our team
Anasthasie TUDIESHE
Press attaché and PR
Co-founder
Déo KASONGO
Communication, Advertising, Digital and Media expert
Co-founder
Fidélie PALANKOY
Legal advisor
Co-founder
Jean Paul KIBAMBE
Professor UNIKIN
Co-founder
Jules DEBOUTTE
Conservation Biologist
Co-founder
Jules KASEYA
Expert Accountant
Co-founder
Leon HABERKORN
film maker
Co-founder
Marcel COLLET
Herpetologist
Co-founder
Maximilien MULAND KAYIJ
Agronomic Engineer
Co-founder
Nouria MUKABA
Public Relations
Co-founder
Olivier MUSHIETE
Agricultural engineer
Co-founder
Victor DEBOUTTE
Conservation Biologist
Co-founder
READ MORE
Anasthasie TUDIESHE
Anasthasie is a journalist from the DRC and has worked for Voice of America, an American international broadcasting organization, since 2015. Prior to this, she worked in various French media for 12 years, collaborating with television channels RFI and TV5 Monde. She was also the radio host for Africa n1 and presenter of the program “Africamix”. During her successful journalism career, she has reported on numerous political, social, and environmental issues in central Africa. Hence, she brings her extensive experience in media to the foundation and will be pivotal in addressing the national & international press, and public in order to showcase the positive changes that will be taking Bombo Lumene.
Déo KASONGO
Déo is a successful entrepreneur, and the founder and owner of the DIVO group (Des Idées qui Valent de l’Or), one of the most prolific advertising agencies in the DRC. He is also the owner of Kinshasa’s biggest concert and entertainment venue, Showbuzz. Furthermore, he set up a modern recording studio called Studio350 in which his radio station BuzzFM and television channel D9TV are located. He also has a keen interest in environmental issues and preserving the DRC’s rich biodiversity, and is an avid supporter of any cause which promotes a positive image of the DRC. His wealth of experience and entertainment and media platforms will prove valuable in documenting & broadcasting the work of the foundation.
Fidélie PALANKOY
Fidélie is a lawyer at the Kinshasa Matete bar, having been licensed in law in 2017 from the Protestant University in the DRC. Since 2019, she has worked in Kinshasa for Boris Mbuku Laka firm where she oversees legal, commercial, and real estate cases among others. She has also interned at W Legal, an English law firm based in London, which specialized in anti-corruption and bribery laws. In addition to her legal training, she completed a course in international marketing at SOAS University of London in 2018. With a love for nature, wildlife, and conservation of endangered species, she will be a great asset both in the internal organizing of the non-profit organization as well as for giving support and guidance in legal issues regarding the Bombo Lumene reserve and hunting domain.
Jean Paul KIBAMBE
Jean-Paul Kibambe Lubamba is an Associate Professor at the University of Kinshasa. His research focuses on using geospatial information and developing GIS-based models and tools for land-use planning, land-use and land-cover change mapping/modeling and forest monitoring through remote sensing, particularly in the context of REDD+ implementation in DRC. He is also the GIS and Climate Change Coordinator of the Wildlife Conservation Society Program in the DRC. He holds a PhD degree in Biological, Agronomic and Environmental Engineering. His skills are vital for zoning and GIS mapping of the Bombo Lumene reserve and hunting domain, as well as the larger “Corridor Écologique du Plateau de Bateke” (CEBAT). Furthermore, his scientific expertise and conservation experience are a most welcome asset to the foundation.
Jules DEBOUTTE
Jules spent his childhood growing up in the Democratic Republic of Congo. Having the privilege of visiting national parks across Africa instilled in him his love for nature and wildlife conservation at an early age. Jules later went on to obtain a Bachelor’s degree in Ecology and Conservation and is currently completing his Master’s in International Business and Management at Royal Holloway, University of London. It was while completing his degree in ecology that he rediscovered the Bombo Lumene reserve. Although he occasionally visited Bombo Lumene while growing up, he never once saw a large mammal and believed the reserve to be devoid of large mammals (a thought shared by the majority of people living in Kinshasa to this day). However, a sighting of an antelope in early 2018 changed everything. He later returned to Bombo Lumene armed with 20 camera traps to complete his final year research project on the diversity of mammals surviving in the reserve. He continued to search for wildlife with his brother Victor Deboutte, and cousin Leon Haberkorn, and shared their findings online as a passion project titled, “Expedition Bombo Lumene”. While visiting Bombo Lumene he also witnessed the reserve suffer under the pressure of increased poaching, logging, and charcoal production. In early 2021, he turned his passion project into an NGO in order to assist the reserve in tackling these challenges and founded Fondation Bombo Lumene.
