Kamituga is a mining town in the Mwenga Territory, South Kivu Province in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

For MGL, it was difficult to halt such ‘illegal’ activities as artisanal miners and traders were to a certain extent protected by local political and customary elites.

The problem with the artisanal miners only grew bigger, as both the search for economic opportunities and the hope to get access to social services fueled Kamituga’s population growth.

[4] Though during the short rule of the Free Republic of the Congo in southern Kivu many Europeans were robbed, beaten, and harassed, with many choosing to flee the area, while over 200 Congolese were killed.

[6] In March 1976, MGL merged into SOMINKI (Société Minière et Industrielle du Kivu) with 8 other mining companies.

[7] This new company invested a lot in the town, employing about 2,000 to 3,000 workers,[3] constructing local infrastructures, and providing social services at major mining sites.

A sense some security in the town and the hope to find economic opportunities in the informal mineral trade intensified the migration from rural areas to Kamituga, which saw its population more than double over the course of the wars.

Banro tried to reclaim its concessions through legal mechanisms and, in 2002, finally reached a new agreement with president Joseph Kabila, who came to power after his father was murdered.