[29] A decree issued on 14 September 1988, outlined critical urban development guidelines, such as construction alignments, the delineation of housing plans and communication routes, and the segregation of sustainable residential districts from native-dominated huts.

In response, the Rwandan Patriotic Front (RPF), formed by Tutsi refugees from Uganda, who already held control over significant portions of northern Rwanda after their invasion in 1990 and the ongoing Civil War, overthrew the Hutu government in Kigali, forcing them out.

[39] Although Hutu extremists were responsible for the mass killing of Tutsis, scholars like Judi Rever and Filip Reyntjens argue that the main perpetrators of the slaughter were the Tutsi-dominated RPF, led by Paul Kagame.

Between 13 June and 14 July 1994, an overwhelming number of refugees, ranging from 10,000 to 12,000 per day, fled across the border to Goma, resulting in a severe humanitarian crisis,[46] as there was an acute lack of shelter, food and water.

[48] During the First Congo War, from mid-October 1996, Rwandan infiltrations intensified, accompanied by sporadic attacks on refugee camps along the Goma to Rutshuru road by the newly formed Alliance of Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Congo (AFDL), a rebel movement led by Laurent-Désiré Kabila, and Rwandan Patriotic Army (RPA) led by Paul Kagame, who aimed to overthrow Mobutu Sese Seko's regime, accusing him of excluding Tutsis from governance and failing to stop the génocidaires.

[48] By the end of 1997, AFDL rebels advanced to Kinshasa, driving out Mobutu and leading to Laurent-Désiré Kabila proclaiming himself president on 17 May, renaming the country the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC).

[52] Within a year of assuming power, Laurent-Désiré Kabila found himself in conflict with his former allies, and in 1998, the Rwandan government threw its support behind a Goma-based rebel movement known as the Congolese Rally for Democracy (RCD), occasionally denoted as RCD-Goma.

[61] In Bukavu in 2004, his insurgent affiliates, in conjunction with Colonel Jules Mutebutsi, executed widespread atrocities, including sexual violence and arbitrary detentions, predominantly targeting young girls.

[61][62] Human Rights Watch clamored for Nkunda's arrest in February 2006,[61] but it wasn't until June of that year that his military faction made significant territorial gains, capturing localities like Bunagana, located 80 km from Goma.

[65] The conflict escalated further in early 2007, with Goma's healthcare organization, Groupe d'Entraide et de Solidarité Médicale (GESOM), treating an average of three rape survivors daily from both urban and rural sectors.

Between 17–30 April 2023, Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) teams treated 674 victims of sexual violence in camps like Bulengo, Lushagala, and Rusayo, with 360 cases reported solely from the latter, a recently established and densely inhabited settlement situated to the west of Goma.

[86] Goma has been heavily affected by sexual violence, which is deeply intertwined with the ongoing regional conflicts, economic instability, and social challenges that have marked the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo for decades.

A study from 2007 revealed that around 1.69–1.80 million women aged 15–29 in the DRC reported experiencing sexual assault at some point in their lives, with North Kivu recording 223,262 cases, the highest rate nationally.

[90] For over three decades, Goma has served as a major site for internally displaced persons (IDPs), predominantly due to the recurrent waves of violence and humanitarian emergencies besieging the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo and adjacent regions.

[93][94] The displacement crisis commenced in the aftermath of the 1994 Rwandan genocide, during which approximately 1.2 million refugees,[95] predominantly Hutus, entered eastern Congo, with between 500,000 and 850,000 people arriving in Goma over a span of five days in mid-July 1994.

[104] As of 13 February 2024, Goma hosts an estimated 1.7 million IDPs due to renewed conflicts between the Congolese military and various insurgent groups,[105] including M23, with over 700,000 new arrivals recorded in late 2022 and early 2023 alone.

[120] In August 2019, Rwandan Health Minister Diane Gashumba announced that students in Rwanda would cease attending school in Goma due to the Ebola outbreak, which has claimed the lives of over 1,800 people within the past year.

[124] These regulations encompassed the closure of educational institutions, places of worship, markets, and various public venues, coupled with prohibitions on large congregations, resulting in the cancellation of Goma's annual Amani Festival in 2021.

In March 2004, emissions from Nyiragongo volcano polluted the surrounding areas of North Kivu, including Rusayo, Bishusha, Birambizo, Tongo, Kitshanga, and Sake with water vapor (H2O) laden with fluorine and carbon dioxide (CO2).

[159] Goma serves as the North Kivu's cultural center and boasts a vibrant entertainment and performing arts scene that encompasses various media forms, including television productions, radio broadcasts, theatre, cinematic expressions, multimedia installations, and print publications.

[160][161] Notable figures in Goma's popular culture scene include Innoss'B, Jonathan Kuminga, Rebecca Kabugho, Anzor Alem, Petna Ndaliko Katondolo, Alicios Theluji, El Weezya Fantastikoh, Christophe Madihano, Patient Ligodi, Voldie Mapenzi, Mista Faba, Belamy Paluku, Willow Miller, and Vicky YM.

[162][163][164][165][166][167] During the 1970s, theatrical activities in Goma flourished, with well-organized theater troupes such as AMIKI (Amis du Kivu) with Kembo and Mazingi, CLB with Tshiaba, Kainos, and Robert De Souza, and Ngoma with Mpozayo Jean-Paul, among others.

Additionally, the Goma Institute organized a school troupe under the leadership of the then-prefect Lumaya Ombwel, featuring talented student actors like Robert De Souza, also known as Kablan or Gilima, and Mwamba, alias Ringo.

[172][168][173][174] The city is home to Petna Ndaliko Katondolo's acclaimed multigenre film productions, which embrace a decolonial Ejo Lobi (Afro-futuristic) aesthetic that weaves together historical narratives to confront contemporary sociopolitical and cultural paradigms.

[182] Major commercial zones such as Supermatch, Nyiragongo Cement, and several key stations like Ihusi, IBB Service, AFRICOM, Ni Yetu, Tout Jeune, and GPI dominate the city's urban landscape.

[209] Historically, the colonial administration catalyzed economic development by introducing plantation agriculture in North Kivu's fertile highlands, establishing the region as a critical "food basket" for the Belgian Congo.

[210] The construction of a port in Keshero, later repositioned nearer to central Goma, augmented trade routes, integrating the city into a north-south economic corridor extending through Bunia, Rutshuru, Bukavu, Uvira, and Kalemie.

[210] In the post-independence era, these historical trade networks gained significance as the local population increasingly relied on informal and transborder economic activities to circumvent the exploitative practices of the Zairean state.

[210] By the 1980s, a substantial portion of agricultural production, including papaya, tea, cinchona, and coffee, was smuggled or exported through informal channels, with Goma International Airport playing a key role in this clandestine commerce.

[237] Ndosho, known for its bustling markets and brothels, is characterized by high crime rates and ethnic heterogeneity, while Mugunga, predominantly populated by Hutus, formerly hosted extensive refugee camps in the aftermath of the Rwandan genocide, alongside sizable IDPs settlements during periods of heightened conflict between the CNDP (and subsequently M23) and the FARDC from 2008 to 2010 and 2012 to 2013.