Jules KASEYA
Jules is an Auditor and Tax Specialist from the DRC. He has over 9 years of professional experience in auditing international and local companies, and assisting entities on tax and legal issues based on the DRC tax regulations. At one stage in his career, he worked for GPO Partners, which is the former Deloitte representative firm in the DRC. Deloitte is one of the leading global providers of audit and assurance, consulting, financial advisory, risk advisory, tax, and related services. At the foundation, Jules will take care of all accounting and fiscal matters, and will be crucial in producing accessible and transparent financial reporting for all to consult.
Leon HABERKORN
Leon completed his undergraduate degree in film and cinematography at the LUCA School of Arts in Brussels and is currently pursuing his postgraduate degree in journalism at the University of Antwerp. His childhood passion for wildlife was further magnified by his travels throughout Africa and his visits to his family in the DRC. He quickly realised he could combine his passion with his studies and went on to work for Parc Marin des Mangroves, and Lola ya Bonobo, capturing videos and photographs for fundraising events, campaigns, and social media, and creating short documentaries and informative videos. In 2018, Leon joined Jules and Victor Deboutte on an expedition to document and reveal the incredible biodiversity of Bombo Lumene and instantly fell in love with the reserve. He created a short documentary-style video titled, “Expedition Bombo Lumene” to show the public the beauty and conservation value of the reserve. As media consultant, Leon continues to create content, run our social media accounts and website, and assist with fundraising and promotional activities.
Marcel COLLET
Marcel was the park director of the Parc marin des mangroves, a 768 km2 national park and Ramsar site which protects the Congo River mouth, as well as the DRC’s 37 km long Atlantic coastline. He held this position since 2012 and did remarkable work protecting the DRC’s threatened mangrove forests from deforestation, as well as conserving the park’s biodiversity which includes marine turtles and West African manatees. He was born into a family of coffee growers, and grew up in the forests surrounding Kisangani in the DRC. As a result, he was passionate about nature from a noticeably young age. He studied Zoology and went on to become the DRC’s foremost herpetologist, with several scientific publications to his name. He was a member of the Anti-Venom Center at the University of Kinshasa (UNIKIN) and ran a private snake park for years in the hills of Mbinza, introducing numerous generations of children to the fascinating wildlife of the DRC. Professionally, he worked with DRC’s wildlife and protected areas for close to 40 years, and was the ICCN park director at Garamba national park in the early 2000s. His extensive practical experience in conserving various protected areas throughout the DRC was fundamental to the success of the creation of Fondation Bombo Lumene. Tragically, in early 2022, Marcel passed away. He will continue to serve as a role model for all of us at Fondation Bombo Lumene and we are forever grateful for all his help.
Maximilien MULAND KAYIJ
Maximilien is an agricultural engineer with a keen interest in nature, organic food, and the DRC’s biodiversity. He was born in Likasi, in the Haut Katanga province of the DRC. He completed his studies at the Catholic University of Louvain and completed his training at the Institute of Administration and Management (IAG) of the UC of Louvain followed by a Business training at the Zimbabwe Institute of Management. He has led, organized, and participated in several seminars and conferences both in the DRC and abroad (Zimbabwe, Congo Brazzaville, France, Belgium, Germany, etc.) Professionally he has worked for 25 years in the fields of agro-food and livestock within both the private and public sectors. He has held numerous positions such as consultant /UNIDO national expert for the agri-food sector, Coordinator and Secretary General of the Tropical Agroveterinary Center of Kinshasa (CAVTK), FDC correspondent of the Belgian non-profit organization, Office for the exchange and distribution of information on mini-breeding, B.E.D.I.M., and Coordinator of the publication of the scientific journal Troupeaux et Cultures des Tropiques. His expertise in sustainable agriculture will be extremely useful in designing food programs to benefit the communities surrounding Bombo Lumene as well as food self-sufficiency programs for Bombo Lumene’s rangers and staff, as well as their families.
