Lawyers or magistrates, these brilliant Congolese jurists, evolving in the DRC or abroad, known or less known, carry out exceptional work to improve social justice in their daily environment.
Below is a non-exhaustive list of 75 women law specialists. The ranking has been done randomly and the position on this list is not synonymous of the importance of a personality compared to another.
Me Marie-Thérèse Kenge Ngomba Tshilombayi
Me Marie-Thérèse Kenge Ngomba Tshilombayi is a doctor of law from the University of Kinshasa. She was the dean of the Faculty of Law of the same university from 2015 to 2020, the first woman to hold this position. She teaches courses at the University of Kinshasa and at the Protestant University in Congo.
Lawyer at the Court of Cassation and the Council of State, Marie-Thérèse Kenge Ngomba Tshilombayi was sworn in as a lawyer at the former Supreme Court of Justice on November 6, 1999, after having worked as a lawyer at the Court of Appeal of Kinshasa since May 23, 1984.
Me Marie-Thérèse Kenge Ngomba Tshilombayi is also a member of the National Commission on Human Rights and the Permanent Commission on the Reform of Congolese Law.
Rose Mutombo Kiese
Born on March 19, 1960, Rose Mutombo Kiesse is Minister of State, Minister of Justice and Keeper of the Seals, since April 13, 2021. An experienced jurist with a professional career that has put her at the heart of justice and human rights issues, she was, prior to her appointment, an attorney general at the General Prosecutor’s Office of the Council of State. She was also the national president of the permanent framework for consultation of Congolese women “CAFCO”, described as the only platform of women’s organizations of civil society and political parties.
During her career, Rose Mutombo has contributed to the formulation of several policies and legislations to improve the legal security of women and children. She has also participated in reforms related to the repression of drug networks and the integration of women in peace strategies in the Great Lakes region.
Rose Mutombo is one of the drafters of the national gender policy in the DRC, the national strategy to fight against sexual and gender-based violence and the national action plan of the United Nations resolution 1325 in the DRC. She has contributed her expertise in accompanying women politicians and civil society in the various negotiations for the return to peace in the DRC and in strengthening peace. She has also been a consultant and facilitator for United Nations agencies and other international organizations. She has produced strategic studies such as the report on the state of the population with UNFPA, gender with UNDP, the situation of women and children with UNICEF.
Rose Mutombo is also the national focal point in the Democratic Republic of Congo of the International Association of Women Judges and focal point of the Global Network Peacebuilders.
Me Rose Ntumba Kaja
On October 18, 2014, after her election, Me Rose Ntumba Kaja became the first woman bâtonnier in the DRC, precisely in Lubumbashi, in the province of Haut-Katanga. She is the 12th personality to exercise the function of President of the Bar of Lubumbashi. She was re-elected as President of the Bar in 2018.
Born in 1959, Rose Ntumba Kaja holds a degree in economic and social law from the University of Lubumbashi, obtained in 1993. She has nearly 30 years of career as a lawyer and is notably a lawyer at the International Criminal Court. Ms. Rose Ntumba Kaja has been in the courtroom, has taken up positions in the bar association in the DRC, and has taken up positions in the bar association without even being in the bar association. She was also president of the mutual fund of the mutual aid of lawyers.
Esther-Rose Lufuta Biduaya
Esther-Rose Lufuta Biduaya is a co-founding partner of Elite Law Firm, a “professional civil company of lawyers and attorneys in mining and quarrying under Congolese law”. The firm has its main office in Kinshasa, as well as secondary offices in Lubumbashi, in the province of Haut-Katanga and in Kolwezi, in the province of Lualaba.
Esther-Rose Lufuta Biduaya has been an attorney at the Kinshasa/Gombe Court of Appeal since July 30, 2002. She has nearly twenty years of experience in the practice of law in the DRC. She has been a mining and quarrying attorney in the DRC since 2003 and a registered intellectual property attorney since 2011. She has 18 years of experience in the practice of Congolese mining law.
For nearly 20 years, Esther-Rose Lufuta Biduaya has been involved in the following areas: investment law, natural resources law, company law, property law, law of obligations, transport law, construction law, new information technologies law, law of the Organization for the Harmonization of Business Law in Africa (OHADA), labor law, legal evaluation of projects, civil and commercial litigation, tax law, environmental law, energy law and contract law.
Prior to launching Elitre Law Firm, Esther-Rose Lufuta Biduaya worked at Emery Mukendi Wafwana & Associates, SCP (“EMW&A, SCP”), where she was a senior associate. At EMW&A, SCP, she advised and assisted the Government of the DRC in the reforms of the legal, fiscal, customs and foreign exchange frameworks of the mining sector, in collaboration with international consultants, between 2001 and 2003, which led to the promulgation of the Mining Code in 2002, the Mining Regulations in 2003, and the decrees on the statutes, organization and functioning of the Mining Cadastre and the Mining and Quarrying Rights Validation Commission. Also with EMW&A, SCP, she has advised and assisted the DRC government in the reforms as well as in the work of revising the Mining Code (2002) which resulted, in 2018, in the Law amending and supplementing the Mining Code.
Me Esther-Rose Lufuta Biduaya has conducted numerous comparative studies for the benefit of mining companies having concluded mining conventions with the Congolese State under the old mining law, between the tax and customs advantages of the new mining code and those of the mining conventions. She has assisted various clients, individuals or legal entities, in obtaining mining rights from the Mining Registry and in managing these rights to maintain their validity. She assists her clients in complying with the administrative and environmental obligations, etc. related to mining and quarrying rights. She has advised and assisted her clients in litigation, before administrative authorities as well as judicial and/or arbitral bodies.
In addition, Ms. Esther-Rose Lufuta Biduaya has issued legal opinions for the benefit of her clients resolving several business law issues and published studies in the fields of business law.
Angélique Sita Muila
Angélique Sita Muila is a member of the permanent commission for the reform of Congolese law. She is a professor of law at the Faculty of Law of the University of Kinshasa. She teaches general criminal law, prison law and science and prison sociology.
In 2020, Angélique Sita Muila published the book “Manuel général de droit pénal congolais” (General manual of Congolese criminal law) which presents, in a structured and synthetic way, all the knowledge that an undergraduate law student should know about general criminal law: criminal law, offenses, criminal responsibility and criminal punishment… But, to enable students to have an overview of criminal law and its situation in the legal system of their country, the author has added a brief introduction to criminal law, as well as a development on the criminal system. She has also reserved a place for legal reasoning given its importance for the interpretation of criminal provisions in understanding and applying the law. ”
Nicole Ntumba Bwatshia
Since April 2021, Nicole Ntumba Bwatshia has served as Deputy Chief of Staff to the President of the DRC, responsible for political, legal and diplomatic matters. Prior to this, she was the senior advisor to the President of the DRC on legal and administrative matters.
Nicole Ntumba Bwatshia holds a doctorate in law from the University of Ghent in Belgium, with a specialization in public international law and international relations. She is a professor of international public law and international relations at the Faculty of Law of the University of Kinshasa and in other universities in the DRC. She is also Dean of the Faculty of Law at the private William Booth University in Kinshasa.
Nicole Ntumba Bwatshia was, for nearly ten years, deputy public prosecutor at the Prosecutor’s Office of Gombe, in Kinshasa. As a deputy public prosecutor, her task was to prosecute offenders who committed offences under the criminal code, to investigate, i.e. to qualify the offences, and then to propose to the judge the appropriate sentence. In civil matters, she made sure that there were no social disorders related to disputes between individuals.
Me Gisèle Ngungua Sangua
Me Gisèle Ngungua Sangua is a graduate of the University of Lubumbashi, majoring in private and judicial law. She is a lawyer at the Lubumbashi Bar and at the International Criminal Court. She is also the deputy director of cabinet of the governor of the province of Haut-Katanga, Jacques Kyabula.
Gisèle Ngungua Sangua is the founder of the non-profit association “Action large des Femmes Avocates”, in Lubumbashi, DRC, which provides legal assistance to victims of violence and women prisoners, promotes women’s rights and conducts several awareness-raising activities on basic legal concepts for women and girls. The association also works to sensitize the community and community leaders on the issue of sexual violence.
Jocelyne Mupeka Kindundu
Me Jocelyne Mupeka Kindundu is a lawyer at the bar of Haut-Katanga (ex Bar of Lubumbashi) since 2002 and graduated in law from the University of Lubumbashi.
She is a business lawyer as well as a mining and quarrying agent. She is a founding partner of Jocelyne Mupeka Kindundu Law Firm in Lubumbashi. In her professional practice, she advises, assists and represents national and international, public and private clients in various proceedings before the courts and tribunals of the DRC on issues related to mining law, commercial law, family law, inheritance, land and real estate law, labor and social security law, criminal law as well as constitutional and administrative litigation.
Furthermore, as a human rights activist, Ms. Jocelyne Mupeka Kindundu is the founder and coordinator of the NGO “Association des Femmes Congolaises pour la Paix et le Développement” (AFECOPAD), where she provides legal and judicial assistance to women and children who are victims of all kinds of violence, for which she was awarded the Silver Medal of the Chancellery of National Orders.
Ms. Jocelyne Mupeka Kindundu is currently a member of the National Assembly’s Commission on Human Rights, where she heads the sub-commission on economic, social and cultural rights. She is elected to the third legislature of the electoral district of Bulungu in the Kwilu Province.
Me Marie-Lydie Ngalula Makelele
A career magistrate for 9 years, Ngalula Makelele is the founder and president of the Association of Young Magistrates of Congo (AJMC). She was recruited in June 2010 as a deputy public prosecutor at the Kinshasa/Ndjili Peace Court. At the end of 2013, she was appointed, by presidential order, to the position of Justice of the Peace, assigned, initially, to the Peace Court of Kinshasa/Kinkole and then, in May 2016, she was attached to the Peace Court of Kinshasa/Gombe. Since November 2018, she has been assigned as a judge at the tribunal de grande instance of Kinshasa/Gombe.
