Prof. Phoebe Okowa has been elected judge of the International Court of Justice (ICJ) after securing the required majority votes from the UN General Assembly and the UN Security Council.

Her new nine-year mandate, which runs from February 6, 2027, until February 2036, solidifies her position on the 15-member bench responsible for resolving legal disputes between sovereign states.

Kenya’s Attorney General, Dorcas Oduor, has hailed Prof. Okowa as an inspiration, saying that her election is a moment of pride for the country and a significant recognition of her distinguished contribution to international law and legal scholarship.

“Securing the requisite majority votes in both the United Nations General Assembly and the Security Council is a remarkable achievement and a testament to the confidence and trust placed in her legal expertise, integrity and experience,” Oduor said. “I am confident that she will bring her wealth of knowledge and experience to the Court’s important responsibility of upholding international law and promoting the peaceful resolution of disputes among nations.”

Ms. Okowa was propelled to the seat after winning 183 votes in the General Assembly and 13 votes in the Security Council. Her main challenger, Peru’s Luz del Carmen Ibáñez Carranza, received just two votes in the General Assembly and none in the Security Council.

In one way or another, there was need to break a diplomatic stalemate to stop the race from being an intra-continental contest between Okowa and Sierra Leonean jurist Charles Chernor Jalloh. To consolidate support for the African lot, Sierra Leone withdrew Jalloh’s candidacy. Its Permanent Mission said the move aimed at keeping “Africa’s seat on the Court”, thereby averting a protracted impasse. Candidates from South Korea and Ecuador also stepped down after earlier rounds of voting.

Okowa is an esteemed public international law scholar and professor at Queen Mary University of London. She first came to the limelight in November 2025 when she became the first Kenyan-born lady elected to the World Court. But that initial election was strictly to serve out the remainder of a casual vacancy left by the resignation of Somali Judge Abdulqawi Ahmed Yusuf. Her successful re-election, therefore, ensures her a complete, independent term.

The outcome marks a huge diplomatic milestone for Kenya, capping months of intensive lobbying led by President William Ruto and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

Korir Sing’oei, Kenya’s Principal Secretary for Foreign Affairs, says Okowa’s victory is a key milestone as it is, a “reflection of confidence of the international community in her capacity to serve the Court at this consequential time.”

Okowa, who now joins other newly elected judges from the United Kingdom, France, Singapore, and Jordan on the bench, will strictly serve as an independent jurist rather than a national representative.