Kinshasa 2025 – International Women’s Day

Kinshasa could not function without the small vendors, mostly women and girls, who are the face of daily markets throughout the city. Notwithstanding the spread of western-style supermarkets from Gombe into most Communes of the megalopolis, most Kinois purchase their daily household requirements from these small-scale sellers who provide an important, convenient service. With the exception of those renting stalls in a few formal markets, they often operate on the margins of legality -- anywhere they can find a patch of space along a public right of way -- and are consequently susceptible to extortion or expulsion by local authorities. On this International Women's Day, let us remember and recognize their contribution.

A vegetable seller on the road to Kimwenza, just off RN1 to Matadi (photo author coll.)

The first formal market in Kinshasa (Gombe) was located on the rail line to Leopoldville (Kintambo) approximately opposite the Grande Poste on Blvd. du 30 Juin. (photo author coll.)

A group of women at the Kinshasa market (photo author coll.)

In 1925 the Crédit Foncier Africain built the Mughal-inspired "covered market"
two blocks south (photo author coll.)

Vegetable sellers outside the Marché Couvert (photo author coll.)

Painter Guilherme Marques d'Oliveira's depiction of the market in 1942 (photo author coll.)

The Leopoldville municipality built a new public market in 1943, four blocks further south,
east of Parc De Bock along Ave. Ruakadingi (photo author coll.)

Selling dried fish at the public market (photo author coll.)

Shopping at the public market in the 1950s (photo author coll.)

Outside the market near the end of the day (photo author coll.)

In 1968, President Mobutu demolished the public market, replacing it with a larger facility on the same site (photo Eliot Elisofon Photographic Archives, Smithsonian Institution)

Sellers at the Marché Central in the 1970s (photo author coll.)

The meat section of the Marché Central 2010 (photo Beeckmans, 2010)

As Kinshasa continued to grow, shopping at the central market became a challenging logistical endeavor and road side sellers became more ubiquitous.

Off to find a place to set up shop (photo author coll.)

Young street vendors (photo author coll.)

Sellers at Matadi Kibala on RN1 to Matadi (photo mediacongo.net)

Workers bringing produce to the DAIPN market at Place des Evolués in 2018
(photo author coll.)

The Marché Central was demolished in March 2021 after having been closed for a year as a Covid-19 prevention measure. (photo 7sur7.cd)

A new Marché Central, now commonly called "Zando" in Lingala, is nearing completion on the same downtown site. Let's hope sellers and customers will enjoy as nice an experience as the architect's rendering suggests. (photo thinktank-architecture.fr)

Sources:

Beeckmans, Luce. 2009. "Agency in an African City: The various trajectories through time and space of the public market in Kinshasa".

Leopoldville 1945 – Plan de la Ville de Léopoldville

Interpreting Kinshasa “then and now” depends on good archival material. Informed analysis also requires a bit of conjecture. Newspapers and telephone or postal directories are useful, but detailed maps of the city from different time periods can reveal a lot. A recent find is this map produced by Delacre et Soeur of Brussels, ostensibly in 1945. Delacre et Soeur published a tourist brochure, “Les parcs nationaux du Congo Belge”, in 1938, but I have yet to conclusively date this map. 

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All the landmarks are there: the Gare (14), Ndolo airport (3), Hotel ABC (17), Hotel Sica (46) and other hostelries, the BMS Chapel (78), Parc De Bock, the Governor General’s Residence (101), UtexLeo (112), the Velodrome in Kintambo (115), Chanic shipyards (118), the American Baptist mission at Leo Ouest (117). But there are discrepancies which suggest that this is an update of an earlier map in which some, but not all, of the developments during World War Two were captured in the new edition. 

For instance, the map shows Ave. De Gaulle in the commercial district (now Ave. du Commerce, See Jan. 2, 2018), which was renamed from Ave. Travailleurs August 28, 1943, the third anniversary of the Gaullist coup in Brazzaville that brought French Equatorial Africa into the Allied fold. District Commissioner le Bussy and Dr. Staub, Honorary French Consul presided over the ceremony.

Ave. de Gaulle in the 1940s (Ph. author coll.)

However, the Information Service (80) on Ave. des Jardins off Ave. Vangele, does not use the new name of De Meulemeester (now Ave. Kolwezi), which the Comité Urbain changed in September 1944.

The Ministry of Information facing Ave. Vangele in the 1960s (Ph. author coll.)