It was in January 2015 that Me Ngalula Makelele founded the Association of Young Magistrates of Congo, a corporate structure of magistrates committed to change and renewal of the Congolese justice system. To date, approximately 130 magistrates are full members of this association, and more than 500 are sympathizing members.
In 2016, AJMC organized, in collaboration with the Superior Council of the Magistracy/CSM of the DRC, a series of 6 seminars on OHADA business law, which benefited more than 300 magistrates in Kinshasa.
In parallel to her career as a magistrate, Ms. Ngalula Makelele worked as an expert on secondment at the National Financial Intelligence Unit/CENAREF, from February 2010 to September 2014. In this capacity, she facilitated and participated in several international and local seminars and workshops on the fight against money laundering and terrorist financing and corruption.
From May 2015 to July 2018, Ms. Naglula Makelele worked at the Constitutional Court of the DRC, where she was an advisor and member of the cabinet of Constitutional Judge Jean-Pierre Mavungu.
Me Pélagie Ebeka
Me Pélagie Ebeka is a seasoned Congolese lawyer with over 15 years of experience as a legal advisor and gender expert on public sector governance projects in the DRC. From 2019 to 2020, she served as the Director of Cabinet of the Minister of Foreign Affairs of the DRC.
Me Pélagie Ebeka also served as legal advisor on an anti-corruption project for a DFID-funded private sector development program in DRC, including a women’s economic empowerment initiative.
Pélagie Ebeka has contributed to evaluations of European Union gender programs and civil society programming, as well as studies on reproductive health for DFID, Médecins du Monde and Harvard Law School. She played a leading role in the drafting and passage of the 2006 Congolese law on sexual violence as well as the 2016 reforms to the family code. A leading advocate for gender equality in the Great Lakes region, she has spoken before the United Nations Security Council on women and peacebuilding and advised the Congolese army on security reforms.
Me Claudine Tsongo
Me Claudine Tsongo Mbalamya has nearly 20 years of professional experience in civil society and project management. She has been a lawyer since 2006 and has held the position of coordinator of the dynamic of women lawyers (DFJ) in Goma since 2006. Created on September 11, 2006, in Goma, by a group of seven young women lawyers, the DFJ is a non-profit association of women under Congolese law that works for the promotion and protection of the rights of the poorest, most marginalized and most vulnerable social groups and individuals. Foremost among these groups are women and children.
Claudine Tsongo is also the coordinator of the network of associations of women lawyers of the East of the DRC (RAFEJE), since 2009; coordinator of the network of associations of women lawyers of the Great Lakes region (ROFEJ-GL/Burundi, DRC and Rwanda), since May 2016 and in charge of the workshops of the free university in the Great Lakes region in Goma. A law graduate, Claudine Tsongo also holds a master’s degree in gender and peacebuilding.
Me Mireille Kahatwa
Me Mireille Kahatwa Amani has been a member of the Goma Bar in the DRC since November 2005. She holds a degree in domestic and international public law from the University of Goma since 2004. Since 2008, she has been a consultant with the American Bar Association (ABA) in the DRC, first as the head of the legal clinic, from March 2008 to March 2009, then as a project manager, having led several projects since April 2009, until now. She has also served several times as interim Country Director. ABA is an international development program that promotes the rule of law through collaboration with national partners to build strong institutions and societies that, through the proper administration of justice, foster economic development and respect for human dignity.
As project director, Mireille Kahatwa manages the project activities entrusted to her, manages the project staff (lawyers, support staff: logistics, finance), manages the project partners (police, prosecutors, courts, high judicial authorities at the national and provincial levels, civil society organizations, …) and she also manages the project budget. As a lawyer, Mireille Kahatwa provides guidance to the project’s lawyers on issues of legal and judicial accompaniment of victims, on issues of accountability of judicial actors and perpetrators of crimes, and assists victims at all levels of the judicial process, from the police to the execution of judicial decisions.
Mireille Kahatwa has taken part in several trials for mass rape and other cases of mass atrocities, including the “Minova” trial and the trial against the warlords Habarugira and Sheka. Indeed, in 2019, Mireille Kahatwa Amani, was among the civil party lawyers who obtained the conviction of Marcel Habarugira Rangira, a lieutenant-colonel in the Congolese armed forces, for war crimes before a military court in Goma, in the eastern DRC. This was a historic conviction, as it was the first time a court in the DRC had convicted an individual of enlisting and using child soldiers.
Mireille Kahatwa Amani is featured in the documentary “The Prosecutors” for her work in combating sexual violence in the Democratic Republic of Congo. Directed in 2018 by American Leslie Thomas, the documentary tells the story of three lawyers located in the DRC, Colombia, and Bosnia and Herzegovina, who are fighting to ensure that wartime rape does not go unpunished.
Nadine Amuli Feza
Nadine Amuli Feza is a lawyer and holds a degree in domestic and international public law from the Catholic University of Bukavu, DRC. She is a member of the Bukavu Bar Association and is the program manager in the DRC for International Bridges to Justice – IBJ, a Swiss international organization specialized in changing access to justice systems. In this capacity, she plays a leading role in providing free legal assistance to vulnerable and detained women. She also has extensive experience in organizing roundtables and awareness campaigns on the human rights of vulnerable people, monitoring detention centers and managing projects.
Nadine Amuli Feza received a certificate of merit from the Catholic University of Bukavu for winning the national competition of advocacy in international humanitarian law organized by the International Committee of the Red Cross. She also received a certificate entitled “Jeune espoir de la RDC” (Young hope of the DRC) for her outstanding efforts on behalf of disadvantaged Congolese women. She has also worked as a field officer for the United Nations Development Program with a judicial monitoring project in partnership with the Faculty of Law at the Catholic University of Bukavu.
On June 23, International Bridges to Justice – IBJ celebrated the official launch of the African Women’s Network for Access to Justice (AA2J). On this occasion, Ms. Nadine Amuli Feza, received an award for her project “improving women’s access to justice”. This project focuses on the training of women lawyers in the legal representation of women and girls, in order to respond to the main challenges to access to justice in the DRC, which are the distance between the jurisdictions and the crime scenes as well as the lack of lawyers accepting pro bono cases.
Godelive Elisabeth Lonji Bandekela
Elisabeth Lonji Bandekela is a tax lawyer and expert in governance. She is currently the coordinator of the tax studies unit of the Directorate General of Taxes, the tax administration of the DRC. Elisabeth Lonji Bandekela has also held several other positions, including that of chief negotiator of the Democratic Republic of Congo / Republic of South Africa tax convention as well as numerous conventions for the promotion and protection of investments between the DRC and several countries, in her capacity as legal advisor to the Minister of Planning in charge of capacity building and investment promotion.
She was also a member of the commission in charge of examining the projects to be admitted to the Investment Code regime (tax incentives) and was a Doing Business expert for the implementation of the countries’ tax facilities; member of the Task Force for the reform and modernization of the Congolese tax administration with the support of the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank Group; member of the Task Force for the negotiation of the Economic Partnership Agreement, EPA with the European Union in the CEMAC-CEEC configuration; advisor to the Minister of Finance in charge of ACP-EU relations and capacity building of non-state actors as well as honorary director of the cabinet of the Minister of Public Service, in charge of the implementation of the reform of the Congolese public administration.
A writer and researcher, Elisabeth Lonji is also head of the tax section of the National School of Finance, where she is a lecturer.
Elisabeth Lonji Bandekela is a graduate of the Ecole Nationale d’Administration (ENA) in France and also holds a degree in international negotiation from the CASIN Institute in Geneva, Switzerland. She also holds a Master II in Public Finance from the University of Paris Dauphine, a Master II in Public Policy Management from the Institut des Sciences Po in Paris and a degree in Private Law, Business Law option, from the University Marien Ngouabi in Brazzaville.
Evelyne Ombeni
A lawyer at the Kinshasa Bar since 2013, Evelyne Ombeni is a lawyer specializing in international crimes, including the recruitment of child soldiers and sexual violence.
From 2010 to 2015, she worked at the International Criminal Court (ICC) as a case manager in the team of common legal representatives of victims. Since 2015, she has been a legal assistant or assistant counsel in the legal representation of victims and therefore intervenes in the legal representation of victims before the ICC.
Evelyne Ombeni holds a law degree from the Protestant University of Congo (UPC) and a Master’s degree in European law since 2016. She joined the ICC as an intern, before obtaining a position as a consultant and then as a legal officer in the team of legal representatives of victims in the case of the ICC prosecutor against the Congolese Thomas Lubanga.
Nady Mayifuila
Based in New York, Nady Mayifuila is an attorney specializing in international trade, primarily commercial transactions in the United States and around the world. She is a member of the New York City bar, as well as the Southern and Eastern Districts of New York. She provides a wide range of legal services to her clients and advises international clients on investing in the United States and structuring their business relationships with U.S. partners.
Trained in both common and civil law, Nady Mayifuila holds a Master’s degree in Banking, Corporate and Financial Law from Fordham University, School of Law and a Master’s degree in European Business Law, specializing in anti-trust law, international taxation and the U.S.-U.K. Contract. She also holds a Juris Doctor from the Protestant University of Congo.
Since 2010, she has worked for the now former Cabinet Emery Mukendi Wafwana, which was a law firm based in the DRC, providing legal assistance and advice to U.S. and international companies as well as individuals doing business or wishing to invest in Africa, particularly in the Democratic Republic of Congo and in the 16 member states of the Organization for the Harmonization of Business Law in Africa (OHADA).
