Judiciary.go.ke
She has 33 years of legal experience.
She co-founded and chaired the Federation of Women Lawyers.
Kenyan judge Martha Koome has defended dissidents and helped to write women s rights into the constitution - now she s on track to be the first female chief justice in a country where the role is particularly sensitive.
A child of subsistence farmers, she was chosen by a judicial panel over the lawyer who argued President Uhuru Kenyatta s case in a 2017 battle with the Supreme Court that she will now head.
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Kenyatta endorsed her and his legislative majority means she is set to be confirmed by the end of this month. That makes her likely to be in place during next year s elections, when Kenyatta must step down after two terms in office.
WORLD / AFRICA
By Reuters Published: May 06, 2021 06:53 PM Kenyan judge Martha Koome has defended dissidents and helped to write women s rights into the constitution - now she s on track to be the first female chief justice in a country where the role is particularly sensitive.
A child of subsistence farmers, she was chosen by a judicial panel over the lawyer who argued President Uhuru Kenyatta s case in a 2017 battle with the Supreme Court that she will now head.
Kenyatta endorsed her and his legislative majority means she is set to be confirmed by the end of this month. That makes her likely to be in place during 2022 s elections, when Kenyatta must step down after two terms in office.
THE STANDARD
NATIONAL
Standing from left: Monica Mbaru, Winnie Kamande, Violet Mavisi, Judy Thongori, Jane Anyango, Joyce Majiwa, Amb Jean Kamau, Njoki Ndung’u, Rosemary Mwenja, and Abida Aroni. Seated from left: Ann Mwululu, Alice Wahome, Martha Koome, Nancy Baraza, and Prof Betty Murungi. They were members of FIDA council in 1998. [Courtesy]
Sometime in 1998, a team of 15 women lawyers smiling for the camera immortalised a moment.
They were members of the Federation of Women Lawyers (FIDA), which chiseled its name by standing for the marginalised by prosecuting their cases even when powerful forces wanted such violations hushed up.
Fida sent chills down the spines of many deadbeat fathers and those accused of battering their wives and children.