Kenya lobbies Tanzania to support Prof. Phoebe Okowa’s candidature for ICJ judge

Kenya is intensifying its diplomatic campaign for a seat at the International Court of Justice (ICJ), with Nairobi's envoy in Dar es Salaam lobbying Tanzanian support for Prof. Phoebe Okowa, its nominee in the upcoming November elections.

Kenya's High Commissioner to Tanzania, Isaac Njenga, met with Foreign Minister Mahmoud Thabit Kombo to discuss the candidature and wider regional cooperation.

"They discussed strengthening Kenya–Tanzania ties, deepening regional integration, and Kenya's candidature to the ICJ," the High Commission said.

Tanzania's foreign ministry, in turn, affirmed its commitment to fostering economic and diplomatic cooperation across the East African Community.

For Nairobi, the ICJ campaign is a test of quiet, strategic diplomacy.

With only 15 judges elected globally through both the UN General Assembly and Security Council, success demands deft coalition-building across regions and blocs.

Prof. Okowa is a formidable contender. A Queen Mary University of London professor and the first African woman elected to the UN International Law Commission, she currently chairs its Drafting Committee.

Decorated with Kenya's Order of the Burning Spear, she has represented states before the ICJ and the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea on disputes involving maritime boundaries, climate, and human rights.

Her candidacy has both symbolic and substantive weight.

If elected, Okowa would be the first Kenyan and only the seventh woman in history to sit on the world court.

She frames her campaign around independence and empathy, arguing that "the Court's legitimacy rests on understanding all States, no matter their size."

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