Kananga

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title: "Kananga" type: doc version: 1 created: 2026-02-28 author: "Wikipedia contributors" status: active scope: public tags: ["kananga", "populated-places-in-kasaï-central", "populated-places-established-in-1884", "1884-establishments-in-africa", "cities-in-the-democratic-republic-of-the-congo"] topic_path: "geography" source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kananga" license: "CC BY-SA 4.0" wikipedia_page_id: 0 wikipedia_revision_id: 0

::data[format=table title="Infobox settlement"]

FieldValue
name
official_nameVille de Kananga
native_name
settlement_typeProvincial capital and city
motto
image_skylineKananga Vue aérienne.jpg
imagesize250px
image_captionKananga, 2016
pushpin_mapDemocratic Republic of the Congo
pushpin_label_positionbottom
pushpin_map_captionLocation in Democratic Republic of the Congo
subdivision_type
subdivision_name[[Image:Flag of the Democratic Republic of the Congo.svg
subdivision_type1Province
subdivision_name1Kasai-Central
subdivision_name4
parts_typeCommunes
parts_stylepara
p1Kananga
p2Katoka
p3Lukonga
p4Ndesha
p5Nganza
leader_titleMayor
leader_nameRose Muadi
leader_title1
established_titleFounded
established_date1884
established_title2City status
established_date21958
established_title3
established_date3
total_typeCity
area_total_km2743
area_land_km2
area_blank1_sq_mi
population_as_of2015
population_footnotes
population_total1271704
population_density_km2auto
population_urban_footnotes
population_urban1170000
population_blank1_titleEthnicities
population_blank1Bena-Lulua • Baluba • Basalampasu/Baluntu • Bakete • Bashilele • Bakuba • Chokwe
population_density_blank1_sq_mi
timezoneCentral Africa Time
utc_offset+2
coordinates
elevation_footnotes
elevation_m608
elevation_ft
postal_code_type
blank_nameClimate
blank_infoAw
blank1_nameNational language
blank1_infoTshiluba
::

| name = Kananga | official_name = Ville de Kananga | other_name = | native_name = | nickname = | settlement_type = Provincial capital and city | motto = | image_skyline = Kananga Vue aérienne.jpg | imagesize = 250px | image_caption = Kananga, 2016 | image_flag = | flag_size = | image_seal = | seal_size = | image_shield = | shield_size = | image_blank_emblem = | blank_emblem_type = | blank_emblem_size = | image_map = | mapsize = | map_caption = | image_map1 = | mapsize1 = | map_caption1 = | image_dot_map = | dot_mapsize = | dot_map_caption = | dot_x = | dot_y = | pushpin_map = Democratic Republic of the Congo | pushpin_label_position = bottom | pushpin_map_caption = Location in Democratic Republic of the Congo | subdivision_type = Country | subdivision_name = [[Image:Flag of the Democratic Republic of the Congo.svg|25px]] DR Congo | subdivision_type1 = Province | subdivision_name1 = Kasai-Central | subdivision_type2 = | subdivision_name2 = | subdivision_type3 = | subdivision_name3 = | subdivision_type4 = | subdivision_name4 = | government_footnotes = | parts_type = Communes | parts_style = para | p1 = Kananga | p2 = Katoka | p3 = Lukonga | p4 = Ndesha | p5 = Nganza | government_type = | leader_title = Mayor | leader_name = Rose Muadi | leader_title1 = | leader_name1 = | leader_title2 = | leader_name2 = | leader_title3 = | leader_name3 = | leader_title4 = | leader_name4 = | established_title = Founded | established_date = 1884 | established_title2 = City status | established_date2 = 1958 | established_title3 = | established_date3 = | total_type = City | area_magnitude = | area_footnotes = | area_total_km2 = 743 | area_land_km2 = | area_water_km2 = | area_total_sq_mi = | area_land_sq_mi = | area_water_sq_mi = | area_water_percent = | area_urban_km2 = | area_urban_sq_mi = | area_metro_km2 = | area_metro_sq_mi = | area_blank1_title = | area_blank1_km2 = | area_blank1_sq_mi = | population_as_of = 2015 | population_footnotes = | population_note = | population_total = 1271704 | population_density_km2 = auto | population_density_sq_mi = | population_metro = | population_density_metro_km2 = | population_density_metro_sq_mi = | population_urban_footnotes = | population_urban = 1170000 | population_density_urban_km2 = | population_density_urban_sq_mi = | population_blank1_title = Ethnicities | population_blank1 = Bena-Lulua • Baluba • Basalampasu/Baluntu • Bakete • Bashilele • Bakuba • Chokwe | population_blank2_title = | population_blank2 = | population_density_blank1_km2 = | population_density_blank1_sq_mi = | timezone = Central Africa Time | utc_offset = +2 | timezone_DST = | utc_offset_DST = | coordinates = | elevation_footnotes = | elevation_m = 608 | elevation_ft = | postal_code_type = | postal_code = | area_code = | blank_name = Climate | blank_info = Aw | blank1_name = National language | blank1_info = Tshiluba | website = | footnotes =

Kananga, formerly known as Luluabourg or Luluaburg, is the capital city of the Kasai-Central Province in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and was the capital of the former Kasaï-Occidental Province. It is the fourth most populous urban area in the country, with an estimated population of 1,524,000 in 2021.

The city lies near the Lulua River, a tributary of the Kasai River and the Ilebo-Lubumbashi railway. An important commercial and administrative centre, it is home to a museum and to Kananga Airport.

