The Makongo River () is a river of the Democratic Republic of the Congo. It is a left tributary of the
Bomokandi River
The Bomokandi River is a river in the Congo Basin in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
The river originates in the southeast of Haut-Uélé province near Gombari, and flows in a ENE direction through Haut-Uélé and Bas-Uélé
Bas-Uélé ...
, which in turn is a tributary of the
Uele River
The Uele, also known by the phonetically identical Uélé, Ouélé, or Welle River, is a river in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
Course
The Uele forms at Dungu, at the confluence of the Dungu and Kibali rivers, which both originate ...
.
Course
The Makongo flows through the province of
Bas-Uélé
Bas-Uélé (French for "Lower Uélé") is one of the 21 provinces of the Democratic Republic of the Congo created in the 2015 repartitioning. Bas-Uélé, Haut-Uélé, Ituri, and Tshopo provinces are the result of the dismemberment of the forme ...
in a generally NNE direction to its confluence with the Bomokandi.
The river rises to the south of the RP415 road.
It roughly defines the boundary between the Ganga Dingila Health Zone to the west and the Poko Health Zone to the east.
It passes the village of
Makongo on its left bank.
It enters the Bomokandi to the northwest of
Digili.
It flows through the
Bambesa Territory
Bambesa is a territory of the province of Bas-Uele resulting from the dismemberment of the former Orientale (Eastern) province. Its administrative center is the town of Bambesa.
Settlements include the town of Makongo on the Makongo River an ...
.
History
The oral history of the
Lika people of
Wamba Territory states that they came from
Bambili (Boa).
During their migration some of them stayed beside the Makongo River in the eastern part of
Poko Territory
Poko is a territory
A territory is an area of land, sea, or space, belonging or connected to a particular country, person, or animal.
In international politics, a territory is usually a geographic area which has not been granted the pow ...
, at least from the area they occupy today.
The Congo-Nile Expedition of
Willem Frans Van Kerckhoven passed through the region in 1891.
Captain
Pierre Ponthier had to clear the country of Arabs.
They had settled on the Makongo and on islands in the Bomokandi.
He defeated them in some sharp engagements, helped by local people who could no longer tolerate the slavers.
In late October 1891 the
Ababua chief Sikito defeated the trader Purukandu on the route from the
Boyoma Falls
Boyoma Falls (, , ), formerly known as Stanley Falls ( French: ''Chutes Stanley''; Dutch: ''Stanleywatervallen''), is a series of seven cataracts, each no more than high, extending over more than along a curve of the Lualaba River between the ...
to the Makongo.
According to Gustave Gustin the meeting must have taken place on the upper
Bima River in mountainous terrain.
Notes
Sources
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Rivers of the Democratic Republic of the Congo