Sylvie Muanga Mbanga
Sylvie Maunga Mbanga works with Congolese organizations in the fight against sexual violence against women in the eastern DRC. As coordinator of the anti-sexual violence program for the Inter-Church Organization for Development Cooperation (ICCO) and Church in Action, as well as manager of the peacebuilding and conflict transformation program at the Institute for Life and Peace, Sylvie Mbanga also consults for other agencies and groups, providing counseling and legal services to victims of rape and sexual violence. With ICCO, she develops strategic and holistic interventions to assist victims, including the provision of psychological counseling and medical care, legal services and access to the justice system, and economic support in the form of income-generating activities and skill building. For the Institute for Life and Peace, Ms. Sylvie Mbanga is also responsible for implementing programs on good governance and coordinating research activities. She also works on ethnic conflicts within communities in South Kivu province and has facilitated dialogue between the Banyamulenge community and other local groups such as the Babembe and Baviro. The dialogue sessions and subsequent cultural exchanges between the groups led to the creation of an ethnically mixed organization that raises awareness of the need to strengthen communication and tolerance.
Ms. Sylvie Mbanga is interested in establishing similar projects in North Kivu and has also been a radio correspondent for the French/Swahili service of Voice of America, covering local peacebuilding initiatives and women’s leadership issues. She is a member of Synergy for Women Victims of Sexual Violence and Action by Christians Against Torture.
Ms. Sylvie Maunga Mbanga was elected “Woman Peacemaker” in 2008.
Me Joelle Mbamba Kona Matadiwamba
Graduated in law from the Protestant University in Congo (UPC), Me Joëlle Kona Matadiwamba is a lawyer since 2009 within the Matadiwamba Law Firm, of her famous father, the President Matadiwanba.
Joëlle Kona Matadiwamba is also currently the diplomatic advisor to the President of the National Assembly of the DRC. She is also the president of the DRC section of the International Alliance of Women Lawyers (AIFA-RDC), elected by the other women members of this community. AIFA-RDC is an association whose objective is the independence and fulfillment of women, their integritý and their personal development.
Within the firm where she has been working since 2009, she has initiated new fields, such as the integration of telecommunications.
Belinda Luntadila
Me Belinda Luntadila Nzuzi has been a lawyer since 2001. She created and manages the Luntadila law firm, which, it is explained, has developed its know-how for the benefit of private companies as well as public enterprises and communities. The firm, it is said, is made up of lawyers, open on the national and international level, with a broad experience of Congolese and comparative law.
Me Belinda Lutandila is a reporter for the National Human Rights Commission of the DRC. She is also president of “Réseau 2 Congo genre et développement” a women’s rights NGO. She is also President of the Board of Directors of the University Institute for Study and Training in Development.
During her career, Ms. Belinda Lutandila has been an advisor in several ministerial offices, including the Ministries of Women and Family, Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, Agriculture and Rural Development, as well as the Vice-Primacy of Basic Social Needs and the Ministry of Hydrocarbons. She has also been an advisor to the provincial government of the city of Kinshasa.
Belinda Luntadila Nzuzi is currently a doctoral student in economic and social law.
Linda J. Bauma
Based in Goma, eastern DRC, Linda J. Bauma holds a law degree from the Free University of the Great Lakes Countries. She is currently the Country Project Coordinator for ToGETHER (Towards Greater Effectiveness and Timeliness in Humanitarian Emergency Response), a localization program implemented in eight countries: DR Congo, Somalia, Ethiopia, Bangaldesh, Colombia, Indonesia, Pakistan and Myanmar. Led by a consortium of four German international non-governmental organizations (Caritas Germany, Deutsche Welthungerhilfe, Diakonie Katastrophenhilfe and Malteser International), this program aims to strengthen the capacities of local humanitarian actors in the field of prevention, coordination and advocacy.
Long before, from May 2019 to April 2021, Linda J. Bauma served as gender and security coordinator for the Danish Refugee Council in Mali, Niger, and Burkina Faso as part of the Women’s Leadership for Inclusive Security Governance in the Sahel program. This project aimed to establish a pool of female expertise in Mali, Niger and Burkina Faso, in order to address the problem of the absence of women in decision-making bodies on security governance.
Me Dignité Bwiza
Me Dignité Bwiza is a lawyer at the Brussels bar (Belgium) and at the Ituri bar in the DRC. Since 2017, she has been on the list of counsel admitted to practice before the ICC since 2017. In this context, she was part of the collective of lawyers defending the Ivorian politician, Charles Blé Goudé. Ms. Dignité Bwiza is also the coordinator for Africa at the International Criminal Bar.
Ms. Bwiza heads the firm Bwiza Associates, which specializes in business and environmental law, with a presence in The Hague (Netherlands), Brussels (Belgium), Kolwezi, Ituri and Lubumbashi (DRC).
Me Bwiza is one of the few Congolese lawyers specialized in environmental law (by practice and by training). Since February 2019, she is mainly dedicated to environmental business law. To this end, she advises several companies of foreign rights and capital that have activities in the DRC. She also advises 4 provincial ministries of the environment.
Since 2019, Me Bwiza is also the founder of Heshimia Mazingira; the first chain of consulting firms specialized in environmental assessment in the DRC. Objective: to bring an environmental technical support to the projects carried out in DRC.
Since its creation, Heshimia Mazingira has established offices in Ituri, Lubumbashi, Goma and Kolwezi, DRC. One of Heshimia Mazingira’s objectives is to make information related to environmental protection accessible to all Congolese social classes. The team has therefore translated specialized environmental terms into terms that are easy to understand and use.
Ms. Bwiza is also a trainer on environmental law, business law and international criminal law. She has taught international criminal law at the University of Tarragona, Spain,
Me Dignité Bwiza’s objective is to translate the technical and complex terms of environmental protection into French, Lingala, Kikongo and simple Swahili so that every Congolese can participate in the protection of the environment every day.
Judge Alphonsine Kalume Asengo Cheusi
Since July 17, 2020, Alphonsine Kalume is one of the 9 judges of the Constitutional Court of the DRC, the first woman to hold this position in the history of the DRC. A career magistrate, she has been an advisor to the Supreme Court of Justice and the Council of State.
Alphonsine Kalume Asengo Cheusi graduated in economic law from the University of Kinshasa (UNIKIN) in 1987. She was promoted to head of the single division of the Department of Citizen’s Rights and Freedoms on January 24, 1989, and became a magistrate on a provisional basis by judicial organization order. Subsequently, she was appointed first deputy public prosecutor, assigned to the prosecutor’s office of Kalamu. In 2013, she was appointed counselor at the Supreme Court of Justice, before becoming, in 2018, counselor at the Council of State.
Marie-Jacqueline Mbuyi Tshiteya
Me Marie-Jacqueline Mbuyi Tshiteya is a career magistrate since 1990. From 2007 to 2018, she was on leave because she sat as a provincial deputy in the city of Kinshasa. In the provincial assembly, she was president of the political, administrative and legal commission.
During her career, Marie-Jacqueline Mbuyi Tshiteya has been an advisor in the office of the Minister of Human Rights, advisor to three governors of the city of Kinshasa and mayor of the commune of Matete. In the associative movements, she is President of the Asbl “Raising Woman” which deals with the development of women and children at all levels. She is also a member of the Association of Women Magistrates of Congo (AFEMAC).
Me Maguy Banthi
Me Maguy Banthi is currently an associate at Sia-Avocats in Belgium.
She holds a master’s degree in law from the University of Paris 2 Panthéon-Assas and a diploma in tax law from the University of Louvain-Mons. She has been a member of the Brussels Bar since 2011.
Maguy Banthi is specialized in Belgian and international tax law as a whole, in business law in the broadest sense and, in particular, in business law in French-speaking Africa (OHADA law). She has also developed a very broad experience in Congolese tax law.
Maguy Banthi has been in charge of law and legislation courses (Business Creation) at the Walloon Institute for Work-Study and Self-Employed and Small and Medium Enterprises (IFAPME), in Belgium, an organization that provides training for jobs in a multitude of professional sectors. Since 2014, she has also been a content writer for the American law firm Baker Mckenzie. In this capacity, she is the author of the “Private Banking” topic for DRC.
Currently an active member of the Centre d’Aide pour Entreprises en Difficultes (CEd), Maguy Banthi provides legal assistance to Brussels entrepreneurs who find themselves in difficulties in the course of their activities.
Maguy Banthi speaks French and is fluent in English, Dutch and Lingala (DRC).
Me Brigitte Lembwadio
Based in Switzerland, Me Brigitte Lembwadio Kanyama was admitted to the bar in 2000, after obtaining her law degree from the University of Neuchâtel in 1998. She has been practicing as an independent lawyer since 2001, first as a partner and since 2007 in her own firm.
After her studies, Brigitte Lembwadio Kanyama worked for a short time in the Swiss federal civil service and in a charitable organization, before becoming an independent lawyer at the end of 2001. In addition to her work at the bar, she has held several positions, such as head of the legal department of the Rectorate of the University of Neuchâtel, trade union secretary and in the legal department of the City of Neuchâtel.
Brigitte Lembwadio Kanyama is a member of the Foundation Board of the Malviliers Pedagogical Center; vice-president of the cantonal community for integration and multicultural cohesion; president and co-founder of the association JeSuisRDCongolaise! and a member of Amnesty International and Swiss Women Lawyers.
Brigitte Lembwadio Kanyama is a native French speaker and is fluent in English, Spanish and Lingala. She also has a good knowledge of German.
Me Cherine Luzaisu
Cherine Luzaisu has been a member of the Matadi Bar since 2000 and has also been a legal counsel to the International Criminal Court since 2014. In this capacity, she has notably been counsel for victims during the trial of warlord Bosco Ntanganda at the ICC.