Nouria MUKABA
Nouria is a young, early career journalist from Kinshasa, DRC. She was an intern at AFRICA TV, and has collaborated with ECO NEWS. She holds a Bachelor’s degree in foreign political journalism and graduated in communications from ifasic. She did her secondary and humanitarian studies in latin/philosophy at the bosangani/sacré-coeur high school. She is very passionate about communicating environmental issues and has a particular affinity for ecology and conservation. She will help to implement a communications strategy that will aid the foundation in achieving its goals.
Olivier MUSHIETE
Olivier is the current director general of the Congolese Institute for Nature Conservation (ICCN), which oversees the protection of the DRC’s protected areas. Prior to this, Olivier served as the site manager for the Bombo Lumene hunting and nature reserve. He has also worked for numerous other organizations including a brief period at the Kinshasa headquarters of the German development bank (KfW). Originally from the Batéké region, he is one of the driving forces behind the Batéké Plateau Ecological Corridor (CEBAT) project, creating a 35,000km² protected area with Bombo Lumene at its heart. Furthermore, he has been heavily involved with Ibi Village: a carbon sink plantation project situated opposite Bombo Lumene. As such, he brings valuable experience in working with local communities to Fondation Bombo Lumene, and thus contributing to the success of our community conservation and development programs. Since being nominated as the director general of the ICCN however, he no longer has an active role in the foundation itself, yet remains one of our co-founders.
Victor DEBOUTTE
Victor is currently pursuing a Master of science degree in Biodiversity, Conservation & Management at the University of Oxford. Prior to this, he obtained a Bachelor of Science degree in Ecology & Environmental Biology from Imperial College London. His interest in nature and wildlife began at a young age, having explored many protected areas throughout Africa. As he grew up in Kinshasa, DRC, he visited Bombo Lumene numerous times during his childhood. In 2018, he returned to the reserve to join his brother Jules Deboutte and cousin Leon Haberkorn on an expedition to try and investigate the presence of any remaining wildlife in Bombo Lumene. After finding signs of many different species including forest buffaloes, pangolins and side-striped jackals, the team returned the following year. With the help of 20 camera traps they were able to document and reveal the incredible biodiversity of Bombo Lumene. They shared their findings with the world through the use of social media in an effort to showcase the reserve’s conservation value and ecotourism potential. Witnessing the ongoing deforestation and poaching in Bombo Lumene, and seeing the reserve’s immense potential under threat, prompted him to co-found Fondation Bombo Lumene in an effort to conserve the reserve and its wildlife.
our team
Anasthasie TUDIESHE
Press attaché and PR
Co-founder
Déo KASONGO
Communication, Advertising, Digital and Media expert
Co-founder
Fidélie PALANKOY
Legal advisor
Co-founder
Jean Paul KIBAMBE
Professor UNIKIN
Co-founder
Jules DEBOUTTE
Conservation Biologist
Co-founder
Jules KASEYA
Expert Accountant
Co-founder
Leon HABERKORN
film maker
Co-founder
Marcel COLLET
Herpetologist
Co-founder
Maximilien MULAND KAYIJ
Agronomic Engineer
Co-founder
Nouria MUKABA
Public Relations
Co-founder
Olivier MUSHIETE
Agricultural engineer
Co-founder
Victor DEBOUTTE
Conservation Biologist
Co-founder
READ MORE
Anasthasie TUDIESHE
Anasthasie is a journalist from the DRC and has worked for Voice of America, an American international broadcasting organization, since 2015. Prior to this, she worked in various French media for 12 years, collaborating with television channels RFI and TV5 Monde. She was also the radio host for Africa n1 and presenter of the program “Africamix”. During her successful journalism career, she has reported on numerous political, social, and environmental issues in central Africa. Hence, she brings her extensive experience in media to the foundation and will be pivotal in addressing the national & international press, and public in order to showcase the positive changes that will be taking Bombo Lumene.
