Kenya has nominated Professor Phoebe Okowa as their candidate for the prestigious International Court of Justice judicial position. The Kenyan Permanent Mission officially communicated this decision to Djibouti through correspondence dated February 27. Djibouti currently serves as coordinator for Eastern African Sub-region candidatures. According to official documentation, the Kenya National Group to the Permanent Court of Arbitration formally submitted her nomination for consideration.
Voting procedures will take place during the United Nations General Assembly and Security Council 81st session scheduled for 2026. Kenyan authorities expressed complete confidence regarding Okowa's competence and qualifications necessary for meaningful contributions to ICJ operations. Kenya has requested Djibouti distribute information about this nomination throughout the African Group, aiming to secure widespread continental endorsement for their candidate.
This judicial nomination follows another recent Kenyan international endeavor: former Prime Minister Raila Odinga campaigned unsuccessfully for the African Union Commission chairperson position, ultimately losing to Mohamoud Youssuf from Djibouti. Professor Okowa currently holds positions as a Public International Law professor and Graduate Studies Director at Queen Mary University in London. Her impressive career includes becoming the first African woman elected to serve on the International Law Commission for five years beginning January 2023.
Kenya appointed her as a Member of the Permanent Court of Arbitration at The Hague in 2016. She practices as an advocate before Kenya's High Court and has provided counsel services to governmental organizations and NGOs on international legal matters before multiple courts including the ICJ. The United Kingdom co-nominated her alongside Kenya for election to the UN International Law Commission in May 2021, receiving formal African Union endorsement and ultimately securing 162 votes within the United Nations General Assembly.
The ILC represents an expert body responsible for international law development and codification processes. Its statute requires members to demonstrate recognized competence within international legal frameworks. Thirty-four individuals comprise this commission following the election by UN General Assembly members for five-year terms. Professor Okowa was born in January 1965 in Kericho. She graduated with exceptional academic distinction, earning First Class Honours for her Bachelor of Law degree from Nairobi University in 1987.
Her achievement marked historic significance as she became the first female student awarded first-class honors throughout the entire history of Nairobi University Faculty of Law. She gained admission to practice before Kenyan courts as an advocate in 1990. That same year she completed her Bachelor of Civil Law degree from Wadham College at Oxford University through Foreign and Commonwealth Office Scholarship funding. She subsequently completed doctoral studies at Oxford in 1994, completing her D.Phil. thesis under the supervision of Professor Sir Ian Brownlie, who held the distinguished Chichele Professorship in International Law.
Voting procedures will take place during the United Nations General Assembly and Security Council 81st session scheduled for 2026. Kenyan authorities expressed complete confidence regarding Okowa's competence and qualifications necessary for meaningful contributions to ICJ operations. Kenya has requested Djibouti distribute information about this nomination throughout the African Group, aiming to secure widespread continental endorsement for their candidate.
This judicial nomination follows another recent Kenyan international endeavor: former Prime Minister Raila Odinga campaigned unsuccessfully for the African Union Commission chairperson position, ultimately losing to Mohamoud Youssuf from Djibouti. Professor Okowa currently holds positions as a Public International Law professor and Graduate Studies Director at Queen Mary University in London. Her impressive career includes becoming the first African woman elected to serve on the International Law Commission for five years beginning January 2023.
Kenya appointed her as a Member of the Permanent Court of Arbitration at The Hague in 2016. She practices as an advocate before Kenya's High Court and has provided counsel services to governmental organizations and NGOs on international legal matters before multiple courts including the ICJ. The United Kingdom co-nominated her alongside Kenya for election to the UN International Law Commission in May 2021, receiving formal African Union endorsement and ultimately securing 162 votes within the United Nations General Assembly.
The ILC represents an expert body responsible for international law development and codification processes. Its statute requires members to demonstrate recognized competence within international legal frameworks. Thirty-four individuals comprise this commission following the election by UN General Assembly members for five-year terms. Professor Okowa was born in January 1965 in Kericho. She graduated with exceptional academic distinction, earning First Class Honours for her Bachelor of Law degree from Nairobi University in 1987.
Her achievement marked historic significance as she became the first female student awarded first-class honors throughout the entire history of Nairobi University Faculty of Law. She gained admission to practice before Kenyan courts as an advocate in 1990. That same year she completed her Bachelor of Civil Law degree from Wadham College at Oxford University through Foreign and Commonwealth Office Scholarship funding. She subsequently completed doctoral studies at Oxford in 1994, completing her D.Phil. thesis under the supervision of Professor Sir Ian Brownlie, who held the distinguished Chichele Professorship in International Law.
