Tshela is the main town of Bas-fleuve district, in Bas-Congo Province

Bas-Congo

Bas-Congo is one of the eleven provinces of the Democratic Republic of the Congo. It is the only province with a coastline and it borders Bandundu province to the east and Kinshasa to the northeast...

 in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). It was the birthplace of Joseph Kasa-Vubu

Joseph Kasa-Vubu

Joseph Kasa-Vubu was the first President of the Republic of the Congo, today called Democratic Republic of the Congo....

, the first president of the Republic of Congo, after independence from Belgium

Belgium

Belgium , officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a federal state in Western Europe. It is a founding member of the European Union and hosts the EU's headquarters, and those of several other major international organisations such as NATO.Belgium is also a member of, or affiliated to, many...

, in 1960. The town was linked to the port of Boma, Congo by an isolated narrow gauge railway. This 610mm gauge line lasted from 1889–1984.