Revolt of Batetela

The Révolte of Batetela , so known are the name of Révolte of the avant-garde of the forwarding of the Nile was a movement insurectionnel which intervened between 1897 and 1898 against the authority of the State independent of Congo. It was primarily the fact of warriors Kasaï ens tetela who revolted against their officers following the execution of some their indigenous chiefs.

Recently removed from the question of the arabo-swahilis, the State independent of Congo wished to take again the forwardings towards the Nile and the Enclave of Lado, which could not have been concluded by the column Van Kerckhoven in 1891.

Forwarding Chaltin was to parallel to act a more important column ordered by Francis Dhanis, including/understanding 5.000 men, and who was to cross the forest of Aruwimi in direction of the Enclave of Lado. The soldiers were for the majority the old slave ones or Batetela, of which some were revolted one year earlier with Luluabourg.

Avant-garde of Dhanis, ordered by Leroy, and its three battalions of 1.000 each one, ordered by the captains Mathieu, Julien and Doorme, left the Stanley Falls in September 1896. Arrived the February 14th 1897 at the village of Dirfi, close to Dungu, this one revolted, the very same day where Chaltin reached the the Nile. Ten officers, of which Leroy, and warrant officers were killed. The mutineers attacked then Dhanis with Ekwanga the March 18th which, undergoing a heavy defeat in particular by the defection of 500 of its men, due to withdraw towards Avakubi then Stanley Falls. Ten officers were killed, of which a brother of Dhanis. Revolted also took the direction of Stanley Falls, destroying the various stations on their passage, but turned over finally towards the east.

The lieutenant Josué Henry, who had remained in Avakubi, inflicted accompanied by 700 soldiers on the Lindi (current Rivière Tshopo ) in the west of the Lac Albert a first defeat with the tetelas the July 15th which dispersed. Lieutenant Sannaes also gained a victory with Katue, and the Doorme captain also beat them with Biko on the Lowa the December 20th. He reformed himself more in the south, in the Kivu, and had to face the Dubois column, operation during which this last was killed. Dhanis prévut to await them Micici on the Elila; but sick, it left the command to Van Gele, but taken again quickly following the also failing health condition of this last. Revolted then took Uvira on the Lac Tanganyika. Dhanis was then with Kasongo.

Revolted resisted the various attacks of the troops of the EIC: the commander Langhans was in particular killed during the engagements. The column Length returned to Kabambare. Batetela evacuated then the area by the road of Mtowa and settled in the impenetrable marshes of Sungula.

They attacked then Kabambare and the Arab chiefs united with them. Vis-a-vis supernumerary troops then, the troops of the EIC had to beat a retreat on Kasongo. Lieutenant Sterckx in particular found death during these engagements.

Dhanis gathered and reorganized the troops with Kasongo. 4 columns were to make it possible to take again the offensive on Kabambare: the Dhanis column, the Sund column, the Meyers column and the column Delhaise.

The columns Delhaise and Meyers attacked the revolted December 31st 1898 gathered with Mwana-Ndebwa (20 km in the east of Kabambare). The victory of the troops of the EIC was acquired at the end of two hours, and their adversaries put in escape. A last combat was held in the area of the marshes of Sungula, which was the signal of the rout of revolted.

Revolted tribes Babuy' gave their rifles to their chiefs to return them to the troop of the EIC. The others passed in German territory where they were disarmed. It were gathered near Udjiji.

In Kivu, a troop from some 2.500 revolted, ordered by Cungufu, took refuge in the mountains close to Fizi. They were finally overcome, in Oct. 1898, by Cdt. C. Heck (of the army of Dhanis) with Baraka and Kaboge (or Cungufu found death). The hundred respcapés went, to some extent, to Lt Portemans, the others passed in Oost Deutsche Afrika, where they went without condition. Heck left the account of its two battles (Bxl., 1902).

See too

Random links: