Kasaï region

The Kasaï region, also called Greater Kasaï, Grand Kasaï or simply Kasaï, is a geographic and cultural region in south-central Democratic Republic of the Congo. It was once a single province and is now made up of five provinces: Kasaï, Kasaï-Central, Sankuru, Kasaï-Oriental and Lomami. It takes its name from the Kasaï River, and its largest city is Mbuji-Mayi, where French and Tshiluba are the main languages. Until 2015 it was divided into two provinces, Kasaï-Occidental and Kasaï-Oriental, before former districts were recombined and raised to the five current provinces. The region has long been a stronghold of the opposition party UDPS and has felt political and economic marginalization by the central government. That resentment broke into a rebellion in 2016 after security forces killed the local chief Kamwina Nsapu, and most militia members surrendered after Félix Tshisekedi won the 2018 presidential election.