Me. Cherine Luzaisu is the first female lawyer to be a member of the Bar Council of Central Kongo. Since 2000, she founded and manages the Luzaisu law firm. She has proven experience in international maritime law, international criminal law, humanitarian law, arbitration and legal assistance to victims of sexual violence.
Me Cherine Luzaisu holds a Bachelor’s degree in Public International Law from Kongo University (Ex Unibaz). In addition, since 2016, she is doing a Master II in African cyberspace at the Gaston Berger University of Senegal.
Me Nadine Sayiba Mbila
Based in Goma, Me Nadine Sayiba founded and manages the Cabinet Nadine Sayiba (CNSA), specialized in civil law, criminal law, international criminal law, corporate investigation, business and company law, insurance law and human rights.
Me Nadine Sayiba has collaborated with several international organizations as a consultant on the prevention and repression of sexual crimes. She has significant experience in conducting investigations related to the prevention of harassment in the workplace, as well as in the implementation of investigation plans and victim and witness protection measures. She has contributed to the capacity building of civil society and legal actors and to the implementation of protection mechanisms for victims and witnesses of sexual violence.
In addition, Ms. Nadine Sayiba has experience in the humanitarian field, where she worked for a long time in the IDP camps of North Kivu, as a “Protection Officer”.
Since June 2011, Ms. Nadine Sayiba is also the director of the INL Project (funded by the U.S. Department of State) and operational in the cities of Goma, Bukavu, Maniema and Mbujimayi.
She also created the Nadine Sayiba Mbila Foundation (FONASAM), whose mission is to contribute to the advent of the rule of law in the DRC, by empowering orphaned, marginalized, vulnerable, neglected and disabled children or building their capacity by creating an institution or institutions for their accommodation; by giving them the chance to learn different trades (sewing, carpentry, braiding, fitting and welding); by giving them assistance in schooling, in medical care, to contribute to the decrease of illiteracy and vagrancy and especially to the respect of human rights in DRC.
Me Nadine Sayiba holds a degree in private and judicial law from the University of Kinshasa.
Me Joséphine Mbela, responsible for advocacy at the ACAJ
Me Joséphine Mbela is a lawyer at the bar of Matete and is responsible for advocacy and administration at the Congolese Association for Access to Justice (ACAJ), a non-governmental organization that works for the promotion and defense of human rights. She has been involved for many years in helping Congolese women defend their rights.
Ms. Josephine Mbela is a well-known lobbyist for the improvement of political space, transparent elections and the situation of the population, with a focus on women. In this capacity, she has followed the “decreeing measures” of the Saint-Sylvestre agreements in the DRC.
Nathalie Vumilia Nakabanda
Nathalie Vumilia Nakabanda is a lawyer at the South Kivu Bar. She is a professor of private law, director of the Center for Family Law and its patrimony, head of the private law department at the Faculty of Law of the Catholic University of Bukavu (UCB) and head of the gender and rural development department at the Higher Institute of Rural Development of Bukavu (ISDR)
Nathalie Vumilia Nakabanda holds a doctorate in law from the Catholic University of Louvain, a complementary Master’s degree in human rights from the Louvain Academy and a Bachelor’s degree in law from the Catholic University of Bukavu. Her research focuses on private law, gender, women’s and children’s rights, family mediation and customary issues. To date, she is the author of one book, two chapters and several scientific articles.
Nathalie Vumilia Nakabanda is a visiting professor at the Evangelical University in Africa, the official university of Bukavu, the University of Notre-Dame du Tanganyika in Uvira, the University of Goma and the Higher Institute of Informatics and Management of Goma.
Since 2015, she has been a member of the board of directors of the diocesan commission “Justice and Peace” of the Archdiocese of Bukavu. She is also an advisor to the institutional bioethics committee of UBC since November 2012; consultant to UNDP in 2012 and to UNESCO, Transition International, NRC-Justice & Democracy, and has participated in some international conferences on migrants.
Ikabu Bebia Mujinga
Ikabu Bebia Mujinga, nicknamed “IBM” after the initials of her name, is a deputy public prosecutor in the Kinshasa-Matete Prosecutor’s Office, where she has worked for over 20 years. “IBM” has been working as a magistrate since July 1, 1996.
Irene Wabiwa Betoko, Project Manager at Greenpeace Africa
Irène Wabiwa Betoko is the international project manager for the Congo Basin forest at Greenpeace Africa. She is one of the few women who have long defended the inhabitants of remote areas whose livelihoods were threatened by deforestation. In 2008, the lawyer participated in the creation of Codelt, one of the first Congolese associations to defend the rights of communities affected by logging.
Irène Wabiwa Betoko joined Greenpeace in 2010, where she is leading the fight against deforestation in the Congo Basin, the second lung of the planet after the Amazon, whose peat bogs alone would contain 30 billion tons of CO2.
Me Nancy Katambala
Nancy Katambala is currently head of the family department at Atlantic Solicitors Limited, a UK law firm that provides a wide range of legal services to corporate and private clients. Ms. Nancy Katambala is also legal counsel to the Congolese Chamber of Commerce of Great Britain (CCCGB), a limited company based in London, UK.
Me Nancy Katambala is a multilingual lawyer from England and Wales with over 10 years of post-qualification experience. She specializes in immigration, European Union, human rights, civil litigation, court challenges and family matters. Nancy Katambala has multi-jurisdictional experience in the English Common Law and Continental European legal systems. Her multicultural and linguistic background, it is explained, enables her to provide client-centered services to people from diverse ethnic and linguistic backgrounds. She is fluent in English, French, Lingala and has some knowledge of Dutch.
Nancy Katambala holds a postgraduate law degree from Queen Mary University of London and a Bachelor of Laws degree from the University of Central Lancashire, England.
Me Natacha Latere
Natacha Latere is the founding partner and director of BTM Lawyers s.c.a, in Kinshasa.
A member of the Kinshasa/Matete bar and a certified mining and quarrying agent, Ms. Natacha Latere is a graduate of the University of Liege, Belgium, and has a degree from the University of California at Los Angeles. She worked in law firms in Los Angeles before returning to the DRC in 2005, where she worked first as an in-house lawyer at Katanga Mining and then at Tenke Furungurume Mining as Compliance Officer and Senior Legal Counsel, in charge of taxation.
In 2010, Ms. Natacha Latere began practicing exclusively within law firms and, it is explained, has successfully resolved several tax disputes for international companies operating in the DRC, including multi-million dollar tax disputes for BTM’s South African clients, in connection with the double taxation agreement signed between the Republic of South Africa and the Democratic Republic of Congo.
Natacha Latere’s practice, it is reported, covers all DRC taxes related to business, financing and actual mining transactions. Her particular areas of interest are mining, energy and the oil and gas sector. She also has extensive experience in mergers and acquisitions, spin-offs and other corporate structuring, private equity, debt and equity financing and tax litigation.
Since 2010, Ms. Natacha Latere has been ranked among the top business lawyers in the Democratic Republic of Congo by Chambers and Partners: Chambers Global – Democratic Republic of Congo.
Me Dorothée Madiya
Founder of the firm Dorothée Madiya since February 2007, Me Dorothée Madiya has 19 years of experience as a lawyer and is an agent and advisor in mining and quarrying law, fields in which she has a thorough knowledge of the workings of the Congolese national administration. In addition to these main areas, Me Dorothée Madiya is involved in oil and gas law, electricity law, banking law, corporate law, commercial law, tax law and labor law.
Admitted to the Kinshasa-Gombe Bar in May 1996, Dorothée Madiya has also been a member of the International Bar Association since 1996. She has extensive experience in monitoring and obtaining authorizations for the construction of hydroelectric plants. She is the author of numerous legal opinions on mining and energy activities.
Dorothée Madiya holds a Bachelor’s degree in business law from the University of Kinshasa and a Master’s degree in business law from the University of Panthéon Assas, Paris II.
Liliane Mubanga
Liliane Mubanga is a senior associate at Thambwe-Mwamba & Associés, where she is in charge of the day-to-day management of the firm, the reputation of the firm, the distribution of roles and the recruitment.
A member of the Kinshasa-Gombe Bar, Ms. Liliane Mubanga began her career in 1998. She specializes in legal advice for commercial companies and/or individuals in business or private life, investments, drafting of acts such as statutes, minutes, letters, legal opinions or opinions as well as in assistance before the courts and administrations.
Ms. Liliane Mubanga has notably held the position of vice-president in charge of the social commission, then treasurer within the Bar Council.
Ms. Liliane Mubanga holds a Master’s degree in International Commercial Law from Robert Kennedy College in Zurich, Switzerland, and a Bachelor’s degree in Law from the University of Lubumbashi. She also holds a certificate in hydrocarbon law from the Institut Supérieur des Hautes Etudes Juridiques. She has also completed training in the areas of OHADA, hydrocarbons, public procurement and insurance, among others.
Eugénie Elanga Monkango
Eugénie Elanga Monkango has been a member of the bar of the Court of Appeal of Kinshasa/Gombe since October 28, 1997. She was director of the law firm Emery Mukendi Wafwana & Associés SCP, one of the most prominent law firms in the DRC and abroad, before its dissolution following the death of its founder.
Eugenie Elanga Monkango is a licensed mining and quarrying agent and a licensed intellectual property agent. Her professional practice focuses on natural resources law, investment, trade and industry, and personal and family law. In this regard, she advises and represents national, international, public and private clients in projects related to the aforementioned areas of law. She also has an excellent practice in investigating and analyzing the compliance of civil status documents for embassies and diplomatic missions based in the Democratic Republic of Congo.
