It roughly corresponded in area to the present Maniema province.

Henry Morton Stanley explored the area, which he called Manyema after the Bantu people who lived there.

[3] Maniema District became part of the Orientale Province created in 1913.

The boundaries of Maniema and Kivu had been adjusted, and these two districts made up Costermansville Province.

[7] The area was 132,300 square kilometres (51,100 sq mi) out of a total of 259,000 square kilometres (100,000 sq mi) for Kivu province as a whole.