Lady Justice Hannah Magondi Okwengu is a judge of the Court of Appeal in Nairobi.
Okwengu was born in Honge Beach [1] (Yimbo West, near Kisumu). She graduated law school at University of Nairobi in 1979. [2]
She began work as a Land Registrar in Mombasa and for three years she was an advocate with the Municipal Council of Mombasa.
After less than a year at a law firm she joined the Judiciary as an acting Resident Magistrate in October 1983. Justice Okwengu was a Chief Magistrate by 1999. She then became the Assistant Director of the Kenya Anti-Corruption Authority when she was appointed by President Daniel Moi for a five year term. She served in Mombasa, Nakuru and Nairobi as Chief Magistrate and Judge in Charge of Mombasa Law Court.
She became the President for four years of the International Association of Women Judges Kenya Chapter. [3] She represents East and Southern Africa at the IAWJ. In 2017 at an IAWJ meeting she called for special courts to tackle rape and other sexual and gender based violence. [4]
Married, with two sons, two daughters and five grandchildren.
Sir Hector Horace Hearne was an English barrister and judge.
Margaret Elizabeth Scott, Lady Scott is a Scottish lawyer who was appointed a judge in 2012.
Joyce Aluoch is a Kenyan lawyer who served as Judge of the International Criminal Court from 2009 until 2018. She is a former judge of the High Court of Kenya. In addition to her career as a judge, she was the First Chairperson of the Committee of African Union Experts on the Rights and Welfare of the Child and the Vice-Chairperson of the United Nations Committee on the Rights of the Child from 2003 to 2009. She has also served as the inaugural head of the family division of the Kenyan High Court and a member of the Court of Appeal.
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The chief justice of Kenya is a public office in the Republic of Kenya established under Article 161 of the country's Constitution as the head of the Judiciary of Kenya. Under Article 163, the chief justice also serves as the president of the Supreme Court of Kenya. The chief justice is assisted by the deputy chief justice, who also serves as the deputy president of the Supreme Court.
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The Judiciary of Kenya is the system of courts that interprets and applies the law in Kenya. After the promulgation of the Constitution of Kenya in 2010, the general public, through parliament, sought to reform the judiciary. Parliament passed the Magistrates and Judges Vetting Act of 2011. A major part of reforming the judiciary was the vetting of Magistrates and Judges in an attempt to weed out unsuitable ones. The Judicature Act has also been amended to raise the minimum number of Magistrates and Judges allowing more judicial officers to be hired. More magistrates and judges are needed to clear the backlog of cases that have caused great delay in the conclusion of cases and to staff new courts. New courts are needed to bring the courts closer to the people which is in line with devolution, a major principle written into the Constitution of 2010. New courts like the High Court opened in Garissa in November 2014 is a good example. In the past residents of North Eastern Kenya had to go all the way to Embu to access a High Court.
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