NAIROBI, Kenya, Jul 9 – Chief Justice and President of the Supreme Court of Kenya, Justice Martha Koome, has welcomed efforts to unite Africa’s judiciaries in defending and promoting the rule of law across the continent.
She spoke during a meeting with representatives of the Friedrich Naumann Foundation for Freedom (FNF) Nairobi office, ahead of the upcoming “2024 Edition of the All Africa Judges and Jurists Summit,” organized by the Kenya Judiciary Academy (KJA) and the Africa Judges and Jurists Forum (AJJF).
The summit, themed “An Africa of Good Governance, Democracy, Respect for Human Rights, Justice, and the Rule of Law,” will take place in Nairobi from September 17th to 19th, 2024. Justice Isaac Lenaola, a judge of the Supreme Court of Kenya, is a senior member of the AJJF and the Kenyan lead for organizing the September Summit.
The German political foundation has committed to supporting the summit as part of its mandate to promote the rule of law and the independence of the judiciary.
“The biggest threat right now is budgetary constraints. Across the continent, judiciaries are gravely underfunded, and because of this, they tend to be overrun by the executive and legislature. This conference affords us the opportunity to solidify our voices, but also gives us the opportunity to reflect on what more we can do to demystify our institutions and make them more efficient,” Justice Koome said.
Justice Koome noted FNF’s focus on creating social market economies that enhance citizens’ personal freedoms, social peace, and high prosperity: “This aligns with the Kenyan Judiciary strategic blueprint, ‘Social Transformation through Access to Justice,’ which identifies social justice as a core value to enable citizens to flourish and realize their potential.”
FNF’s Project Director for East Africa, Stefan Schott, underscored the foundation’s commitment to supporting public dialogues that lead to a better appreciation of the rule of law, and the corresponding responsibility of various actors, including individual citizens, in its attainment.
“It’s very critical for the citizens to understand that rule of law and essentially justice, is not just about the person standing before a judge in a courtroom. It’s about the society as a whole,” Schott said.
FNF Senior Project Managers Judie Kaberia and Nzau Musau, Rose Wachuka, Chief of Staff, Office of the Chief Justice, and Loice Wangechi, Strategic Advisor to the Chief Justice, attended the meeting.
