Aketi is a
town
A town is a human settlement. Towns are generally larger than villages and smaller than cities, though the criteria to distinguish between them vary considerably in different parts of the world.
Origin and use
The word "town" shares an ori ...
in the
Bas-Uele Province of the
Democratic Republic of the Congo
The Democratic Republic of the Congo (french: République démocratique du Congo (RDC), colloquially "La RDC" ), informally Congo-Kinshasa, DR Congo, the DRC, the DROC, or the Congo, and formerly and also colloquially Zaire, is a country in ...
. It is the seat of
Aketi Territory
Aketi Territory is a territory in the Bas-Uele Province of the Democratic Republic of the Congo. The administrative capital is located at Aketi. The territory borders Bondo Territory to the north, Buta Territory to the east, Basoko Territory t ...
. As of 2009 it had an estimated population of 38,588.
History
The town was called Port-Chaltin during the colonial era after the Belgian officer
Louis Napoléon Chaltin. It took its current name in 1971.
During the
Congo Crisis
The Congo Crisis (french: Crise congolaise, link=no) was a period of political upheaval and conflict between 1960 and 1965 in the Republic of the Congo (today the Democratic Republic of the Congo). The crisis began almost immediately after ...
, Aketi was the scene of some fighting with armed groups targeting white Westerners and Roman Catholic priests and nuns. At least one American missionary was killed and a number of priests were beaten and nuns were harassed.
The village fell to government forces in late November 1964, and ten Americans and more than 130 Belgian hostages were rescued.
Transportation
The
Vicicongo line
Chemins de fer des Uele (Uele Railways or Vicicongo line) is a narrow-gauge line in the north east of the Democratic Republic of the Congo. It was built between 1924 and 1937 as a portage railway bypassing Congo River rapids.
Route
The line runs ...
built by the
Société des Chemins de Fer Vicinaux du Congo terminated at Aketi.
It led from Aketi east to
Komba Komba is a given name. Notable people with the name include:
* Komba Claudius Gbamanja, Sierra Leonean politician from the opposition Sierra Leone People's Party
* Samuel Komba Kambo, retired captain in the Republic of Sierra Leone Armed Forces
* K ...
, then north via
Likati
Likati is a town in the Aketi Territory of Bas-Uélé Province in the north of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC).
Location
Likati is on the N4 road from Buta to Bondo.
The Likati River, a tributary of the Rubi River flows in a south ...
to
Bondo.
Later it was extended to run east from Komba via
Buta and
Isiro to
Mungbere Mungbere is a small town in Haut-Uele province, in the north of the Democratic Republic of Congo.
Transport
It was served by the terminal of a now non-operational narrow gauge railway from Bumba, known as the Vicicongo line.
See also
* Li ...
.
The town is on the
Itimbiri River
The Itimbiri River is a right tributary of the Congo River, which it joins above Bumba. At one time it was important as a navigable waterway for transporting good from the northeast of the country down to the Congo.
Course
The Itimbiri River or ...
, a navigable tributary of the Congo, which was used to carry goods onward to
Kinshasa
The Itimbiri is navigable by Congo boats for only part of the year.
At other times smaller boats took cargo from Aketi down to
Bumba on the Congo River, where it was transferred to the larger Congo boats. Sometimes traffic was halted completely.
Starting in 1970, work began on the section from Aketi to
Bumba on the Congo River, so products from the Uele region could be taken directly to the Congo River barges, avoiding transshipment at Port Chaltin in Aketi.
This section was inaugurated in 1975 in Aketi, and caused that town to lose its main reason for existence.
Under President
Mobutu Sese Seko (1965–1997) the railway was neglected.
The last train from Bumba to Aketi ran in 2003.
Aketi is served by
Aketi Airport.
References
Sources
*
*
Populated places in Bas-Uélé
{{DRC-geo-stub