Tshela (or Tsela) is the main town of Bas-fleuve district, in Bas-Congo Province in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). It was the birthplace of Joseph Kasa-Vubu, the first president of the Republic of Congo, after independence from Belgium, in 1960. The town was linked to the port of Boma, Congo by an isolated narrow gauge railway, the Mayumbe Line. This 610mm gauge line lasted from 1889–1984.