CJ Martha Koome emerges joint winner in African Female Leader category of ALM 2023 awards
Chief Justice Martha Koome has emerged as a joint-winner in the African Female Leader category of the African Leadership Magazine (ALM) Persons of the Year 2023 Awards.
Koome, the first female Chief Justice of Kenya, was recognised following her accomplishments in the Judiciary, especially in improving access to justice, promoting gender equality within the legal system and advancing judicial reforms to strengthen the rule of law in Kenya. This is according to the African Leadership Organisation (UK) Limited, publishers of the African Leadership Magazine (ALM).
The winners of the awards are selected through a two-step process, which includes a call for nominations and an online voting poll that closed on Thursday, December 14, 2023.
"The African Persons of the Year Awards are Africa's premier vote-based leadership endorsement polls, annually reserved for leading Africans contributing significantly to the continent's progress, while inspiring a generation of African achievers, positively altering the continent's perceived negative image.
The selection process offered an opportunity for Africans from across the globe to be part of the process of choosing and celebrating outstanding African leaders contributing to the continent's growth and development," the Kenya Judiciary said in a statement on Wednesday, December 20, 2023.
"It also reaffirms the position that Chief Justice Koome remains one of the continent's leading lights as she has continued to promote African dignity and helping to change the negative narratives about the continent."
Koome's decoration
Koome is expected to be formally decorated with the instruments of honour as African Female Leader of the Year during the flagship annual 12th African Persons of the Year Awards Ceremony 2024, set for February 22 to 24, 2024, in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.
Past winners of the African Persons of the Year Awards include Sudanese Businessman Mo Ibrahim, Founder of the Ibrahim Prize for Leadership (2012), former Vice President of Nigeria Atiku Abubakar (2013), former President of Tanzania Jakaya Kikwete (2014), former President of Nigeria Goodluck Jonathan (2015), Tanzanian Businessman and Philanthropist Mo Dewji (2016), President of Rwanda Paul Kagame (2017), Prime Minister of Ethiopia Abiy Ahmed (2018), President of African Development Bank Dr Akinwumi Adesina (2019), Director General, World Health Organisation Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus (2020), President of Malawi Lazarus Chakwera (2021) and President of Sierra Leone Julius Maada Bio (2022).
