Justice Martha Koome profile
Justice Koome full name is Martha Karambu Koome. In professional circles, she is called Lady Justice Martha Karambu Koome.
She was born in 1960 in Kithiu village in Meru County. She is the Chief Justice of Kenya and the President of the Supreme Court of Kenya. She was a former judge of the Court of Appeal in Kenya.
She was appointed by President Uhuru Kenyatta to be the Chief Justice of Kenya on May 19 2021. President Uhuru’s gazettement come a few hours after the National Assembly unanimously approved her nomination to the position of Chief Justice.
The Kenya Judicial Service Commission nominated her as Kenya’s Chief Justice on 27 April 2021. She becomes the first woman to be nominated as Chief Justice in Kenya.
Martha Koome Education
She holds an LL.B. from the University of Nairobi and an LL.M in Public International Law from the University of London.
Justice Koome Career
Judge Koome was appointed Judge of the Court of Appeal in January 2012. Prior to the appointment to the Court of Appeal, she served as Puine Judge for 8+ years and practiced law for 15 years.
Judge Koome has a total of thirty-three years’ experience both as a legal practitioner and a Judge of the High Court and as Judge of The Court of Appeal.
She began her legal career in private practice in 1988 as a legal associate at Mathenge and Muchemi Advocates until 1993, where she succeeded in running one of the most successful women law firms at the time.
After 1993, she opened her own law firm, Martha Koome & Co Advocates, and became the managing partner until 2003.
In 1993, she was elected as a council member of the Law Society of Kenya (LSK) until 1996.
In the same year 2012, when she was appointed as Court of Appeal Judge, she was successfully elected as the Chairperson of the Kenya Magistrates and Judges Association.
While in private practice, Judge Koome distinguished herself as a defender of Human Rights concentrating specifically on Gender Rights. She represented political detainees and persons charged with politically instigated offences during the volatile period of one-party rule.
She was one of the lawyers who actively participated in the clamour for the repeal of section 2A of the Constitution and for the Independence of the judiciary.
Justice Koome Supreme court of Kenya
She is the Chief Justice of Kenya and the President of the Supreme Court of Kenya. after she was appointed by President Uhuru Kenyatta to be the Chief Justice of Kenya on May 19 2021.
The mandatory retirement age of judges in Kenya is 70 years. Since the Deputy Chief Justice Kalpana Rawal had attained this age, there was a renewed clamour to succeed her. Among those seen as the most eligible front runners for the post is Justice Martha Koome.
With her rich professional experience, she was touted as a very good candidate but the seat went to Lady Justice Philomena Mwilu. The Deputy Chief Justice position is De Facto a women’s seat.
Martha Koome Family, Husband, Children
She is married to Koome Kiragu and is a mother of 3 adult children.
