Fatshimetrie: On the little-known traces of slavery in the DRC
When we talk about the history of slave routes in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), our minds are often drawn to the northern network used by slave traders leading from Kinshasa to Angola, through central Congo and the port of Moanda. However, another route, less known to the public, brings to light forgotten parts of our past: the southern network, used in the 18th and 19th centuries by Arabs, notably by Mohamed Ahmed, nicknamed Tipo Tip. The captives, coming from the Maniema region and the surroundings of Kalemie in the southeast of the DRC, were transported to the Kasenga market, before being sold and shipped to the island of Zanzibar in Tanzania. Today, the Kalemie National Museum is trying to reveal this dark and little-known part of Congolese history.
The Slave Routes site is nestled between the hills, nearly 500 meters from Lake Tanganyika, north of Kalemie. To access this place full of suffering and memory, you have to cross the village of Kasenga, where a community lives marked by the painful past of the slave trade. Portace Sungura, a living witness of this dark period, recounts with emotion: “It was the slave market. We were treated like merchandise, sold by the whites to other nations. We were only objects of trade.”
About 400 meters from the village is the location of the slave market, marked by 22 imposing mango trees that were once used to restrain captives. Unfortunately, this place full of history remains anonymous, deplores our guide Kaskile: “The lack of signage leaves these century-old trees speechless. Some were cut down for trivial needs, without the memory of this suffering being truly honored.”
The nearby Rugo River was used as a transport route for slave traders. Robert Sulubika, a young boatman, describes their journeys to the beach on Lake Tanganyika, where the captives were shipped off to Tanzania. Today, the descendants of Congolese slaves live in this neighbouring country, as Hubert Mbangwanguma, whose grandfather was born a slave with the cruel Grupo de Tipo Tip, testifies: “My grandfather was captured, then managed to escape at a time when slavery was illegal. He found refuge in Tanzania, transforming his suffering into resilience.” Despite its historical richness, the Slave Routes site is threatened by the vagaries of nature. Floods are weakening the centuries-old mango trees, symbols of past suffering. The Kalemie National Museum is calling for the preservation of this heritage, so that the memory of the victims of slavery is not swallowed up by the waters of time.
Thus, through these poignant testimonies and historical remains, the Slave Routes in the DRC reveal the buried tragedies and the resilience of the descendants. It is our duty to preserve these places of memory, to make them accessible and to honor them as fragments of a collective conscience in search of truth and reconciliation.