Déo KASONGO
Déo is a successful entrepreneur, and the founder and owner of the DIVO group (Des Idées qui Valent de l’Or), one of the most prolific advertising agencies in the DRC. He is also the owner of Kinshasa’s biggest concert and entertainment venue, Showbuzz. Furthermore, he set up a modern recording studio called Studio350 in which his radio station BuzzFM and television channel D9TV are located. He also has a keen interest in environmental issues and preserving the DRC’s rich biodiversity, and is an avid supporter of any cause which promotes a positive image of the DRC. His wealth of experience and entertainment and media platforms will prove valuable in documenting & broadcasting the work of the foundation.
Fidélie PALANKOY
Fidélie is a lawyer at the Kinshasa Matete bar, having been licensed in law in 2017 from the Protestant University in the DRC. Since 2019, she has worked in Kinshasa for Boris Mbuku Laka firm where she oversees legal, commercial, and real estate cases among others. She has also interned at W Legal, an English law firm based in London, which specialized in anti-corruption and bribery laws. In addition to her legal training, she completed a course in international marketing at SOAS University of London in 2018. With a love for nature, wildlife, and conservation of endangered species, she will be a great asset both in the internal organizing of the non-profit organization as well as for giving support and guidance in legal issues regarding the Bombo Lumene reserve and hunting domain.
Jean Paul KIBAMBE
Jean-Paul Kibambe Lubamba is an Associate Professor at the University of Kinshasa. His research focuses on using geospatial information and developing GIS-based models and tools for land-use planning, land-use and land-cover change mapping/modeling and forest monitoring through remote sensing, particularly in the context of REDD+ implementation in DRC. He is also the GIS and Climate Change Coordinator of the Wildlife Conservation Society Program in the DRC. He holds a PhD degree in Biological, Agronomic and Environmental Engineering. His skills are vital for zoning and GIS mapping of the Bombo Lumene reserve and hunting domain, as well as the larger “Corridor Écologique du Plateau de Bateke” (CEBAT). Furthermore, his scientific expertise and conservation experience are a most welcome asset to the foundation.
Jules DEBOUTTE
Jules spent his childhood growing up in the Democratic Republic of Congo. Having the privilege of visiting national parks across Africa instilled in him his love for nature and wildlife conservation at an early age. Jules later went on to obtain a Bachelor’s degree in Ecology and Conservation and is currently completing his Master’s in International Business and Management at Royal Holloway, University of London. It was while completing his degree in ecology that he rediscovered the Bombo Lumene reserve. Although he occasionally visited Bombo Lumene while growing up, he never once saw a large mammal and believed the reserve to be devoid of large mammals (a thought shared by the majority of people living in Kinshasa to this day). However, a sighting of an antelope in early 2018 changed everything. He later returned to Bombo Lumene armed with 20 camera traps to complete his final year research project on the diversity of mammals surviving in the reserve. He continued to search for wildlife with his brother Victor Deboutte, and cousin Leon Haberkorn, and shared their findings online as a passion project titled, “Expedition Bombo Lumene”. While visiting Bombo Lumene he also witnessed the reserve suffer under the pressure of increased poaching, logging, and charcoal production. In early 2021, he turned his passion project into an NGO in order to assist the reserve in tackling these challenges and founded Fondation Bombo Lumene.
Jules KASEYA
Jules is an Auditor and Tax Specialist from the DRC. He has over 9 years of professional experience in auditing international and local companies, and assisting entities on tax and legal issues based on the DRC tax regulations. At one stage in his career, he worked for GPO Partners, which is the former Deloitte representative firm in the DRC. Deloitte is one of the leading global providers of audit and assurance, consulting, financial advisory, risk advisory, tax, and related services. At the foundation, Jules will take care of all accounting and fiscal matters, and will be crucial in producing accessible and transparent financial reporting for all to consult.
