Banyamulenge

The Banyamulenge are a community that lives mainly in South Kivu, Democratic Republic of the Congo, and trace their ancestral origins to what is now Rwanda. Their main language is Kinyamulege.

The Banyamulenge played a role in Mobutu's war against and victory over the Simba Rebellion, which was not supported by the majority of other tribes in South Kivu. They supported him to be naturalised in what was then Zaire. Their role during the First Congo War and subsequent regional conflicts (Rally for Congolese Democracy–Goma, Movement for the Liberation of the Congo, National Congress for the Defence of the People, and more importantly for the fact that two of the most influential presidents of their country declared them as enemies of the state in both 1996 (Mobutu Sese Seko) and 1998 (Laurent-Désiré Kabila).