Honourable Chief Justice Martha K. Koome, EGH, assumed office on 21st May, 2021 as the 15th Chief Justice of the Republic of Kenya and 3rd President of the Supreme Court of Kenya. She is the first woman to hold the office of Chief Justice since the Kenyan Judiciary was established more than a century ago. Prior to her appointment, the Chief Justice served as a senior Judge of Appeal. During her tenure as an Appellate Judge, she oversaw the Criminal Division. She also chaired the Committee which developed the Court of Appeal Practice Directions in Civil and Criminal Appeals introducing novel case management strategies that have championed excellence at the Court. She also chaired the Committee that developed the Court of Appeal Registry Manual that standardized registry operations enhancing customer experience and streamlining records management at the Court. In 2020, the United Nations recognised Justice Koome as an eminent Human and Children’s rights defender. In appreciation of her decades’ long pioneering work on advocacy and advancement of the rights of children and the marginalised, Justice Koome was voted runner-up for the United Nations Person of The Year (2020).
Honourable Chief Justice Martha K. Koome will speak at the World Justice Forum's Plenary: Identifiying What Works