Leon HABERKORN
Leon completed his undergraduate degree in film and cinematography at the LUCA School of Arts in Brussels and is currently pursuing his postgraduate degree in journalism at the University of Antwerp. His childhood passion for wildlife was further magnified by his travels throughout Africa and his visits to his family in the DRC. He quickly realised he could combine his passion with his studies and went on to work for Parc Marin des Mangroves, and Lola ya Bonobo, capturing videos and photographs for fundraising events, campaigns, and social media, and creating short documentaries and informative videos. In 2018, Leon joined Jules and Victor Deboutte on an expedition to document and reveal the incredible biodiversity of Bombo Lumene and instantly fell in love with the reserve. He created a short documentary-style video titled, “Expedition Bombo Lumene” to show the public the beauty and conservation value of the reserve. As media consultant, Leon continues to create content, run our social media accounts and website, and assist with fundraising and promotional activities.
Marcel COLLET
Marcel was the park director of the Parc marin des mangroves, a 768 km2 national park and Ramsar site which protects the Congo River mouth, as well as the DRC’s 37 km long Atlantic coastline. He held this position since 2012 and did remarkable work protecting the DRC’s threatened mangrove forests from deforestation, as well as conserving the park’s biodiversity which includes marine turtles and West African manatees. He was born into a family of coffee growers, and grew up in the forests surrounding Kisangani in the DRC. As a result, he was passionate about nature from a noticeably young age. He studied Zoology and went on to become the DRC’s foremost herpetologist, with several scientific publications to his name. He was a member of the Anti-Venom Center at the University of Kinshasa (UNIKIN) and ran a private snake park for years in the hills of Mbinza, introducing numerous generations of children to the fascinating wildlife of the DRC. Professionally, he worked with DRC’s wildlife and protected areas for close to 40 years, and was the ICCN park director at Garamba national park in the early 2000s. His extensive practical experience in conserving various protected areas throughout the DRC was fundamental to the success of the creation of Fondation Bombo Lumene. Tragically, in early 2022, Marcel passed away. He will continue to serve as a role model for all of us at Fondation Bombo Lumene and we are forever grateful for all his help.
Maximilien MULAND KAYIJ
Maximilien is an agricultural engineer with a keen interest in nature, organic food, and the DRC’s biodiversity. He was born in Likasi, in the Haut Katanga province of the DRC. He completed his studies at the Catholic University of Louvain and completed his training at the Institute of Administration and Management (IAG) of the UC of Louvain followed by a Business training at the Zimbabwe Institute of Management. He has led, organized, and participated in several seminars and conferences both in the DRC and abroad (Zimbabwe, Congo Brazzaville, France, Belgium, Germany, etc.) Professionally he has worked for 25 years in the fields of agro-food and livestock within both the private and public sectors. He has held numerous positions such as consultant /UNIDO national expert for the agri-food sector, Coordinator and Secretary General of the Tropical Agroveterinary Center of Kinshasa (CAVTK), FDC correspondent of the Belgian non-profit organization, Office for the exchange and distribution of information on mini-breeding, B.E.D.I.M., and Coordinator of the publication of the scientific journal Troupeaux et Cultures des Tropiques. His expertise in sustainable agriculture will be extremely useful in designing food programs to benefit the communities surrounding Bombo Lumene as well as food self-sufficiency programs for Bombo Lumene’s rangers and staff, as well as their families.
Nouria MUKABA
Nouria is a young, early career journalist from Kinshasa, DRC. She was an intern at AFRICA TV, and has collaborated with ECO NEWS. She holds a Bachelor’s degree in foreign political journalism and graduated in communications from ifasic. She did her secondary and humanitarian studies in latin/philosophy at the bosangani/sacré-coeur high school. She is very passionate about communicating environmental issues and has a particular affinity for ecology and conservation. She will help to implement a communications strategy that will aid the foundation in achieving its goals.
Olivier MUSHIETE
Olivier is the current director general of the Congolese Institute for Nature Conservation (ICCN), which oversees the protection of the DRC’s protected areas. Prior to this, Olivier served as the site manager for the Bombo Lumene hunting and nature reserve. He has also worked for numerous other organizations including a brief period at the Kinshasa headquarters of the German development bank (KfW). Originally from the Batéké region, he is one of the driving forces behind the Batéké Plateau Ecological Corridor (CEBAT) project, creating a 35,000km² protected area with Bombo Lumene at its heart. Furthermore, he has been heavily involved with Ibi Village: a carbon sink plantation project situated opposite Bombo Lumene. As such, he brings valuable experience in working with local communities to Fondation Bombo Lumene, and thus contributing to the success of our community conservation and development programs. Since being nominated as the director general of the ICCN however, he no longer has an active role in the foundation itself, yet remains one of our co-founders.
