Chief Justice (CJ) 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.
The board and management of the African Leadership Organisation (UK) Limited, publishers of the African Leadership Magazine (ALM), named Chief Justice Martha Koome a joint winner following a two-step selection process, which included a call for nominations and an online voting poll that closed at midnight (CAT) on Thursday, December 14, 2023.
A statement from the Judiciary sent to newsrooms indicates that the award was largely based on results from the online poll, which attracted vote entries from across Africa and the globe.
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,” read parts of the statement.
The board noted that Chief Justice Koome’s victory as the joint-winner of the African Female Leader of the Year 2023 “is a testament to your trailblazing leadership as the first female Chief Justice of Kenya, as well as your 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.”
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 help to change the negative narratives about the continent.
The statement explained that Chief Justice 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, billed for 22 – 23 February 2024, at the Ethiopian Skylight Hotel in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, with the theme: Building Resilient African Economies.
“The African Persons of the Year Ceremony is a flagship annual event of the African Leadership Magazine, which has been held consecutively over the past 12 years, convening policymakers, private sector leaders, civil society leaders, thought leaders, and all stakeholders from across Africa and the rest of the world to discuss issues bordering on Africa’s socio-economic growth and development,” read the statement.
The event has also become a prestigious platform for honouring outstanding African leaders who are pursuing a pan-African agenda and contributing to Africa’s development in their fields of endeavour.
Past winners of the African Persons of the Year Awards include Sudanese Businessman Mo Ibrahim, Founder of the Ibrahim Prize for Leadership (2012); Atiku Abubakar, former Vice President of Nigeria (2013); Jakaya Kikwete, former President of Tanzania (2014); Goodluck Jonathan, former President of Nigeria (2015); Mo Dewji, Tanzanian Businessman and Philanthropist (2016); Paul Kagame, President of Rwanda (2017); Abiy Ahmed, Prime Minister of Ethiopia (2018); Dr Akinwumi Adesina, President of African Development Bank (2019); Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, Director General, World Health Organisation (2020); Lazarus Chakwera, President of Malawi (2021); and Julius Maada Bio, President of Sierra Leone (2022).
By Joseph Ng’ang’a