History

German explorer Hermann Wissmann established a station in the area around present-day Kananga, on the left bank of the Lulua. Wissmann named the station Malandji, a name suggested by his 400 carriers, who were from the city of Malanje in Angola. Later on, with the construction of the railway on the other bank of the river, the station was moved, and the Lulua train station gave its name to the new town, namely Luluabourg. The old location is named Malandji-Makulu (old Malandji) to this day.

At the Belgo-Congolese Round Table Conference, in 1960, the name given to the negotiations for the independence of the then-Belgian Congo, a decision was taken that the new state would move the location of its capital from Kinshasa to Luluabourg, due to the latter's central location. However, due to multiple political setbacks, and particularly the secession attempt by Albert Kalonji and his South Kasai, this decision was never implemented. When the central government reconquered South Kasai in 1962, Luluabourg became the capital of the new Kasai-Occidental province. Kananga (as Luluabourg) was the site of the drafting of the first Congolese-written constitution for the Democratic Republic of the Congo, in 1964.

::figure[src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/54/Avenue_a_Kananga,_Congo.jpg" caption="Street view of Kananga"] ::

In 1966, during an Africanization campaign, Mobutu Sese Seko renamed a number of cities and towns that bore European names. Leopoldville became Kinshasa, and Luluabourg became Kananga. The name Kananga derives from the Tshiluba word kanangayi meaning "a place for peace or love" as what is now central Kananga was a gathering place for pre-colonial chiefs to discuss treaties and to settle disputes.

Under the 2006 constitution, the Democratic republic of the Congo was divided in 25 provinces, and one national Capital city (Kinshasa). The Kasai-Occidental was divided into two provinces. Kananga became the capital of the Lulua Province.

Locally, Kananga is known as Kananga-Malandji, or even Kananga-Malandji wa Nshinga. Nshinga, or cables, stands for the large high-voltage cables of the Inga-Shaba project, that cross the skies of Kananga, and that link Kolwezi and the Lualaba Province to the Inga Dam in Bas-Congo.

The city came into headlines within the Orthodox community in 2018, especially in Greece, when a documentary film called "Kananga" was produced, talking about the minority Orthodox Christian population in the city, and the Cathedral of Saint Andrew, which is the largest Eastern Orthodox church in Africa.

Climate

Kananga has a tropical savanna climate (Köppen Aw), fairly typical of the western Democratic Republic of Congo, with a dry season entered upon June and July and a lengthy though not intense wet season from September to May.

|metric first=y |single line=y |collapsed = Y |location = Kananga, elevation 657 m, (1971–2000) |Jan high C = 29.4 |Feb high C = 29.6 |Mar high C = 30.0 |Apr high C = 30.2 |May high C = 31.4 |Jun high C = 30.9 |Jul high C = 30.5 |Aug high C = 29.9 |Sep high C = 29.8 |Oct high C = 29.6 |Nov high C = 29.1 |Dec high C = 29.0 | year high C = |Jan low C = 19.8 |Feb low C = 19.8 |Mar low C = 19.8 |Apr low C = 20.0 |May low C = 19.8 |Jun low C = 18.5 |Jul low C = 17.8 |Aug low C = 18.8 |Sep low C = 19.3 |Oct low C = 19.2 |Nov low C = 19.5 |Dec low C = 19.8 | year low C = |precipitation colour = green |Jan precipitation mm = 156.0 |Feb precipitation mm = 134.0 |Mar precipitation mm = 197.0 |Apr precipitation mm = 204.0 |May precipitation mm = 90.0 |Jun precipitation mm = 26.0 |Jul precipitation mm = 10.0 |Aug precipitation mm = 44.0 |Sep precipitation mm = 125.0 |Oct precipitation mm = 163.0 |Nov precipitation mm = 249.0 |Dec precipitation mm = 223.0 |year precipitation mm = | Jan humidity = 85 | Feb humidity = 84 | Mar humidity = 83 | Apr humidity = 83 | May humidity = 72 | Jun humidity = 71 | Jul humidity = 74 | Aug humidity = 79 | Sep humidity = 82 | Oct humidity = 81 | Nov humidity = 83 | Dec humidity = 84 | year humidity = | source 1 = FAO{{cite web | url = https://www.fao.org/land-water/databases-and-software/climwat-for-cropwat/en/ | title = CLIMWAT climatic database | publisher= Food and Agriculture Organization of United Nations | access-date = 28 August 2024}}

Rail accidents

  • 1 August 2007 – A railway accident 100 miles west of Kananga town, caused by a brake failure, resulted in 100 fatalities. Main article: Benaleka train crash

  • 29 November 2005 – People riding on roofs swept off by low beam of bridge. Main article: Kindu rail accident

References

References

  1. (10 January 2023). "Kasaï Central : Le nouveau maire de Kananga pour une collaboration étroite avec l’exécutif provincial".
  2. "Cellule d'Analyses des Indicateurs de Développement".
  3. "PopulationStat.com".
  5. Tripodakis, Pavlos. (2018-03-29). "Kananga".
  6. "KANANGA Documentary 2018".
  7. (2 August 2007). "DR Congo crash toll 'passes 100'". BBC News.
  8. "News Malaysia sports politics education hot movie Tamil actorpics".

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kanangapopulated-places-in-kasaï-centralpopulated-places-established-in-18841884-establishments-in-africacities-in-the-democratic-republic-of-the-congo