Martha Koome Wins African Female Leader Of The Year Award

• Martha Karambu Koome is Kenya's first female Chief Justice, a milestone that set her apart from many African female leaders
• She was selected as the joint winner of the African Female Leader category of the African Leadership Magazine (ALM) Persons of the Year 2023 Awards
• Koome is set to receive the instruments of honour in a prestigious event that will be held in Ethiopia between February 22 and February 23, 2024

Michael Ollinga is a journalist at TUKO.co.ke with over 10 years of experience covering courts and crimes, special reports, and current affairs in Kenya.

Kenya's Chief Justice Martha Koome has been named the joint winner in the African Female Leader category of the African Leadership Magazine (ALM) Persons of the Year 2023 Awards.

Martha Koome wins prestigious awards

Koome is Kenya's first female Chief Justice and President of the Supreme Court.

Koome was named the joint winner after a two-step selection process, including a call for nominations and an online poll.

African Leadership Organisation (UK) Limited, which publishes the African Leadership Magazine (ALM), conducted the poll that closed on Thursday, December 14, Central African Time (CAT).

According to ALM, the results heavily relied on the online voting poll. The poll attracted votes from Africa and across the globe.

African Female Leader of the Year 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.

ALM believes that the selection process opened a door for Africans worldwide to take part in choosing and celebrating outstanding African leaders who have and continue to contribute to the continent's development.

The firm's board stated that Koome's joint victory as African Female of the Year 2023 was a testament to the CJ's "trailblazing leadership as the first female Chief Justice of Kenya, as well as your accomplishments in the judiciary."

Kenya's First Female Chief Justice

Koome was recognised for 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 board added.

Koome will 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 that will take place between February 22 and February 23, 2024.

The celebrations will take place 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.

President William Ruto won the ALM's African of the Year 2023 award.

List of African Persons of The Year winners

"African Leadership Magazine announces the winners of the African Persons of the Year Awards 2023. Congratulations, William Ruto, President of Kenya, on your emergence as African of the Year," ALM announced on Monday, December 18.

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, a Tanzanian businessman and philanthropist (2016); and Paul Kagame, President of Rwanda (2017).

Others are Abiy Ahmed, Prime Minister of Ethiopia (2018); Dr. Akinwumi Adesina, President of the 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).