Willem Frans Van Kerckhoven, or Guillaume François van Kerckhoven was a Belgian soldier, explorer, colonial administrator who was active in the service of the International Association of the Congo and the subsequent Congo Free State. He is known for his extended expedition through the Uele River basin and onward towards the Nile, which was responsible for the deaths of over 1,800 people and established a Belgian presence in the region. Van Kerckhoven died in an accident before reaching the Nile.

Henri Michel Eugène Avaert was a Belgian soldier and colonial administrator in the Congo Free State. He was the second commander of the Force Publique, the armed police.