Kinshasa, 6 October 2025 (CPA).- President Félix Tshisekedi inaugurated the buildings constructed to modern standards at the Official University of Mbuji-Mayi (UOM) during a ceremony on Monday in the capital of the province of Kasaï Oriental, in the centre of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). « The Head of State has just inaugurated a gem. This is not a converted university, but a university built to modern standards, according to the designers. Our work took three years. It took only 40 months for us to be able to enjoy this large-scale university today.
This is a first for the greater Kasaï region. We salute and appreciate the efforts of the Head of State, Félix Tshisekedi, » said Willy Muya, President of the Provincial Assembly of Kasaï-Oriental. ‘Being rector of a university that has gone from shacks of shame to buildings of dignity is a source of great joy and, even more so, a call to responsibility,’ said the rector of the UOM, Professor Apollinaire Cibaka. He took the opportunity to call on the scientific community and administrative staff to ensure better preservation of the building.
This university complex comprises 16 lecture halls, each with 200 seats, two amphitheaters, each with 400 seats, and a fully equipped computer room with 60 workstations, a library with 44 tables and chairs for reading, and a student residence with 154 rooms, according to the provincial governor’s communications unit.
Created 32 years ago, this university institution benefits from modern infrastructure built by the central government on the instructions of President Félix Tshisekedi. This is the fulfillment of a promise made to the student youth of Kasai through the Government’s special program focused on the construction and modernization of higher education institutions, (Esu). In Kasaï Oriental, the UOM is the second large-scale TH. Infrastructure project inaugurated by President Tshisekedi in the space of ten months, after the Muya referral hospital.
Renaissance of Kasaï-Oriental
The main entrance to the official University of Mbuji-Mayi
In their reactions, political and administrative figures thanked the Government for this new endowment, which marks ‘the rebirth of the province’. « Through the construction and modernization of the Official University of Mbuji-Mayi, (…) the Head of State has confirmed that he is the great builder of the Democratic Republic of Congo (…) This is a momentous event for Kasaï Oriental, because since independence, it has been more than 65 years since Kasaï Oriental has had a university infrastructure of this size. For us, this is the rebirth of the province and of education for all the young people of Kasaï Oriental, » said Patrick Mukendi, Minister in charge of the Homeland of Kasaï Oriental.
The modernization work on the UOM was launched on April 19th, 2022 by the former Minister of Higher Education, Mohindo Nzangi. It was completed on September 29th, 2025.