Who is Prof Phoebe Okowa, Kenya’s nominee for election as judge at International Court of Justice

Kenya is yet again set to make a significant step on the international stage after it nominated Prof Phoebe Okowa for election as a judge to the International Court of Justice (ICJ). The Permanent Mission of Kenya informed Djibouti, as the coordinator of the Eastern African Sub-region on candidatures of the nominations in a letter dated February 27. The nomination of Okowa, according to the letter, has been made by the Kenya National Group to the Permanent Court of Arbitration (PCA). The election will be conducted during the 81st session of the United Nations General Assembly and the Security Council in 2026. "Kenya is convinced that Okowa is competent and well qualified to contribute to the work of the ICJ," the letter reads in part. Kenya has now formally requested Djibouti circulate the nomination to the African Group to ensure broad regional support. The nomination of Okowa follows the recent bid by Kenya for the African Union Commission (AUC) chairperson seat. Former Prime Minister Raila Odinga lost the election to Djibouti's Mohamoud Youssuf. Prof Okowa is a lawyer and professor of Public International Law and Director of Graduate Studies at Queen Mary University of London. In 2021, she was elected to the International Law Commission for a period of five years, starting January 1, 2023, becoming the first African woman to serve as a member of the Commission. In 2016, she was appointed a Member of the Permanent Court of Arbitration at The Hague by Kenya. An advocate of the High Court of Kenya, she has acted as counsel and consultant to governments and non-governmental organisations on questions of international law before domestic and international courts including the ICJ. Kenya nominated her for election to the UN International Law Commission (ILC) in May 2021. She was co-nominated by the United Kingdom and endorsed by the African Union. Okowa received 162 votes in the United Nations General Assembly. ILC is a body of experts responsible for helping develop and codify international law. Under the ILC Statute, its members “shall be persons of recognised competence in international law.” It is composed of 34 individuals who are elected by the United Nations General Assembly for a five year term. Okowa was born in Kericho on January 1, 1965. She graduated at the top of her class with a Bachelor of Law (LLB) with First Class Honours from the University of Nairobi in 1987. Okowa was the first woman to be awarded a first-class honours degree in the history of the Faculty of Law of the University of Nairobi. She was called to the Kenyan Bar as an advocate in 1990. Okowa then studied at Wadham College, Oxford, on a Foreign and Commonwealth Office Scholarship, obtaining the degree of Bachelor of Civil Law (BCL) in 1990. She completed her doctoral thesis (D.Phil.) at Oxford in 1994 under the supervision of Professor Sir Ian Brownlie, the Chichele Professor of International Law.