Union of Federalists and Independent Republicans
Union of Federalists and Independent Republicans Union des fédéralistes et des Républicains Indépendants | |
|---|---|
| Abbreviation | UFERI |
| Leaders | Jean Nguza Karl-i-Bond (until 2003) Gabriel Kyungu (until 1996) Kavidi Wivine N'Landu (1994–?) |
| Founder | Jean Nguza Karl-i-Bond |
| Founded | August 1990 |
| Registered | January 1991 |
| Merger of | Fenadec PRI |
| Succeeded by | UNAFEC |
| Youth wing | JUFERI |
| Ideology | Federalism Regionalism Anti-Kasaian racism (until 1994) |
| Political position | Right-wing |
| United Nations Mission |
|---|
| Democratic Republic of the Congo portal |
.svg){kind=link}
The Union of Federalists and Independent Republicans (French: Union des fédéralistes et des Républicains Indépendants, UFERI) is a political party in Democratic Republic of the Congo that advocates for Federalism with significant autonomy for the provinces. During the 1990s, it also adopted an explicit policy of ethnic cleansing Luba Kasaians in Katanga. Although the party's primary support base comes from Katanga, it gained some support in Kongo Central during the early 1990s.
Originally an opposition party, the UFERI later aligned itself with Mobutu's regime, leading state-sanctioned pogroms against ethnic Luba from Kasai under its youth militia, the JUFERI (Jeunesses de l'Union des Fédéralistes et des Républicains Independents), from 1992 to 1994. In 1996, the party was banned from organizing political activities in Katanga, split, and, since the death of its founder in July 2003, "there has been little reference to UFERI activity."