timeline Career Highlights
Chairlady of the NCAJ Special Taskforce on Children Matters that was the architect of the Children Act, 2022
President of the Kenya Magistrates and Judges Association (2019)
Member of the AU Committee on the Rights and Welfare of the Child (2005 - 2010)
Chairperson of FIDA - Kenya (1998 - 2003)
Chairperson of the Bill of Rights Sub-Committee at the Bomas Constitutional Conference
Inaugural Treasurer of the East Africa Law Society
Council Member of the Law of Society of Kenya (1994-1996)
person Biography
Hon. Justice Martha Koome was appointed Chief Justice and President of the Supreme Court of Kenya on 14th May, 2021 and assumed office on 21st May, 2021, becoming the first woman to hold this position in Kenya’s history. She is the Chairperson of the Judicial Service Commission, National Council on the Administration of Justice, National Council for Law Reporting, and the Vice Chairperson of the Southern and Eastern Africa Chief Justices’ Forum.
Prior to her appointment, she was a Judge of the Court of Appeal (2012), and Judge of the High Court (2003). Before joining judicial service, she was a practising advocate.
Hon. Justice Martha Koome was the President of the Kenya Magistrates and Judges Association (2019); Member of the AU Committee on the Rights and Welfare of the Child (2005 – 2010); Chairperson of FIDA – Kenya (1998 – 2003); Chairperson of the Bill of Rights Sub-Committee at the Bomas Constitutional Conference; Inaugural Treasurer of the East Africa Law Society; and Council Member of the Law of Society of Kenya (1994-1996). She chaired the NCAJ Special Taskforce on Children Matters that was the architect of the Children Act, 2022.
She was awarded the inaugural Sejong Award for Judicial Excellence (2026), Lifetime Achievement Award from ADR ODR International (2026), the runner-up UN Person of the Year in Kenya 2020, the National Honours of the Elder of the Order of the Burning Spear (EBS), and the Elder of the Order of the Golden Heart (EGH).
She is an Advocate of the High Court of Kenya and a Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators. She holds a Bachelor of Laws (LLB) from the University of Nairobi, Post-Graduate Diploma from the Kenya School of Law, Master of Laws (LLM) from the University of London, Doctor of Letters (D.Litt.), honoris causa, Kenya Methodist University, certificate of completion for the Women and Power Program, (April, 2025) John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University, Executive Education, and the African Chief Justices’ Alternative Dispute Training (October 2024) from Pepperdine University.
