[9][10][11][12][13] Justin Bitakwira Bihona-Hayi was born on 5 December 1960, to a Fuliiru herder and farmer, Somora Mugambire, in Lemera, Bafuliiru Chiefdom, Uvira Territory, within the South Kivu Province of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC).

He then continued his secondary studies at Stella Maris College (now Institut Mwanga D'Uvira) in Uvira, where he obtained his state diploma in playwriting in 1978.

On 5 August 1987, Bitakwira spearheaded a collective of young aspirants from Uvira in drafting an open epistle addressed to President Mobutu Sese Seko, intending to deliver it to the Zaire Embassy in Bujumbura.

He was introduced to Laurent-Désiré Kabila by his former companions from Uvira, who had aligned themselves with the Alliance of Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Congo (AFDL) in April 1998.

[15][16] In 2000, he galvanized a group of over 15,000 youths in front of the Belgian Embassy in Kinshasa to vehemently protest against the arrest warrant issued against Abdoulaye Yerodia Ndombasi.