In a corrupt country like the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DR Congo), lies often drive out the truth, and the nation finds itself immersed in a cycle of deception fuelled by careless leaders such as Gen Sylvain Ekenge, Patrick Muyaya, Justin Bitakwira, and their president, Félix Tshisekedi, whose political slogan is "bulongo ya baba”—"the mud of my father.”

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Previously, I demonstrated how the chiefdoms of Byahi, Jomba, and Bwisha were led by Tutsi chiefs before the Belgians replaced them with newly created entities—the Bukumu and Bwisha kingdoms—constructed from scratch. In this article, I examine how the Masisi territory of North Kivu was governed before the colonial era.

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According to the version of history left by colonial scholars, Masisi was traditionally inhabited by the Hunde people, as well as some Twa. With Belgian support, one of the small local chiefs, Mwami André Kalinda, expanded his chiefdom—the Grande Chefferie des Bahunde—to encompass all of Masisi by 1935.

This narrative distorts the history of Masisi.

First, it claims that in 1940 there were no Kinyarwanda-speaking people in Masisi and that they were later brought there by the Belgians. It also asserts that Kalinda was a local Hunde chief before the Belgians’ arrival.

However, if the Bahunde were the first inhabitants, why do the names of almost the entire Masisi region bear Kinyarwanda names rather than Kihunde? This suggests that the people who named these places before the colonial era were Kinyarwanda speakers. Second, King Kalinda was not present prior to Belgian arrival. The real Kalinda, recognized in oral history as a Hunde leader before colonization, was defeated by King Yuhi IV Gahindiro at the beginning of the 19th century. After this defeat, Gahindiro’s son, Muvunyi, succeeded Kalinda.

People familiar with the region’s history will recognize Igitero cy’i Butembo—an attack led by King Rwabugiri against a Hunde leader named Muvunyi, who sought to rebel against the Kingdom of Rwanda. Oral history indicates that Muvunyi and Rwabugiri were grandsons of Gahindiro. The attack occurred in 1874 after Muvunyi rebelled against Rwanda and stole Rwabugiri’s cattle, known as Imisakura, in Kamuronsi.

In 1923, the chiefdoms of Gishari and Kamuronsi were led by Chiefs Rwubusisi and Semugeshi. That year, the Belgians deposed them and transferred their chiefdoms to Kalinda.

Because this was a vast territory, the Belgians soon realized that Kalinda could not effectively govern an area where the majority of the population was Kinyarwanda-speaking. Consequently, the colonial authorities were compelled to restore the chiefdom to a Munyarwanda leader, as had been the case historically. The Gishari chieftaincy was re-established in 1937 and entrusted to Joseph Bideri, who served until 1939 and was succeeded by Wilfrid Bucyanayandi.

In 1957, however, the Belgians deposed Bucyanayandi and returned the chiefdom to Kalinda. This was not because Kalinda had suddenly become capable of governing the region. It was because the Belgians were preparing to eliminate the Tutsi in Rwanda and did not want them to have a rear base in DR Congo.

As early as 1916, the Belgians had destroyed the Tutsi chiefdom of Byahi. In 1923, they dismantled the Tutsi chiefdoms of Jomba and Bwisha. In 1933, they moved into South Kivu and destroyed the Tutsi chiefdoms of Gahutu, Budurege, and Kayira.

This is where one must understand the devastating consequences of Belgian policy in the region. As they prepared to eliminate the Tutsi in Rwanda, the Belgians sent an officer, Col Guy Logiest, to organize and supervise the killing of the Tutsi. To ensure that Rwandan Tutsi would have no rear base in DR Congo, they deposed Bucyanayandi—the only Tutsi chief capable of assisting Tutsi fleeing Rwanda. The Gishari chieftaincy was dismantled in 1958, just one year before the killings began in Rwanda.

This plan was later revealed by Jacques Gérard, the former assistant administrator of Masisi territory, who informed Dr. Gaston Rwasamanzi—author of Masisi et le Banyarwanda—that the Belgian colonial regime had decided, in anticipation of the violent overthrow of Rwanda’s political system in 1960, not to allow the existence of any potential rear base where Rwandan Tutsi could retreat to rebuild their forces after their planned and bloody expulsion by the Belgian administration.

Ironically, 35 years later, they returned to ‘liberate’ the country, not from DR Congo, but from Uganda.