MUTIMANA, MOPIPI

Mopipi Mutimana (circa 1875-May 5, 1930), a chief of the Lega people living southwest of Lake Kivu, acted vigorously to modernise his land and people.

Before the late 1800s, the Lega had no centralised political institutions. Instead, they were led by members of the semi-secret Bwami society which maintained legal, moral, religious, and artistic standards in Lega society. When Swahili traders arrived in Lega territory in the 1860s, they engaged local men who acted as banyampara (agents) to aid in collecting slaves, ivory, food, and porters. These agents eventually assumed the role of political chiefs.

Mopipi Mutimana’s father Kangadio, a leader of the Lega Banabanga clan, acted as a friend of the Swahili. Although when the Swahili first entered the area, they established their main station at Kyoli (later Shabunda), 160 km (100 mi) west of Bukavu among the Lega Bangoma clan, because of Bangoma hostility, the Swahili soon allied with Kangadio and the Banabanga. In appreciation for Kangadio’s support, the Swahili interlopers selected his sons Mutimana, Kinganda, and Itanganika as agents.

Kangadio’s son Mutimana earlier had adopted Swahili culture. Not only did he speak, read, and write the Swahili language, he also embraced the Islamic faith. As an Arabised individual, Mutimana placed himself in opposition to members of the Bwami society who resisted modernisation. As an agent, Mutimana took the name of Mopipi in memory of another brother who had been killed, probably while helping the Swahili in an ivory raid. Although Mopipi’s appointment as an agent practically coincided with the Swahili defeat in 1894, the Banabanga leader quickly attached himself to the victorious Congo Free State. Since the Bwami dignitaries, the traditional Lega élite, resisted any association with the Europeans, the Free State officials relied on Mopipi Mutimana as their intermediary in dealing with the Lega.

Mopipi retained the respect of the colonisers throughout his life. In 1924, a territorial administrator described him as an “excellent chief, a perfect judge, and a shrewd politician.” Mopipi’s literacy also won him praise. Already in 1917, Mopipi had been decorated with a silver medal, while in 1923 he was officially invested as a chief. In 1928, he received the decoration of the order of the Lion.
As an official civil servant, Mopipi supervised rubber collection, labour recruitment for the mining companies, and the production of rice and palm oil. He also helped enlist young men in the Force Publique (colonial army).

In all his dealings, Mopipi was fair and just. When there was work to be done or rewards to be gained, he made sure that everyone was treated equally. Mopipi’s impartiality extended even to members of his own family. Mopipi gained the admiration and confidence of both Africans and Europeans. When he died in 1930, the people observed two days of silent mourning and the territorial administrator attended his funeral.

YOGOLELO TAMBWE ya KASIMBA