Africa-Press – Gambia. A Kenyan lawyer, Ms. Phoebe Okowa, has secured a position at the International Court of Justice (ICJ), the UN’s highest judicial office.
The development emerged on Wednesday, 12th November 2025, when the United Nations General Assembly and the Security Council unanimously elected the renowned Kenyan lawyer Ms. Phoebe as a Member of the ICJ, effective immediately.
Femi Elias, a Nigerian judge backed by the Gambian government for the position, has failed in his bid.
Ms. Okowa succeeds Judge Abdulqawi A. Yusuf, who resigned from the Court effective 30th September 2025.
According to a UN press release, “Pursuant to Article 15 of the Statute of the Court, Ms. Phoebe Okowa will hold office for the remainder of her predecessor’s term, which was due to expire on 5th February 2027.”
The ICJ, the principal judicial organ of the United Nations, comprises 15 judges elected for nine-year terms, with one-third of the membership renewed every three years to ensure continuity. Under Article 2 of the Court’s Statute, judges are chosen “regardless of their nationality, from among persons of high moral character who possess the qualifications required in their respective countries for appointment to the highest judicial offices, or are jurisconsults of recognized competence in international law.”
Article 9 of the Statute also stipulates that “in the body as a whole, the representation of the main forms of civilization and of the principal legal systems of the world should be assured.” No two members of the Court may be of the same nationality.
Following the latest elections held on 12th November 2025, the composition of the Court is as follows: President Iwasawa Yuji (Japan), Vice-President Julia Sebutinde (Uganda), and Judges Peter Tomka (Slovakia), Ronny Abraham (France), Xue Hanqin (China), Dalveer Bhandari (India), Georg Nolte (Germany), Hilary Charlesworth (Australia), Leonardo Nemer Caldeira Brant (Brazil), Juan Manuel Gómez Robledo (Mexico), Sarah H. Cleveland (United States), Bogdan-Lucian Aurescu (Romania), Dire Tladi (South Africa), Mahmoud Daifallah Hmoud (Jordan), and Phoebe Okowa (Kenya).
It could be recalled that in February 2025, the Gambian government officially nominated and endorsed the candidature of former Attorney General and Minister of Justice Ba Tambedou for the ICJ position. However, on 7th July 2025, the government made a surprise U-turn and withdrew its support for Mr. Tambedou, throwing its backing behind Femi Elias instead.
The government’s decision to drop Mr. Tambedou triggered widespread public criticism and condemnation, including from opposition leader Lawyer Ousainou Darboe, leader of the United Democratic Party (UDP), who was among the last to denounce the move.
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