In the field of litigation, she advises, assists and represents clients before the courts and tribunals in civil, commercial, labor and other matters in proceedings before the Council of State. She also pleads before the Court of Cassation and the Common Court of Justice and Arbitration (CCJA) of the Organization for the Harmonization of Business Law in Africa (OHADA) in cases related to the OHADA’s single acts and regulations.
Eugénie Elanga Monkango holds a degree in economic and social law from the Faculty of Law of the University of Kinshasa. She is the author of several scientific studies published in technical journals and other websites. Member of the International Union of Lawyers (UIA), she speaks and works in French.
Me Emmanuelle Kapita-Mba Mipu
Emmanuelle Kapita-Mba Mipu holds a law degree from the University of Kinshasa and has a solid experience in social, corporate and natural resources law. She is a lawyer at Kabinda Law Firm, where she is part of the team that supports the human resources departments of companies. She is also a member of the team that handles litigation in natural resources and energy law, as well as due diligence assignments and the resolution of human rights issues.
Me Emmanuelle Kapita-Mba Mipu has been a lawyer at the bars of Kinshasa-Matete since 2007, Lubumbashi since 2016 and Tanganyika since 2018. She is also a member of the Board of Directors of the Research Center on Democracy and Development of Law in Africa (Credda).
Me Emmanuelle Kapita-Mba Mipu has as working languages French (spoken and written); English (spoken and written) and Spanish (spoken and written).
Me Dolores Kimpwene Sonia
Dolores Kimpwene Sonia holds a law degree from the University of Kinshasa and is a lawyer at Kabinda Law Firm. She has a rich experience in the practice of land and real estate law, social law, intellectual property law and business law. She has been a member of the Kinshasa-Gombe Bar since 2008 and of the Tanganyika Bar since 2018.
At Kabinda Law Firm, explains the firm, Ms. Dolores Kimpwene Sonia leads the department that accompanies client companies in several phases (drafting of joint venture agreements, incorporation, operation, holding of general meetings and boards of directors). She also advises on financial and banking matters, as well as on major corporate transactions in the natural resources and energy sectors, public procurement law, securities law, tax law and telecommunications law, as well as on complex due diligence assignments involving mergers and acquisitions of assets and liquidations of commercial companies.
Me Dolores Kimpwene Sonia is an industrial property attorney; a member of the editorial team of the Larcier Codes of the Democratic Republic of Congo, online; a contributor for the DRC to the World Bank’s Doing Business report; a member of the board of directors and treasurer of the Centre for Research on Democracy and Development in Africa (Credda).
In addition, Me Dolores Kimpwene Sonia has developed a decisive expertise in corporate governance, thanks to her knowledge of OHADA company law. To this end, she provides Étude Kabinda’s clients with her knowledge of civil, commercial and tax litigation before the Congolese courts in which they are involved.
Her working languages are French (spoken and written) and English (spoken and written).
Salvatrice Bahindwa Bahati
Salvatrice Bahindwa Bahati is a lawyer at Étude Kabinda, where she is involved in the natural resources and energy law team, in due diligence missions as well as in litigation in which Étude Kabinda’s clients are involved, within the framework of labor law in the judicial law department.
Salvatrice Bahindwa Bahati holds a law degree from the Protestant University of Congo and an Executive Master’s degree in management and business law from the University of Liege, Belgium.
A lawyer at the bars of Kinshasa-Matete since 2014 and Tanganyika since 2018, Ms. Salvatrice Bahindwa Bahati has experience in land and real estate law, labor law, business law, tort law and contract law.
She is a contributor for the DRC to the World Bank’s Doing Business report; a member of the editorial team of the DRC’s online Larcier Codes; and a member of the board of directors and secretary of the Center for Research on Democracy and Development of Law in Africa (Credda).
Mae Bahindwa Bahati has acquired extensive knowledge of the Congolese normative framework through her work as Deputy Legislative Advisor for the Good Governance Program (PBG) funded by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) and executed by Development Alternatives Inc. (DAI).
Her working languages are French (spoken and written) and English (spoken and written).
Me Lisette Bewa Mpola
Me Lisette Bewa Mpola is the founder of Bewa and Associates. She is a business lawyer experienced in assisting clients in the preparation, implementation and conduct of their projects by securing all legal aspects of their businesses and companies. She specializes in contracts and business law.
Senior lawyer and mining attorney, Me Lisette Bewa Mpola works in the supervision and legal secretariat of clients in various fields: mining, public works, mining, banking, food, securing official documents and road transport.
Before creating her firm in 2014, Me Lisette Bewa Mpola was a lawyer/attorney at Yoka & Associés, from 2003 to 2014, and was in charge of the firm from 2009.
Ms. Lisette Bewa holds a Bachelor’s degree in Business Law from the University of Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne; a Master’s degree in Judicial Careers from the same university and a diploma of higher specialized studies, banking and finance, from the University of Paris.
Me Marie-Madeleine Kalala
Marie-Madeleine Kalala is a lawyer and human rights activist. She has been a member of the Kinshasa Bar since 1998 and was Minister of Human Rights in the DRC.
Marie-Madeleine Kalala holds a law degree, with a major in economic and social law, from the National University of Zaire (UNAZA/CUK). She was a legal advisor to the Zairian Coffee Office (OZACAF) from 1977 to 1990 and in several political offices from 1990 to 1997.
From 2003 to 2007, Ms. Marie-Madeleine Kalala served as Minister of Human Rights. During her career, she participated in numerous national and international conferences related to human rights. From 2001 to 2003, she participated in the inter-Congolese dialogue for the peace process in DRC. In October 2009, she was an auditor at the Special Synod of Bishops for Africa held in Rome, Italy.
In July 2010, the African Union Heads of State Conference, held in Kampala, appointed Marie-Madeleine Kalala as a member of the African Union Panel of the Wise. On September 29, 2012, Pope Benedict XVI appointed her as a member of the Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace.
Me Marie-Madeleine is co-author of the publication “Congolese legislation on nationality since 1987 to the present day.”
In addition, she is the national coordinator of the women’s platform “Common Cause” and was vice-president of the framework of consultation of the civil society of the DRC.
Major Lily Muzila
Major Lily Muzila is a military magistrate and substitute for the Superior Auditor of the province of Haut-Katanga. After her degree, obtained in 2000, she started her career, following her military training with the rank of lieutenant. She then had the judicial rank of deputy auditor of the garrison. Later, she was promoted to the rank of first deputy prosecutor with the military rank of captain.
Much later, Major Lily Muzila was again promoted to the position of Garrison Auditor, a position she held for seven years. She then managed mostly men and a few women until today. “Being a military magistrate is really a destiny that I could not miss,” she told Habarirdc.net.
Me Lilas Sansa
Born in 1978 in Kinshasa, Lilas Sansa Umba is the president and founder of the International League for the Defense of Congolese Women’s Rights (LIDDFC), a non-governmental organization that, it is explained, brings together women of different political and philosophical beliefs, united in their determination to abolish the causes and legitimations of wars in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).
Lilas Sansa Umba holds a Master’s degree in business law specialized in banking/finance from the University of Poitiers, France. She completed her banking and financial training at the University of Orleans, France, with a Master’s degree in Asset Management. After having worked in the banking and financial field with the largest European banks (BNP, Société Générale…), she brings to the LIDDFC her expertise in the problems faced by the Congolese people.
Judge Cécile Ntumba Muanza
Cécile Ntumba Muanza is the first woman to head the High Court of Mbanza-Ngungu, in the province of Central Kongo. She was appointed to this position by decision of the Superior Council of the Judiciary and took office as president of the high court of Mbanza-Ngungu on Saturday, October 3, 2020, during the swearing-in ceremony, before several leaders of the judicial bodies of Central Kongo.
Cécile Ntumba Muanza has set herself the goal of fighting sexual violence in the territory of Mbanza-Ngungu.
Before being appointed to her current position, Cécile Ntumba Muanza was a judge at the tribunal de grande instance of Kinshasa Gombe.
Me Edwine Nimi
Edwine Nimi holds a law degree from Kongo University, formerly the University of Bas Zaire. She has been a member of the Central Kongo Bar since December 2010. Fervent defender of women’s and children’s rights, she joined the Association of Congolese Women Lawyers (AFEJUCO) and became its coordinator in February 2014. It is within this structure that she helps women to know their rights.
Me Edwine Nimi fights daily to obtain justice for disinherited widows, victims of rape, women who encounter difficulties in their divorce process but also children in conflict with the law.
Me Ghislaine Bisimwa
Since April 2017, Ghislaine Bisimwa has been a legal advisor at the Bukavu (DRC) office of Trial International, a Swiss NGO whose objective is to fight against impunity for the perpetrators of the most serious crimes: genocide, crimes against humanity, war crimes, torture, enforced disappearances. A qualified lawyer at the Bukavu bar since May 2010, Ghislaine Bisimwa has worked as a program officer for the Association of Congolese Women Lawyers of the South. She was also a referral lawyer at the legal clinic in Luvungi (DRC), as part of a joint project with the UNDP.
Ms. Ghislaine Bisimwa holds a law degree from the University of Bukavu (DRC) and has also specialized in the seizure of regional and international mechanisms for the protection of human rights.
Me Anne-Marie Mbungani
Me Anne-Marie Mbungani is a lawyer with 28 years of experience and a specialist in international private law, foreigners’ law and commercial law. Lawyer at the bar of Namur (Belgium) for 10 years (1990-2000), Me Anne-Marie Mbungani has completed 11 and a half years at the bar and 4 years in the judiciary, within the permanent commission of appeal for refugees. She has 19 years of experience in public administration and in project management. During her career, Me Anne-Marie Mbungani has been a law assistant at the Faculté Universitaire Notre Dame de la Paix in Namur, legal advisor for 6 years and president of a family planning center for 2 years.
