Kwango is a province of the Democratic Republic of the Congo. It's one of the 21 provinces created in the 2015 repartitioning. Kwango, Kwilu, and Mai-Ndombe provinces are the result of the dismemberment of the former

Bandundu province Bandundu is one of eleven former provinces of the Democratic Republic of the Congo. It bordered the provinces of Kinshasa and Bas-Congo to the west, Équateur to the north, and Kasai-Occidental to the east. The provincial capital is also ca ...

. Kwango was formed from the

Kwango district Kwango District (french: District du Kwango, nl, District Kwango) was a district of the Congo Free State, Belgian Congo and the Democratic Republic of the Congo. It went through various changes in extent. It roughly corresponded to the present pro ...

whose town of Kenge was elevated to capital city of the province. The province takes its name from the

Kwango River The Cuango or Kwango ( pt, Rio Cuango) is a transboundary river of Angola and Democratic Republic of Congo. It is the largest left bank tributary of the Kasai River in the Congo River basin. It flows through Malanje in Angola. The Kwango Riv ...

, a tributary of the

Kasai River The Kasai River ( ; called Cassai in Angola) is a tributary (left side) of the Congo River, located in Central Africa. The river begins in central Angola and flows to the east until it reaches the border between Angola and the Democratic Repub ...

that defines part of the international boundary between the DRC and Angola.

Towns/territories

The capital of Kwango district is Kenge. Other towns include

Popokabaka Popokabaka is a city in the Kwango Province, Democratic Republic of the Congo. It is the administrative center of Popokabaka Territory. Popokabaka lies on the right bank of the river Kwango River. Francis Dhanis, an agent of the Congo Free State, ...

Feshi Feshi is a territory of the Democratic Republic of the Congo. It is located in Kwango. Subdivisions The territory contains the following sectors Sector may refer to: Places * Sector, West Virginia, U.S. Geometry * Circular sector, the portion ...

, Kasongo Lunda, Lusanga and

Kahemba Kahemba is a territory 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 ...

. The province is in the southwest of the DRC, bordering

Angola , national_anthem = " Angola Avante"() , image_map = , map_caption = , capital = Luanda , religion = , religion_year = 2020 , religion_ref = , coordina ...

to the south. Territories are: *

* Kasongo Lunda * Kenge *

History

Kwango previously existed as a province from 1962 to 1966. Presidents (from 1965, governors) *23 September 1962 – 11 November 1962 Albert Delvaux (fl. 1918) * November 1962 Emmanuel Mayamba * 1962 – April 1963 Alphonse Pashi * August 1963 – April 1964 Pierre Masikita (1st time) * April 1964 – 30 September 1964 Belunda Kavunzu * 30 September 1964 –24 August 1965 Joseph Kulumba * 24 August 1965 – 25 April 1966 Pierre Masikita (2nd time) From 1966 to 2015, Kwango was administered as a district as part of

Bandundu Province Bandundu is one of eleven former provinces of the Democratic Republic of the Congo. It bordered the provinces of Kinshasa and Bas-Congo to the west, Équateur to the north, and Kasai-Occidental to the east. The provincial capital is also ca ...

. Kwango returned to full provincial status with its capital of Kenge on 18 July 2015.

References

Provinces of the Democratic Republic of the Congo {{DRCongo-geo-stub