Cross-border identities in a context of rural-urban transformation in the DRC, the case of Kasumbalesa.

Christian Koba Fazili is a doctoral candidate in the Department of Conflict and Development Studies at Ghent University. His research focuses on cross-border identities in the context of rural-urban transformation in the DRC, with a particular emphasis on the case of Kasumbalesa. Since 2018, he has taught in the Department of Languages ​​and Business at the Faculty of Arts of the University of Lubumbashi, where he earned a bachelor’s degree and a first master’s degree in Languages ​​and Business. He also holds a second master’s degree in Peace and Governance from the Africa University in Zimbabwe, obtained through a scholarship. Before joining his current research team, Christian worked as a customs declarant for Polytra Congo SA, a Belgian-Congolese customs agency based in Katanga. This experience fueled his interest in cross-border mobility and trade, the dynamics of planned and unplanned trans-fraternal urban growth, identity dynamics and internal displacement, particularly from Kasai to Kasumbalesa. His work also extends to interlinguistic and intercultural contacts.