Ngweshe Chiefdom

The Ngweshe Chiefdom (French: Chefferie de Ngweshe) is a chiefdom located in Walungu Territory, within the South Kivu Province of the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Covering an area of 1,599 square kilometers, it shares borders with Kabare Territory to the north, Rwanda and Burundi to the northeast, Mwenga Territory and Shabunda Territory to the south, and Kaziba Chiefdom to the east. According to the territory's 2018 annual report, the chiefdom has an estimated population of 672,436.

Ngweshe is administratively divided into 16 groupements, which are further subdivided into villages (localités). The Bashi people form the majority population, alongside smaller communities of Barega, Bafuliiru, and Bavira. The chiefdom is governed by a traditional leader known as the Mwami. The most widely spoken language is Mashi, while French serves as the official language and Kiswahili as a national lingua franca. Ngweshe Chiefdom has been regarded as a major agricultural hub of South Kivu, with an economy based on subsistence and industrial farming, livestock breeding, and trade. Among the Bushi chiefdoms, Ngweshe Chiefdom and Kabare Chiefdom are considered the most prominent in terms of land area, population, and cultural influence.