The Mbuji-Mayi River, also spelt ''Bushmaie'', ''Bushimaie'', ''Bushimay'' or ''Mbushimaie'', () is a river in the

Democratic Republic of the Congo The Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), also known as the DR Congo, Congo-Kinshasa, or simply the Congo (the last ambiguously also referring to the neighbouring Republic of the Congo), is a country in Central Africa. By land area, it is t ...

, a major tributary of the

Sankuru River The Sankuru River () is a major river in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Its approximate length of 1,200 km"Sankuru River" in '' The New Encyclopædia Britannica''. Chicago: Encyclopædia Britannica Inc., 15th edn., 1992, Vol. 10, p. ...

. It flows northwards from the Kapanga Territory in the province of Lualaba to the province of

Kasaï-Oriental Kasaï-Oriental (French for "East Kasai") is one of the 21 provinces of the Democratic Republic of the Congo created in the 2015 repartitioning. Kasaï-Oriental, Lomami, and Sankuru provinces are the result of the dismemberment of the former ...

, where it is the namesake of the city of

Mbuji-Mayi Mbuji-Mayi (formerly Bakwanga) is a city and the capital of Kasai-Oriental Province in the south-central Democratic Republic of Congo. It is thought to be the second largest city in the country, after the capital Kinshasa and ahead of Lubumbashi ...

. From the 17th to 19th centuries, the river formed one of the borders of the

Kingdom of Lunda The Lunda Empire or Kingdom of Lunda was a confederation of states in what is now the Democratic Republic of Congo, north-eastern Angola, and north-western Zambia. Its central state was in Katanga Province, Katanga. Origin Initially, the core of ...

References

Rivers of the Democratic Republic of the Congo {{DRCongo-river-stub