Victor DEBOUTTE
Victor is currently pursuing a Master of science degree in Biodiversity, Conservation & Management at the University of Oxford. Prior to this, he obtained a Bachelor of Science degree in Ecology & Environmental Biology from Imperial College London. His interest in nature and wildlife began at a young age, having explored many protected areas throughout Africa. As he grew up in Kinshasa, DRC, he visited Bombo Lumene numerous times during his childhood. In 2018, he returned to the reserve to join his brother Jules Deboutte and cousin Leon Haberkorn on an expedition to try and investigate the presence of any remaining wildlife in Bombo Lumene. After finding signs of many different species including forest buffaloes, pangolins and side-striped jackals, the team returned the following year. With the help of 20 camera traps they were able to document and reveal the incredible biodiversity of Bombo Lumene. They shared their findings with the world through the use of social media in an effort to showcase the reserve’s conservation value and ecotourism potential. Witnessing the ongoing deforestation and poaching in Bombo Lumene, and seeing the reserve’s immense potential under threat, prompted him to co-found Fondation Bombo Lumene in an effort to conserve the reserve and its wildlife.
our team
Anasthasie TUDIESHE
Press attaché and PR
Co-founder
Déo KASONGO
Communication, Advertising, Digital and Media expert
Co-founder
Fidélie PALANKOY
Legal advisor
Co-founder
Jean Paul KIBAMBE
Professor UNIKIN
Co-founder
Jules DEBOUTTE
Conservation Biologist
Co-founder
Jules KASEYA
Expert Accountant
Co-founder
Leon HABERKORN
film maker
Co-founder
Marcel COLLET
Herpetologist
Co-founder
Maximilien MULAND KAYIJ
Agronomic Engineer
Co-founder
Nouria MUKABA
Public Relations
Co-founder
Olivier MUSHIETE
Agricultural engineer
Co-founder
Victor DEBOUTTE
Conservation Biologist
Co-founder
READ MORE
Anasthasie TUDIESHE
Anasthasie is a journalist from the DRC and has worked for Voice of America, an American international broadcasting organization, since 2015. Prior to this, she worked in various French media for 12 years, collaborating with television channels RFI and TV5 Monde. She was also the radio host for Africa n1 and presenter of the program “Africamix”. During her successful journalism career, she has reported on numerous political, social, and environmental issues in central Africa. Hence, she brings her extensive experience in media to the foundation and will be pivotal in addressing the national & international press, and public in order to showcase the positive changes that will be taking Bombo Lumene.
Déo KASONGO
Déo is a successful entrepreneur, and the founder and owner of the DIVO group (Des Idées qui Valent de l’Or), one of the most prolific advertising agencies in the DRC. He is also the owner of Kinshasa’s biggest concert and entertainment venue, Showbuzz. Furthermore, he set up a modern recording studio called Studio350 in which his radio station BuzzFM and television channel D9TV are located. He also has a keen interest in environmental issues and preserving the DRC’s rich biodiversity, and is an avid supporter of any cause which promotes a positive image of the DRC. His wealth of experience and entertainment and media platforms will prove valuable in documenting & broadcasting the work of the foundation.
Fidélie PALANKOY
Fidélie is a lawyer at the Kinshasa Matete bar, having been licensed in law in 2017 from the Protestant University in the DRC. Since 2019, she has worked in Kinshasa for Boris Mbuku Laka firm where she oversees legal, commercial, and real estate cases among others. She has also interned at W Legal, an English law firm based in London, which specialized in anti-corruption and bribery laws. In addition to her legal training, she completed a course in international marketing at SOAS University of London in 2018. With a love for nature, wildlife, and conservation of endangered species, she will be a great asset both in the internal organizing of the non-profit organization as well as for giving support and guidance in legal issues regarding the Bombo Lumene reserve and hunting domain.