Even more intriguing is the location of the Coupole (56), the former municipal market on Square du Marche (Aug. 5, 2011), which was relocated to Aves. Plateau and Van Eetvelde and inaugurated at the end of 1943. But no market or any structure is identified in that location. The original market reopened as a night club called “La Coupole” in March 1945. Celebrated local artist, Guilherme d’Oliveira Marques, decorated the interior with murals (May 17, 2017).

The rear of the market from Ave. Cambier (Ph. author coll.)

The Market by Guilherme Marques (Ph. author coll.)

La Coupole advertisement March 1945 (Ph. Le Courrier d'Afrique)

Similarly, Hotel Regina (40) is shown on Place Braconnier, although it actually opened across Blvd. Albert in 1943. Hotel Regina was an initiative of Paul Storey-Day (Mar. 29, 2011), whose mother, Paula Colman, operated the Pension Paula in the former Portuguese Banco Ultramarino (Nov. 1, 2014) on the Place Braconnier location. Interestingly, the Sabena Guest House near Ndolo Prison (4) on Ave Olsen (Apr. 15, 2021) is not identified, although the other main hotels were.

The new Hotel Regina on Blvd. Albert (Ph. author coll.)

Pension Paula on Place Braconnier during WWII (Ph. facebook.com)

The Banco Nacional Ultramarino (Ph. author coll.)

Another anomaly is the US Consulate, which the map locates on Ave Bousin (39) (now Ave. Isiro). At the beginning of the War in 1940, the Consulate was located in a rented villa on Ave Renkin. There is a locator number (35) on this site, but nothing to identify it in the Legende. The Consulate moved to Ave Olsen in May 1943 (Aug. 2, 2018). Intriguingly, No. 39 on Ave. Bousin is where the US Office of War Information opened an office in March 1944.

The U.S Consulate on Ave. Renkin (American Foreign Service Journal, Nov. 1936)

On the other hand, there is no listing for the Italian Consulate on Ave Costermans (now Ave Mongala), opposite the District Commissioner’s residence (68). After Italy joined Germany in the War in June 1940, the Italian Consul was expelled from the Colony, so its absence from the map would seem to suggest an updating of the 1945 edition.

The Italian Consulate, Ave. Costermans (Ph. author coll.)

Over half of the map covers the southern districts -- the African cité -- of which there are less than half a dozen cites. There is the St.Pierre Catholic Mission (136), the adjacent Stade Reine Astrid (135) and the Scheut Mission pool for Congolese downstream from the Funa Club (2). Governmental institutions include the Territorial Administration for the Population Noire (134), Aves. Comfina & Luvua. But the map also identifies a site at the southern end of Ave. Prince Baudouin for a Bureaux d’Administration de la Population Noire, which was designed and built in 1951. 

To the south of this is the “Nouvelle Cité”, developed by Territorial Administrator Dendale, who in August 1943 platted lots to accommodate the influx of Congolese residents drawn by the opportunity for war work (Sep. 30, 2011). Many of the streets were named to commemorate Congolese contribution to the war -- the victories of the Force Publique in Ethiopia in 1941 (Aves. Force Publique, Assosa, Gambela, Saio), the FP field hospital in Burma (Ave. Birmanie) and Avenue de la Victoire. In 1957 the Nouvelle Cité was renamed Commune Dendale and after Independence became Commune Kasa Vubu.

Just north of this, across the Tranchee Cabu, is a site reserved for a swimming pool for Congolese. The original Scheut Mission site downstream from the Funa Club (as shown on the map) was filled in by the US Army in September 1942 to upgrade Ndolo airport to accommodate heavy bombers en route to the Middle East and Asia. In January 1944, the Congo Protestant Council proposed the municipality build a swimming pool for Congolese – within two or three years. Ultimately, the pool, part of Parc Sports Ermens, was built on Ave Ermens in 1946 (May 30, 2021).

Notwithstanding a few discrepancies, the map generally provides specific locations for many rapidly-disappearing colonial-era structures one might find in Kinshasa and wonder what their stories were. 

Sources: 

• American Foreign Service Journal 
• L’Avenir Colonial Belge, 1942-45. 
• Le Courrier d’Afrique, 1942-45.

Leopoldville 1943 – Leisure on the River at Kinsuka

Kinsuka is a Quartier in Ngaliema Commune, situated on the rapids four kilometers downstream from the Chanic shipyards. Tradition holds that Kinsuka means, “end of town”, the furthest extension of colonial Leopoldville. Opposite the site, a narrow rocky channel runs between the bank and Ile Mimosa. The land around Mont Ngaliema, along the river and into Binza was part of a 300 hectare concession granted to Joseph Rhodius, founder of the Texaf textile mill in 1936 (Feb. 27, 2020).