Me Anne-Marie Mbungani is the president of the association “Assistance juridique, information, formation et consultance” (AJIFC) whose activities were launched on December 10, 2020.
Ms. Anne-Marie Mbungani has a law degree from the Catholic University of Louvain and a degree in maritime and air law from the Free University of Brussels. She also holds a diploma in international trade from the Francisco Ferrer High School in Brussels.
Me Nicole Bondo Mwaka
Nicole Bondo Mwaka received her law degree from the University of Kinshasa in 1995 and also holds a Juris Doctor degree from the University of Ottawa in Canada. After her studies, Me Nicole Bondo Mwaka chose to become a lawyer at the bar of Kinshasa/Gombe leaving the magistracy as a public prosecutor at the prosecutor’s office of Kalamu.
Nicole Bondo Mwaka is one of the founders of the Carrefour des femmes et familles, a non-profit organization whose mission is to contribute to the well-being of women and children as well as to the stability of families in the DRC. She is also the representative of the collective of organizations for the World March of Women.
Me Jacqueline Masanga Phoba Mvioki
Jacqueline Masanga Phoba Mvioki is a master in social law at the Université Libre de Bruxelles (ULB) and a doctor of law at the Universitair Instelling Antwerpen (UIA), Antwerp. She is a professor at the Faculty of Law of the University of Kinshasa (UNIKIN), and at the Protestant University of Congo (UPC). She was head of the department of economic and social law at the Faculty of Law and a consultant for some national and international organizations. Finally, she is currently a member of the permanent commission for the reform of Congolese law.
In 2015, Me Jacqueline Masanga Phoba Mvioki published the book “Droit congolais du travail”, which exposes the state of legislation and regulation, doctrine and jurisprudence in the field of labor in the DRC. The book focuses on individual relationships (the conclusion, execution, and termination of employment contracts, and the settlement of individual labor disputes) and on collective relationships (professional organizations of workers and employers, collective agreements, and the settlement of collective labor disputes).
Me Cécile Rébeca Meta Kasanda
A lawyer by training and holder of a Master’s degree in law from the University of Burundi, obtained in 1980, Cécile Meta has been a lawyer for 21 years and has also been coordinator of programs and projects in justice and security, human rights, gender and sexual violence, transitional justice and support to local democratic institutions. She was an attorney at the Court of Appeal of Kinshasa Gombe, from 1982 to 2003.
Since 2017, Cecile Meta has been an independent legal consultant and also coordinator of the Congolese agency for the prevention and fight against human trafficking. Prior to that, from 2015 to 2017, she was coordinator, in Kinshasa, of the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) project supporting democratic institutions and civil society organizations. Before that, from 2011 to 2013, Cécile Meta worked for UNDP in the Central African Republic as a technical expert on the rule of law and technical advisor to the Central African Republic’s Minister of Justice. In 2009, she was the UNDP Head of Mission International Consultant in Burundi, where she supervised a study for the establishment of transitional justice mechanisms in Burundi.
From 2006 to 2009, Cécile Meta was coordinator of the legal aid and judicial assistance programs of Avocats sans frontières in Burundi. She also worked in the city of Bunia as a training and justice project officer for the organization RCN Justice & Democracy, whose mission is to “Promote and support Community Justice and Transitional Justice, as well as democratic practices in transitional and developing societies and states, and to raise European public awareness of conflict prevention.
Mathilde Mihigo Ntakobajira
Mathilde Mihigo is a human rights specialist with the United Nations Joint Human Rights Office (UNJHRO) in the DRC, where she is the coordinator of the WOSH Project, aimed at the socio-economic reintegration of women working around the mining squares in the territory of Shabunda, South Kivu.
Mathilde Mihigo holds a degree in public law from the Catholic University of Bukavu and has been working in the humanitarian field since 2010, focusing on the protection and promotion of human rights and fundamental freedoms. She devotes her work to the defense and promotion of women’s rights in South Kivu. She first worked with civil society organizations in Bukavu, before joining Caritas Development Bukavu, where she was responsible for the project to support civil society organizations in South Kivu in human rights protection and mediation. This work consisted of activities for the protection and promotion of human rights, peaceful conflict management, interaction with local authorities and the fight against torture.
Long before that, Mathilde Mihigo was in charge of gender in the protection and community mediation project. Her objective was to reduce the vulnerability of civilian populations in order to better face the risks linked to the presence of armed forces and groups in South Kivu; to build the capacities of communities to consolidate their adaptation, self-protection and resilience mechanisms and to improve their skills to resist threats and access to care for victims of protection incidents in South Kivu.
Prior to joining Caritas, Mathilde Mihigo worked at Catholic Relief Service, where she was a project assistant supporting victims of sexual violence through holistic care, in partnership with Dr. Mukwege’s Panzi Hospital. Based in the Shabunda territory, the project has also equipped isolated communities with high frequency radios to facilitate alerts on cases of sexual violence and other human rights violations.
In addition, Mathilde Mihigo is a member of the corps of judicial defenders at the Bukavu high court and was a member of the Ethical Council within the South Kivu civil society, as a representative of Caritas.
Me Adèle Kalambay Ndaya
Adèle Kalambya Ndaya is a lawyer at the Gombe bar in Kinshasa and at the Hauts de Seine bar in France. She runs a general practice with personal injury compensation and health law as her main activity. This firm is located in the Ile de France region, in the Hauts de Seine department, in the city of Puteaux, France. Me Adèle Kalambya Ndaya was sworn in on Monday, December 17, 2012. She is the president of the group fair rules, good application, rule of law in the DRC. She is also the representative in Europe of the arbitration, mediation and conciliation center created by the Federation of Enterprises of Congo (FEC) in DRC.
In addition, since February 2010, Me Adèle Kalambya Ndaya is the president of the association for the development and practice of arbitration in the DRC ( ADPARDC ). She was also, from 2005 to 2008, administrator vice-president of the legal commission of the FEC.
Ms. Adèle Kalambay began her career in 1991 as a deputy prosecutor at the Public Prosecutor’s Office of the High Court of Matete, in Kinshasa, a position she held until 1995.
She holds a Master’s degree in civil and commercial law from the University of Paris and a law degree from the University of Kinshasa.
Lucie Tshiyoyi Muteba
Lucie Tshiyoyi Muteba is a lawyer by profession and founded and manages the firm Empire of Law. She is also in charge of programs within the Union for the Defense of Consumer Rights in Congo (Udecom), a non-governmental, non-profit organization that advocates for the respect of Congolese consumers’ rights.
Lucie Muteba also leads and participates in workshops on women’s rights, financial education, the fight against corruption, private law and personal data protection.
Lucie Muteba holds a Bachelor’s degree in private and judicial law from the Free University of Kinshasa (ULK). After her academic studies, she was sworn in as a lawyer in 2010, before being registered on the roll of lawyers at the Court of Appeal of Kinshasa Matete, in 2014. Before starting her own firm, she worked in two previous firms.
In addition, Ms. Lucie Muteba is the first advisor of the FCF AMANI club, a women’s sports team of the first division.
Me Flora Mbuyu
Flora Mbuyu has been a member of the Lubumbashi bar since 1996. She holds a law degree from the University of Kinshasa and a diploma of specialized studies (DES) in human rights from the Catholic University of Louvain in Belgium. She is also currently the special legal advisor to the governor of the province of Haut-Katanga, Jacques Kyabula.
Me Anne Marie Nsaka Kabunda
Anne Marie Nsaka Kabunda is a member of the law firm Kalamba & Associés. She holds a PhD in International Law from Zhongnan University of Economics and Law, Wuhan, China, a Master’s degree in International Law from the University of Political Science and Law of China (2016) and a Bachelor’s degree in Economic Law from the University of Kinshasa, DRC (2005).
Me Anne Marie Nsaka Kabunda is an associate professor at the Faculty of Law of the University of Kinshasa, since 2019 and a registered lawyer at the bar of Kinshasa/Matete, with extensive experience in international business law. She has proven experience in the finance sector, private equity fund transactions, and real estate.
Anne Marie Nsaka Kabunda has advised clients such as Lloyd’s Commodities Sarl in the acquisition of funds. In addition, she has represented the Bank of China (SA branch) in debt recovery proceedings. She is very active in the real estate sector, where she has obtained the release of mortgages and concluded various transactions for clients.
In addition, since 2009, Ms. Anne Marie Nsaka Kabunda is in charge of the Gender Program of the Institute for Democracy, Governance, Peace and Development in Africa (IDGPA). She is also the General Secretary of the Dynamic Women of Luiza (DFL), a women’s NGO, since 2009 as well as a researcher and member of the Council for the Development of Social Science Research in Africa (CODESRIA), since 2005.
Chantal Bashizi
Chantal Bashizi was the administrative, legal and technical director of the mining cadastre of the DRC, a public institution in charge of the regulation and administration of the mining domain conceded in the DRC.
She holds a law degree and a special degree in notarial studies from the Catholic University of Louvain in Belgium. She worked for several years as a lawyer at the Brussels Bar, where she is registered with the French-speaking Bar Association. In 2005, she was appointed by presidential decree as administrative director of the mining cadastre of the DRC, before combining this function with that of technical director ad interim. From 2012 to 2018, she was also vice-president of the governmental commission in charge of the revision of the Congolese mining code within the Ministry of Mines.
In addition, Chantal Bashizi taught the introductory course in company law at the Université Libre Internationale in Brussels. She was also the administrator and then the program director of the Citizens’ Network “RCN” Justice and Democracy, based in Belgium and active in the DRC and other African countries.
Chantal Bashizi is the recipient of several awards.