Jean Paul KIBAMBE
Jean-Paul Kibambe Lubamba is an Associate Professor at the University of Kinshasa. His research focuses on using geospatial information and developing GIS-based models and tools for land-use planning, land-use and land-cover change mapping/modeling and forest monitoring through remote sensing, particularly in the context of REDD+ implementation in DRC. He is also the GIS and Climate Change Coordinator of the Wildlife Conservation Society Program in the DRC. He holds a PhD degree in Biological, Agronomic and Environmental Engineering. His skills are vital for zoning and GIS mapping of the Bombo Lumene reserve and hunting domain, as well as the larger “Corridor Écologique du Plateau de Bateke” (CEBAT). Furthermore, his scientific expertise and conservation experience are a most welcome asset to the foundation.
Jules DEBOUTTE
Jules spent his childhood growing up in the Democratic Republic of Congo. Having the privilege of visiting national parks across Africa instilled in him his love for nature and wildlife conservation at an early age. Jules later went on to obtain a Bachelor’s degree in Ecology and Conservation and is currently completing his Master’s in International Business and Management at Royal Holloway, University of London. It was while completing his degree in ecology that he rediscovered the Bombo Lumene reserve. Although he occasionally visited Bombo Lumene while growing up, he never once saw a large mammal and believed the reserve to be devoid of large mammals (a thought shared by the majority of people living in Kinshasa to this day). However, a sighting of an antelope in early 2018 changed everything. He later returned to Bombo Lumene armed with 20 camera traps to complete his final year research project on the diversity of mammals surviving in the reserve. He continued to search for wildlife with his brother Victor Deboutte, and cousin Leon Haberkorn, and shared their findings online as a passion project titled, “Expedition Bombo Lumene”. While visiting Bombo Lumene he also witnessed the reserve suffer under the pressure of increased poaching, logging, and charcoal production. In early 2021, he turned his passion project into an NGO in order to assist the reserve in tackling these challenges and founded Fondation Bombo Lumene.
Jules KASEYA
Jules is an Auditor and Tax Specialist from the DRC. He has over 9 years of professional experience in auditing international and local companies, and assisting entities on tax and legal issues based on the DRC tax regulations. At one stage in his career, he worked for GPO Partners, which is the former Deloitte representative firm in the DRC. Deloitte is one of the leading global providers of audit and assurance, consulting, financial advisory, risk advisory, tax, and related services. At the foundation, Jules will take care of all accounting and fiscal matters, and will be crucial in producing accessible and transparent financial reporting for all to consult.
Leon HABERKORN
Leon completed his undergraduate degree in film and cinematography at the LUCA School of Arts in Brussels and is currently pursuing his postgraduate degree in journalism at the University of Antwerp. His childhood passion for wildlife was further magnified by his travels throughout Africa and his visits to his family in the DRC. He quickly realised he could combine his passion with his studies and went on to work for Parc Marin des Mangroves, and Lola ya Bonobo, capturing videos and photographs for fundraising events, campaigns, and social media, and creating short documentaries and informative videos. In 2018, Leon joined Jules and Victor Deboutte on an expedition to document and reveal the incredible biodiversity of Bombo Lumene and instantly fell in love with the reserve. He created a short documentary-style video titled, “Expedition Bombo Lumene” to show the public the beauty and conservation value of the reserve. As media consultant, Leon continues to create content, run our social media accounts and website, and assist with fundraising and promotional activities.
Marcel COLLET
Marcel was the park director of the Parc marin des mangroves, a 768 km2 national park and Ramsar site which protects the Congo River mouth, as well as the DRC’s 37 km long Atlantic coastline. He held this position since 2012 and did remarkable work protecting the DRC’s threatened mangrove forests from deforestation, as well as conserving the park’s biodiversity which includes marine turtles and West African manatees. He was born into a family of coffee growers, and grew up in the forests surrounding Kisangani in the DRC. As a result, he was passionate about nature from a noticeably young age. He studied Zoology and went on to become the DRC’s foremost herpetologist, with several scientific publications to his name. He was a member of the Anti-Venom Center at the University of Kinshasa (UNIKIN) and ran a private snake park for years in the hills of Mbinza, introducing numerous generations of children to the fascinating wildlife of the DRC. Professionally, he worked with DRC’s wildlife and protected areas for close to 40 years, and was the ICCN park director at Garamba national park in the early 2000s. His extensive practical experience in conserving various protected areas throughout the DRC was fundamental to the success of the creation of Fondation Bombo Lumene. Tragically, in early 2022, Marcel passed away. He will continue to serve as a role model for all of us at Fondation Bombo Lumene and we are forever grateful for all his help.
