Chief Justice Martha Koome emerged as a joint winner in the African Female Leader category of the prestigious African Leadership Magazine (ALM) Persons of the Year 2023 Awards.
The award was largely based on results from an online poll, which attracted vote entries from across Africa and the globe.
“The board and management of the African Leadership Organisation (UK) Limited, publishers of the African Leadership Magazine (ALM), named Chief Justice Koome 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,” part of the statement read.
Chief Justice Koome’s victory is a testament to her unwavering commitment to improving access to justice, promoting gender equality within the Kenyan legal system, and championing judicial reforms to strengthen the rule of law.
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 helping to change the negative narratives about the continent.
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Chief Justice Koome is expected to be formally decorated with the instruments of honour as African Female Leader of the Year in February 2024.
This will be during the 12th African Persons of the Year Awards Ceremony 2024, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.
Notably, 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.
About Martha Koome Award
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.
Furthermore, it is an 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 bothering on Africa’s socio-economic growth and development.
The event has also become a platform for honoring outstanding African leaders who are pursuing a pan-African agenda and contributing to Africa’s development in their fields of endeavor.
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Past winners of the African Persons of the Year Awards
Former President of Tanzania (2014) Jakaya Kikwete, Goodluck Jonathan, former President of Nigeria (2015), Paul Kagame, President of Rwanda (2017), Atiku Abubakar, former Vice President of Nigeria (2013), Abiy Ahmed, Prime Minister of Ethiopia (2018), Lazarus Chakwera, President of Malawi (2021) and Julius Maada Bio, President of Sierra Leone (2022).
Others include Sudanese Businessman Mo Ibrahim, Founder of the Ibrahim Prize for Leadership (2012), Mo Dewji, Tanzanian Businessman and Philanthropist (2016), Akinwumi Adesina, President of African Development Bank (2019) and Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, Director General, World Health Organisation (2020).
