Kenya's Phoebe Okowa re-elected ICJ Judge for 9-year term

Kenyan Professor Phoebe Okowa has been re-elected judge of the International Court of Justice (ICJ) for a full nine-year term, securing Kenya’s continued representation on the United Nations’ principal judicial organ until 2036.

Phoebe Okowa was on Tuesday re-elected to the International Court of Justice (ICJ). Photo: Handout

Okowa secured the required majority in elections conducted by the United Nations General Assembly and Security Council in New York on Tuesday, November 3, after several rounds of voting involving nine candidates competing for five positions.

She garnered 183 votes in the General Assembly and 13 votes in the 15-member Security Council, securing the seat for the 2027–2036 term.

In the Tuesday vote, Sierra Leone had withdrawn the candidature of its candidate, Professor Charles Chernor Jalloh, and backed Okowa in a move aimed at retaining Africa’s seat on the court.

In a statement, Sierra Leone’s Permanent Mission to the United Nations said it had withdrawn Jalloh’s candidature and supported the Kenyan judge’s election.

Source: Citizen Digital