[5] The most important town in the river basin is Boende on the Tshuapa, 29 kilometres (18 mi) upstream from where it joins the Lomela to form the Busira.

[7] It enters the Congo from the east, flowing past the north of the town of Mbandaka.

[3] The explorer Henry Morton Stanley visited the region, and called the Ruki the Mohindu River.

[9] A local man from Bungata named the river Buruki (Ruki) or Mohindu, meaning "Black".

[9] The Ruki River was used as a location for the movie The African Queen starring Humphrey Bogart and Katharine Hepburn.