina Nsapu phenomenon spread to all five provinces of Greater Kasai.
The conflict was not purely political. It also exacerbated inter-communal tensions and divisions between the ethnic groups in Kasaï. Chokwe, Pende communities largely aligned with the Government of DR Congo and its Bana Mura militia, while the Baluba and Lulua communities were associated with the Kamuina Nsapu. The ethnic dimension of the conflict was also framed as an ethnic struggle between native groups (Chokwe, Pende) and non-native communities from Southern Kasaï (Baluba, Lulua), who were perceived as a threat to local security and livelihoods.
Amid the chaos, Kamuina Nsapu targeted civilians, engaging in looting, killings, rapes, and forced taxation. The militia decapitated traditional leaders who opposed them and executed women accused of witchcraft. The one-sided violence with the group died down in 2018 when the conflict with Kamuina Nsapu in the Kasaï provinces de-escalated and a large part of the group surrendered to the government.
Kamuina Nsapu first became active as a one-sided actor in UCDP data in 2016, when the one-sided violence resulted in more than 25 civilian deaths. The threshold was reached by the end of that year when thee group's attack on civilians in both the Kasaï and Kasaï-central provinces had resulted in more than 25 deaths.