Me Magalie Masamba
Magalie Masamba holds a doctorate in law from the University of Pretoria. D. in Law from the University of Pretoria, focusing on sovereign debt restructuring, human rights and development in Africa. She also holds a Master’s degree in International Trade and Investment Law from the University of Pretoria (with an exchange semester at the University of Amsterdam) and a Bachelor of Laws degree from Walter Sisulu University in South Africa.
Me Magalie Masamba is a policy advisor and legal researcher working in the areas of international development and international economic law. She has worked with African governments, multilateral organizations, academic institutions, NGOs and the private sector. Her advisory work has focused on private sector development, international trade and investment law, infrastructure development, sovereign debt management and debt restructuring, and the formulation of post-pandemic recovery strategies and policies.
Ms. Magalie Masamba is currently a post-doctoral fellow at the Human Rights Center at the University of Pretoria (South Africa) and the Global Development Policy Center at Boston University (USA). Her research focuses on sovereign debt and its impact on development.
Dr. Magalie Masamba has supported African governments as a legal specialist (consultant) under the World Bank’s PPP support program. Prior to this position, she was one of the first Oxford Fellows and, as part of that fellowship, served as an embedded legal advisor in the Zanzibar Ministry of Finance and Planning for two years and was admitted as an advocate in the Zanzibar High Court.
Dr. Masamba continues to be involved in regional discussions on various areas of international economic law through her participation in expert group meetings of the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa and her role as a Senior Fellow of the African Network for Sovereign Debt Justice and as a visiting lecturer at various universities at the regional and global level.
Me Magalie Massamba is a non-executive board member of the Cubango-Okavango River Basin (CORB) Fund, a fund operating as a fully independent enterprise to strengthen livelihoods, enhance ecosystem resilience and provide equitable benefits to stakeholders in the river basin shared by the states of Angola, Botswana and Namibia. She was also recently nominated for the Strategic African Women in Leadership (SAWIL) Top 30 Trailblazers Awards 2021.
Priscillia Kounkou Hoveyda
Born in France to a Congolese father and Iranian mother, Priscillia Kounkou Hoveyda is a human rights lawyer with a decade of experience working with the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), other UN agencies, and non-governmental organizations in the United States, France, the Democratic Republic of Congo, the Islamic Republic of Mauritania, the Central African Republic, the Federal Republic of Nigeria, and many other countries. Her work focuses on developing international and national policies for the world’s most vulnerable populations. She has led the release and reintegration of children associated with armed groups/forces, incarcerated children, and survivors of sexual violence. In addition, she has led the design and implementation of child protection systems, primarily in countries in West, East, and Central Africa.
In addition, Priscillia Kounkou Hoveyda is a writer, documentary filmmaker, and founder of the Black Iranian Collective, an initiative proposing an Iranian culture that is at the intersection of Black and African.
Priscillia Kounkou Hoveyda holds a double degree in international law and business from the Sorbonne, the Ecole Supérieure des Sciences Economiques et Commerciales (ESSEC) in France and New York University. She was selected as one of the United Nations 100 most influential people of African descent in 2020 (MIPAD 100).
Me Nelly Godelive Mbangu Madieka
Me Nelly Mbangu is the coordinator of the women’s organization platform Sauti Ya Mama Mukongomani, SMM for short. A lawyer and activist committed to the promotion of human rights for more than 15 years, she is co-founder of the Dynamic Association of Women Lawyers, an association that campaigns for the promotion, protection and defense of women’s and children’s rights, where she serves as president. An expert in gender and conflict resolution, she strengthens the capacities of rural women who are often victims of sexual and gender-based violence.
Gisèle Mudiay
Gisèle Mudiay graduated in law from the University of Kassapa (Lubumbashi) in 1991, and holds a Master of Business Administration (M.B.A.), Law and Finance, from the University of Liège, Belgium. She is a practicing lawyer in the DRC, after having worked as a lawyer in South Africa and in the United States, where she also lobbied between Johannesburg, New York and Washington DC. Upon her return to the DRC in 2008, after 18 years abroad, Gisèle Mudiay was appointed advisor to the Minister of Energy, a position she held until 2012. She was the only woman in the cabinet and the only woman member of the steering committee of the large hydroelectric project Inga 3. In the framework of this project, Gisèle Mudiay was a member of the legal counsel, in collaboration with the French firm Orrick Rambaud Martel.
Thereafter, Gisèle Mudiay worked for one of the oldest law firms in the DRC, with a solid reputation, the “Cabinet Lukunku” which has the advantage of having among its clients, the largest employers such as breweries and telecommunications companies. This has allowed Gisele Mudiay to become accustomed to the courts and tribunals, the judicial system, conflicts in labor law, administrative litigation, business law and succession cases.
From 2013 to 2016, Gisèle Mudiay was the Chairperson of the Board of Directors of the UBA/DRC bank, the only female Board Chairperson out of the 16 banks in the DRC at the time.
Gisèle Mudiay was also an advisor to the President of the Republic of the DRC.
Charline Massay
Lawyer at the bar of Kinshasa/Gombe since 2008, practicing within the firm MASSAY & Associés, Me Charline Massay has 13 years of experience in the assistance and representation of individuals and legal entities before the judicial and administrative authorities and outside of them. She also specializes in legal advice, litigation management strategies, negotiation and conciliation of parties, trademark management and drafting of contracts and other private documents.
Since October 2020, Me Charline Massay has been the National Rapporteur for the DRC of the International Council for Commercial Arbitration (ICCA), in the framework of the “Audience” project. She was also a legal consultant at the Ministry of Finance of the Kwilu Province, DRC and a legal consultant at British American Tobacco (BAT) Congo for one year.
Me Charline Massay holds a Bachelor’s degree in economic and social law from the University of Kinshasa and has several training certificates, notably in intellectual property law, awarded by the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) and the Ministry of Industry of the DRC.
Wivine Mumba Matipa
Former Minister of Justice and Minister of Portfolio of the DRC, Me Wivine Mumba Matipa has been practicing as a lawyer in the DRC since November 16, 1988 at the Kinshasa Bar, which later became the Kinshasa/Gombe Bar Association. She is a specialist in business law especially in banking and financial law. She is a member of the academic body of the University of Kinshasa. Me Wivine Mumba Matipa was the director general of the national agency for the promotion of investments (ANAPI) in the DRC and also coordinator of the steering committee for the improvement of the business climate in the DRC.
Leslie M. Moswa
Based in Quebec (Canada), Me Leslie Moswa is an attorney at Bérard Avocats, a firm specialized in civil and commercial litigation. Long before moving to Canada, Me Leslie Moswa was a teaching assistant in law at the University of Kinshasa, from 2011 to 2016. Leslie Moswa was a member of the Kinshasa/Gombe Bar from 2010 to 2016, during which time she worked for the Mpunga law firm in the DRC. From 2008 to 2010, Leslie Moswa was also a consultant/researcher in democracy and political participation for the Open Society Initiative for Southern Africa (OSISA). In this context, in collaboration with two university professors, she conducted research on the politics of the DRC and prepared a study on “The Democratic Republic of Congo. Democracy and participation in political life: an evaluation of the first steps of the Third Republic”.
In addition, from 2006 to 2007, Ms. Leslie Moswa was responsible for the legal and institutional aspects of Innovative Resources Management (IRM) / USAID in the DRC, where she was in charge of monitoring human rights violations; facilitating the creation of an interface between parliamentarians, government, the public, economic operators, civil society to fight corruption and promote good governance at the local level; Promote citizen participation and mobilization of local communities; encourage women to participate in the fight against corruption, sexual violence and help them get involved in the development process; build the capacity of anti-corruption committee members in advocacy, negotiation and public relations; serve as a point of contact with partners and resolve any legal issues.
Me Leslie Moswa is a graduate of the Quebec Bar School; holds a law degree from the University of Montreal; has a degree from the University of Nantes; and also holds a degree in public international law from the University of Kinshasa.
Esther Coco Muyulu
Holder of a degree in judicial private law from the University of Kinshasa, Ms. Esther Coco Muyulu is an attorney at the bar of Kinshasa/Matete and an attorney at the Court of Appeal of Kinshasa since 2014. A lawyer in business law, she was private secretary to the president of the Senate of the DRC, Alexis Thambwe Mwamba and also held the same position when the latter was Minister of Justice from January 2015 to July 2019.
Me Esther Coco Muyulu is currently a lawyer with the Valentin Makidi Kombe Law Firm.
Sister Nathalie Kangaji
Sister Nathalie Kangaji is a nun with the Sisters of Notre Dame, a canoness of Saint Augustine, a lawyer by training, a lawyer and the deputy executive secretary of the Episcopal Commission for Justice and Peace. She is the coordinator of the Centre d’aide juridico-judiciaire (CAJJ) in Kolwezi, in the south of the DRC, where she fights for the rights of the poorest people in the face of multinational mining companies. She created the CAJJ in 2008 with a group of friends. In addition to common law cases, the center’s staff handles the grievances of communities affected by mining activities around Kolwezi.
Gloria Tuluka Nzuzi
Since March 2022, Gloria Tuluka Nzunzi, 32, has been the executive director of the Banana-Kinshasa Equipment Organization (OEBK). Created in 1972, OEBK’s mission is to direct, coordinate and supervise the execution of construction and development studies for the deepwater port of Banana (DRC), the port area of Boma-Moanda (DRC) and the Banana-Moanda and Kinshasa rail and waterway links. OEBK is also in charge of the follow-up and maintenance of the only project it provides, the Marechal Bridge.
Gloria Tuluka Nzuzi holds a bachelor’s degree in economic and social law from the Protestant University of Congo and has been an attorney at the Court of Appeal of Matadi/Kongo since 2014. She began her career at the EPOK as Head of the Administrative, Social and Legal Section at the EPOK, before being promoted to Administrative Expert at the EPOK Kinshasa Study Office. Since November 2019, she was Head of Personnel, Head of Administrative, Social and Legal Section at the EPOK, Kinshasa.