The rapids at Kinsuka (Ph. author coll.)

Leopoldville’s Hygiene Service began clearing weeds along the river at Kinsuka in March 1943 to reduce the prevalence of mosquitos. Four hundred Congolese were employed in the work. Force Publique Engineers erected a 135-meter footbridge of rattan and lianas to provide access to Mimosa Island. Paths were laid out on the island, which was covered with all kinds of vegetation including wild Mimosa. At the downstream end of Mimosa, the current between the channel and main river deposited sand to create a beach which, noted the Courrier d’Afrique newspaper, “should attract Kinois”. In July, enthusiastic patrons appealed to the Public Works Department to resurface the gravel road leading to Kinsuka.

Ile Mimosa 1946 (Ph. author coll.)

Bridge to Ile Mimosa (Ph. author coll.)

When entrepreneur Trenteseaux began building the Forescom building in 1944 (May 28, 2011), he built a narrow bridge to the island and opened a quarry to mine the purplish red sandstone. The elevated bridge on stone pillars had only two tracks for the vehicle wheels and no guard rails. In 1950 a company affiliated with the Texaf textile interests opened an industrial quarry called Carrigrès on the mainland in the Rhodius concession. At the same time, an industrial brick-making factory called Bricongo acquired land from Imafor (Rhodius group). In 1954, the Chemin de Fer Matadi-Leopoldville laid 6 kilometers of track from Kintambo gare to Kinsuka to improve speed of delivery and reduce the cost of handling output from the quarries. The riverside area remained a major vector of mosquito borne malaria and yellow fever for the growing European suburbs of Ngaliema and Binza and a program of spraying by helicopter began in 1951.

The bridge to the Ile Mimosa rock quarry - 1946 (Ph. author coll)

Mimosa island continued to be an attraction for some residents of Leopoldville Ouest. Mwana Mboka and neighbors would either walk or ride bikes to the island. Guards on the mainland side usually did not prevent expatriate visitors crossing the bridge to the island if they stayed away from the quarry operations.

The bridge to Mimosa Quarry - 1961 (Ph. flickr)

In 1970 President Mobutu asked Doctor Bill Close, his personal physician, to upgrade services at the main hospital in Kinshasa, named for the President’s mother, Mama Yemo (Nov. 26, 2012). Close envisioned a state-of-the-art medical facility with international specialists to complement the Congolese personnel. The President ordered construction of an expansive residential complex for expatriate medical personnel, called “Mimosa”, on the slopes of Mont Ngaliema opposite the island. Prefabricated units imported from Belgium were installed on concrete foundations.

The housing at Camp Mimosa (Ph. facebook)

The Camp Mimosa compound (Ph. facebook)

After the demise of Mobutu, in 1999 the new Ministry of Tourism sought to promote Mimosa Island as a tourist site. In addition to recreation seekers, however, the river front attracted residential settlers, as Kinois sought new land to build homes on. The Ministry of Transport opened a transit line to Mimosa on the old line from Kintambo Magasins that originally served the quarry. However, this service was terminated in 2002. 

 

One problem for the riverain community was seasonal flooding and erosion from the former Presidential compound and Camp Tshatshi on Mont Ngaliema. There were only two paved roads serving Kinsuka, the river road from Chanic along the base of Mont Ngaliema called Avenue du Rive, and Avenue de l’Ecole from the Matadi road above TASOK and the Cercle Hippique. A major storm in March 1998 washed away a one kilometer section of Ave. Ecole cutting off 100,000 residents. In March 2004, the Kuweit Fund provided funds to repair the critical roadway. 

Another landslide at the end of 2005 cut off the river road to Kinsuka. In 2009, a project to reopen Ave du Rive, now renamed Ave du Tourisme, was awarded to CREC-8, the Chinese company which rebuilt Boulevard du 30 Juin (Jan. 23, 2011). Related construction work included the Binza River bridge, which was featured on the 500 Franc bill celebrating the Fiftieth Anniversary of Independence.

Ave Tourisme during reconstruction - 2009 (Ph. author coll.)

