From Nyanza to The Hague: How Professor Phoebe Okowa became Kenya's first woman ICJ Judge

Professor Phoebe Okowa.

Kenya scored a historic diplomatic victory on Wednesday, November 19, after Professor Phoebe Okowa was elected the first woman judge of the International Court of Justice (ICJ), the United Nations’ highest judicial body.

The election marked Kenya’s first successful bid for a judge position at the ICJ, with Okowa receiving concurrent approval from the United Nations General Assembly and the United Nations Security Council.