Since 2016, Gloria Tukuka TULUKA has been the deputy focal point of the network of women in business in Congo, REFEC/OEBK Kinshasa and Wima Africa RDC (WOMEN IN MARITIME).
Me Nefertiti Ngudianza Bayokisa
Currently a senator and former Minister of Foreign Trade of the DRC, Me Nefertiti Ngudianza Bayokisa is a business lawyer and member of the Association of Congolese Women Lawyers (AFEJUCO). She has been a legal advisor in several companies in the DRC.
Me Nefertiti Ngudianza Bayokisa has a law degree from the University of Kinshasa, since 1997.
Me Annie Balayi Kapjika
Me Annie Balayi Kapajika is a lawyer at the Bar of Kinshasa/Matete, founder and senior partner of the firm Balayi et Associés, B&A, since 2005. The firm B&A is composed of a dozen lawyers experienced in various branches of law.
Ms. Balayi holds a Bachelor’s degree in Economic and Social Law from the University of Kinshasa.
Odette Babandoa
Odette Babandoa is a lawyer at the Kinshasa bar and president of the political party “Union des Patriotes Républicains”. She holds a degree in public law from the University of Kinshasa. A magistrate for several years, she was an advisor to the Ministries of Sports and Leisure, the Civil Service and Planning, as well as a legal advisor in the office of former Prime Minister Kengo Wa Dondo. Appointed deputy general delegate and then president delegate general at the Office des Chemins de fer des Uele (CFU), she was the first woman CEO of a public company, under the regime of former Congolese President Mobutu, appointed to revive this transport company which was completely out of service.
Odette Babandoa is the president of the forum of women lawyers for the Republic and a consultant in the sector of infrastructures and projects.
Odette Babandoa has also been a consultant to the World Bank, chairwoman of the board of directors of the international electricity company “Sinelac” and a director of the national railway company of Congo (SNCC).
Aline Buhendwa Ntakwinja
Since October 2020, Aline Buhendwa has been head of the legal department at Equity Bank DRC. Prior to that, she served for 8 years as General Secretary and Legal Director of Ecobank DRC.
Aline Buhendwa holds a law degree from the Catholic University of Leuven, Belgium, obtained in 1998. She was a member of the Francophone Bar in Brussels, Belgium, from 1999 to 2005. Her areas of expertise are corporate governance and legal risk management.
Aline Buhendwa is Deputy Secretary General of the Association of Directors of Congo (ADAC).
Christine Meta Mpinda
Christine Meta Mpinda is a lawyer by profession with extensive experience on human rights issues. Since August 2017, she has been working for UNDP in Bangui, Central African Republic, as a sexual and gender-based violence specialist, having previously been an expert on conflict-related sexual violence.
Prior to that, Christine Meta Mpinda worked for UNDP in Conakry, Guinea, as a gender and gender-based violence specialist in the context of security sector reform.
Christine Meta Mpinda joined UNDP in 2009, in Goma, DRC, as an expert in the program against impunity.
A lawyer at the Bukavu bar from 2006 to 2009, Christine Meta Mpinda worked in Goma as a judicial accompaniment officer for victims on behalf of the Dynamic of Women Jurists (DFJ) in the DRC.
Christine Meta Mpinda holds a Master’s degree in management of development projects and public investments from the University of Laval – IDEA International Institute, Praia Session, Cape Verde. She also holds a degree in International Criminal Law from the University of Leiden – Grotius Center for International Legal Studies, the Netherlands.
Christine Meta Mpinda obtained her Bachelor’s degree in Private and Judicial Law, with distinction, from the Université Libre des Pays des Grands Lacs (ULPGL).
Me Évelyne Mulemangabo N’Ebintu
Evelyne Mulemangabo N’Ebintu is a lawyer at the Kinshasa/Matete bar. She is a lawyer by training, president of the non-profit association “Femme, élection et développement” (Women, election and development) and national coordinator of the Dynamique network of women’s networks, which operates in the 26 provinces of the DRC.
Christel Kayibi
As of January 2019, Christel Kayibi is the Head of Legal and Business Affairs as well as the Head of A&R (Artists and Repertoire. discovering new artists or bands to offer a contract to. Editor’s note) at Columbia Records UK, which is a division of Sony Music Entertainment. This position involves working in various areas including finance, sales and marketing. Christel Kayibi is also responsible for the legal and business affairs for 5K Records and Dream Life Records, to ensure the success of the day-to-day operations of all these Sony Music-owned labels. So, Christel Kayibi is responsible for all legal and business affairs, but she is also an A&R and actively seeks out talent in hopes of finding it. So it’s two separate jobs.
Christel Kayibi started in the music industry in 2017 as a legal counsel and business strategist for Banku Music, the music label of renowned Nigerian singer Mr. Eazi.
As Mr. Eazi’s global legal counsel, Christel Kayibi negotiated various commercial, publishing and licensing agreements with labels and distribution companies in Africa, the United Kingdom and the United States. She has also represented and advised other notable artists and personalities such as YCEE, R2bees, Legendary Beatz and Eddie Kadi.
Other key accomplishments include managing all legal and strategic aspects of Banku Music, which went from a label with one artist in 2017 to a label with 4 key artists, including Mr. Eazi, Joeboy, J.Derobi and GuiltyBeatz. She also managed all legal and strategic aspects of the emPawa Africa music incubator from its inception to a company currently distributing audio and video content for 100 artists across the African continent, which has reached over 2 billion audio and video streams across all DSP (Digital signal processor) and video channels.
Prior to joining the music industry, Christel Kayibi worked for several law firms and companies. In 2012, she started her legal career as a trainee lawyer at the prestigious London law firm, Slaughter and May. Two years later, she was admitted as a solicitor and began practicing as a corporate finance lawyer. During her career as a finance lawyer, she has advised multinational companies such as BA, Unilever, World Duty Free, Ahli United Bank, Santander, and represented the African Export-Import Bank (a pan-African multilateral trade finance institution) in various financial transactions in Africa.
During her four-year career as a finance lawyer, Christel Kayibi worked at Slaughter and May, Hunton & Williams LLP (USA); Kimathi & Partners, Corporate Attorneys (Accra, Ghana); White & Case LLP (USA), as an associate and also served as a legal consultant to Bedfont Scientific Ltd (UK), a company specializing in the design and manufacture of breath and gas monitoring instruments since 1976.
Christel Kayibi holds a law degree from Kings College London and has completed a legal practice (law) course at BPP University Law School (London).
Marie Lerycke
Marie Lerycke comes from a Belgian-Congolese family and has lived both in Brussels and Kinshasa. Currently based in Paris, she works for Advisory 99, a consulting firm, as a Senior Manager on regulatory compliance and ethics issues.
Marie Lerycke holds a Master’s degree in maritime and aviation law from the Université Libre de Bruxelles and has completed a course in American law at Fordham University School of Law in New York, USA. She also holds a certified specialist certificate in anti-money laundering.
After her studies, Marie Lerycke worked in various countries such as Belgium, Greece, the United States and France. She has been legal and compliance officer at the French anti-corruption agency; legal advisor, ethics and compliance officer, export control officer at Arianespace, the French company in charge of the marketing and operation of the space launch systems developed by ArianeGroup, namely the Ariane and Vega families of launchers; head of the claims department of the Eyssautier Group, in Paris; and claims manager at the mutual insurance association Ocean Marine, P&I Club, in Brussels, Belgium.
Marie Lerycke is a member of the Board of Directors of Atlantic Pacific International Rescue, an organization that provides custom-built rescue boats, mobile rescue stations and highly trained volunteer crews to locations that do not have water rescue facilities.
Gracia Tshoma Numbe
Lawyer at the bar of Lubumbashi, Me Tshoma Numbe, 36 years old, is head of works at the Faculty of Law of the University of Lubumbashi. Her areas of interest are public law and international law. She is also the head of the provincial program of the Centre d’étude stratégique pour le développement et la bonne gouvernance.
Since October 2008, she is a graduate in law, option of private and judicial law, degree obtained at the University of Lubumbashi. In April 2015, she obtained her Master’s degree in International Law from the University of Pretoria, South Africa. She also holds a special degree in law, public law option.
Me Tshoma Numbe is a member of the National Bar Association of Haut-Katanga in Lubumbashi.
Me Tshoma Numbe has several publications in the field of mining investments and human rights, criminal law and public law.
In addition, she initiated and managed the first edition of the inter-university eloquence competition called “Les Talents RDC”.
Debora Kayembe
As of February 2021, Debora Kayembe is President of the University of Edinburgh in Scotland, the first black woman to hold this position. She was admitted to the Congolese bar in 2000, and was a member of the Scottish Institute of Translation and Interpreting from 2010 to 2020. In 2016, she joined the language services of the International Criminal Court Prosecutor’s Office and the International Criminal Court Bar Association (ICCBA).
From 2013 to 2016, Debora Kayembe was a board member of the Scottish Refugee Council. She also joined the Royal Society of Edinburgh/Young Academy of Scotland, representing refugee minorities, and has an expert lawyer seat on the CSR Africa Working Group. In 2017, Debora Kayembe founded the charity Full Options.
In August 2019, Debora Kayembe became the first African woman to have her portrait erected on the wall of the Royal Society of Edinburgh, honoring her achievements and contributions to Scottish society.
In July 2020, Debora Kayembe launched the Freedom Walk campaign – a civil rights movement that aims to lobby and campaign on behalf of citizens by promoting social reform, racial justice and communal harmony. She also launched a petition to the Scottish Parliament for anti-racist education in Scotland.