Maximilien MULAND KAYIJ
Maximilien is an agricultural engineer with a keen interest in nature, organic food, and the DRC’s biodiversity. He was born in Likasi, in the Haut Katanga province of the DRC. He completed his studies at the Catholic University of Louvain and completed his training at the Institute of Administration and Management (IAG) of the UC of Louvain followed by a Business training at the Zimbabwe Institute of Management. He has led, organized, and participated in several seminars and conferences both in the DRC and abroad (Zimbabwe, Congo Brazzaville, France, Belgium, Germany, etc.) Professionally he has worked for 25 years in the fields of agro-food and livestock within both the private and public sectors. He has held numerous positions such as consultant /UNIDO national expert for the agri-food sector, Coordinator and Secretary General of the Tropical Agroveterinary Center of Kinshasa (CAVTK), FDC correspondent of the Belgian non-profit organization, Office for the exchange and distribution of information on mini-breeding, B.E.D.I.M., and Coordinator of the publication of the scientific journal Troupeaux et Cultures des Tropiques. His expertise in sustainable agriculture will be extremely useful in designing food programs to benefit the communities surrounding Bombo Lumene as well as food self-sufficiency programs for Bombo Lumene’s rangers and staff, as well as their families.
Nouria MUKABA
Nouria is a young, early career journalist from Kinshasa, DRC. She was an intern at AFRICA TV, and has collaborated with ECO NEWS. She holds a Bachelor’s degree in foreign political journalism and graduated in communications from ifasic. She did her secondary and humanitarian studies in latin/philosophy at the bosangani/sacré-coeur high school. She is very passionate about communicating environmental issues and has a particular affinity for ecology and conservation. She will help to implement a communications strategy that will aid the foundation in achieving its goals.
Olivier MUSHIETE
Olivier is the current director general of the Congolese Institute for Nature Conservation (ICCN), which oversees the protection of the DRC’s protected areas. Prior to this, Olivier served as the site manager for the Bombo Lumene hunting and nature reserve. He has also worked for numerous other organizations including a brief period at the Kinshasa headquarters of the German development bank (KfW). Originally from the Batéké region, he is one of the driving forces behind the Batéké Plateau Ecological Corridor (CEBAT) project, creating a 35,000km² protected area with Bombo Lumene at its heart. Furthermore, he has been heavily involved with Ibi Village: a carbon sink plantation project situated opposite Bombo Lumene. As such, he brings valuable experience in working with local communities to Fondation Bombo Lumene, and thus contributing to the success of our community conservation and development programs. Since being nominated as the director general of the ICCN however, he no longer has an active role in the foundation itself, yet remains one of our co-founders.
Victor DEBOUTTE
Victor is currently pursuing a Master of science degree in Biodiversity, Conservation & Management at the University of Oxford. Prior to this, he obtained a Bachelor of Science degree in Ecology & Environmental Biology from Imperial College London. His interest in nature and wildlife began at a young age, having explored many protected areas throughout Africa. As he grew up in Kinshasa, DRC, he visited Bombo Lumene numerous times during his childhood. In 2018, he returned to the reserve to join his brother Jules Deboutte and cousin Leon Haberkorn on an expedition to try and investigate the presence of any remaining wildlife in Bombo Lumene. After finding signs of many different species including forest buffaloes, pangolins and side-striped jackals, the team returned the following year. With the help of 20 camera traps they were able to document and reveal the incredible biodiversity of Bombo Lumene. They shared their findings with the world through the use of social media in an effort to showcase the reserve’s conservation value and ecotourism potential. Witnessing the ongoing deforestation and poaching in Bombo Lumene, and seeing the reserve’s immense potential under threat, prompted him to co-found Fondation Bombo Lumene in an effort to conserve the reserve and its wildlife.