Ethnicity and political power organization in South Kivu

Our research focuses on ethnicity and the organisation of political power in South Kivu. We analysed how the leaders of the institutions elected in 2006 were chosen through direct elections (the provincial assembly) and indirect elections (the provincial government). According to the missions of a political party one is the conquest and conservation of power for as long as possible while tribal mutualities are tribal associations created by the nationals of the different villages living in the city of Bukavu as a mission to defend the interests of their territories and of their peers living in Bukavu. The tribal groups are the real determinants of conquest and are the stepping stones that allow certain politicians who exploit them with intelligence to gain access to the various positions in the provincial government. All this justifies the predominance of tribal mutualities over political parties.