Avenue du Tourisme after repairs (Ph. actualite.cd)

The Binza River Bridge at Kinsuka

In the 2010s, the tourism potential of the Kinsuka riverfront began to be developed by property owners along the riverside. Among the first was “Chez Tintin” a beer garden and restaurant decorated with cement sculptures of “Tintin” characters. Another entrepreneur opened “Libaya”, a venue with a view of Mimosa Island, whose signature menu offered a kilo of one’s choice of grilled meat on a plank (libaya) with four Congolese side dishes. Today one can enjoy the river from a simple “nganda” of a few huts to massive hotel complexes with swimming pools and conference facilities.

Chez Tintin (Ph. author coll.)

Libaya restaurant (Ph. author coll.)

Villa Bahari opposite Mimosa Island (Ph. author coll.)

The river experience at Kinsuka is always different depending on the season. At the height of the rainy season, the stream churns by with undulating waves topped with whitecaps, and some riverside venues are flooded. In the dry season, the water recedes and artisanal rock breakers take over, crushing the boulders and river bed by hand to supply Kinshasa’s construction industry. Many of the workers are children and women. Patrons may observe huge dump trucks navigating the channel between Mimosa and the river bank to load crushed stone. The quarry on Mimosa Island was acquired by the Ledya Group in 2005; it and Carrigrés continue to supply stone and rock on industrial scale.

Truck loading sand off Villa Bahari - 2019 (Ph. Author coll.)

Hand broken stone at Chez Tintin - 2016 (Ph. author coll.)

When both arteries were open to traffic, the intersection of Avenues Tourisme and Ecole at Kinsuka Pompage created such massive traffic jams that the site was selected for one of the first “saute de mouton” overpasses in 2019 (Apr. 20, 2019). A major project begun in 2016 was the construction of a nine kilometer road (Ave Nzolana) linking Quartier Pompage with the Université Pédagogique Nationale (UPN) on the Matadi road. Completed in November 2023, the project also included over a kilometer of reinforced concrete roadway to mitigate erosion from the Binza hills.

The Saute de Mouton overpass at Kinsuka (Ph. mediacongo)

Ave. Nzolana leading to UPN - 2023 (Ph. Agence Congolaise des Grands Travaux)

Leopoldville 1949 – Speakerine Pauline Lisanga

This International Women’s Day we remember Congolese women who pushed the boundaries of traditional roles in the years before Independence in 1960. 

At twenty-three, Pauline Lisanga in 1949 became the first female announcer for Radio Congo Belge’s (RCB) new service for Africans. Born in Leopoldville of a family from Lisala, she attended primary school and two years of Ecole Menagère, then taught primary school in the city. Along with Marie-Louise Mombila and Marie-Josee Angebi, who joined RCB in 1951 and 1955 respectively, they were “top of the charts”. At Independence in 1960, Pauline was Vice President of the Mouvement des Femmes du Congo and in 1961 named Director of Radio Services in the Ministry of Information. Mamas Mombila and Angebi remained with RTNC and in 1966 created and co-hosted an oldies request show called “Tango ya ba Wendo”.

Pauline at the microphones

Other women contributed the female voice to RCB’s programming. Here Anne Kitambala, Anne Marie Matasu and Marguerite Elanga plan a radio sketch in the 1950s with Albert Mongita, who also joined the radio in 1949.

Planning the radio sketch in the studio

Victorine Ndjoli Elonga was the first woman in Kinshasa to obtain a driver’s license in 1955. Also a graduate of the Franciscan Sisters Ecole Menagère, she tired of making baby clothes and hats at the foyer social and did some modeling for advertisements – bicycles and powdered milk among others. At 21, against the wishes of the male members of her family, she enrolled in the driver’s education school. She told David Van Reybrouck in 2008 that afterwards, he father was proud of her. After Independence, “Mama Vicky” went into politics and remained a figure in women’s empowerment until her death in 2015.

Victorine at the wheel the day of her driver test

The dents in the car body were made by her male predecessors

Other women may be anonymous in the photographic record but their ambition and accomplishments merit recognition.

Nursing students at the Ecole des Assistants Medicaux in the 1950s

Sales clerks in a Leopoldville store

Shoe sellers at Bata

Women marching in support of political candidate Albert Kalonji in June 1960

Congolese nuns on Blvd. Albert opposite Hotel Regina in 1961

Red Cross volunteers prepare for a smallpox vaccination campaign in February 1962

Educate a woman and you educate a nation.
Parents enroll their daughters in school in Matete Commune.

Students at the Ecole Professionnelle des Filles in 1957

Into the future.
School girls parade on Independence Day, June 30, 1960