What you didn't know about the seven Supreme Court Judges

Martha Koome is the current Chief Justice and the President of the Supreme Court.

Lady Justice Martha Koome became the first female Chief Justice to handle a presidential election petition when she led her seven-member bench to uphold the election of president-elect William Ruto.

Born in 1960 in Meru County, Lady Justice Koome has a Master of Laws in Public International Law from the University of London (2010), a Bachelor of Laws from the University of Nairobi in 1986 and a post-graduate diploma in law from the Kenya School of Law.

She was admitted to the bar as an advocate of the High Court in 1987 and started as a legal associate at Mathenge and Muchemi Advocates until 1993 when she opened her own law firm and became the managing partner until 2003.

During her time as a High Court Judge between 2003 and 2011, Justice Koome served in different capacities as head of Land and Environmental Division in Nairobi, Resident Judge in Nakuru and Kitale and at the Commercial and Family Divisions in Nairobi.

• She was promoted to the Court of Appeal in 2012 until being elected as the CJ, head of the judiciary and president of the Supreme Court in 2021.
• She is the current President of the Supreme Court
• Appointed Chief Justice in May 2021
• Admitted to roll of advocates in 1987
• Holds a Bachelor's Degree in Law from the University of Nairobi
• Post-graduate Diploma in Law holder from the Kenya School of Law
• Holds a Master's Degree in Law from the University of London
• Council Member of the Law of Society of Kenya between 1994 and 1996

Philomena Mwilu - Deputy Chief Justice

Justice Ibrahim Mohamed is the current Chairperson of the Judiciary Committee on Elections.

Justice Ibrahim is the oldest of the seven Supreme Court Judges. He has a Bachelor of Laws degree from the University of Nairobi and was admitted to the Roll of Advocates in January 1983.

Having participated in the 2013 presidential election where they dismissed Raila's petition that challenged the election of President Uhuru Kenyatta, Justice Ibrahim missed out on the 2017 case due to illness.

• He was appointed as a High Court Judge in 2003 where he served in Eldoret, Nairobi and Mombasa before being elevated to the Supreme Court in June 2011.
• Appointed as Judge of the Supreme Court of Kenya in 2011
• Admitted to roll of advocates in 1983
• Elected to LSK Council for a year in 1994
• Chairperson of the Judiciary Committee on Elections in 2021

Justice Njoki Ndung'u

Justice Smokin Wanjala with a PhD from the University of Ghent, Belgium is among the three longest-serving judges of the Supreme Court.

Justice Wanjala, has a Bachelor of Laws from the University of Nairobi, Master of Laws from Columbia University, New York and a PhD from the University of Ghent, Belgium.

Before his appointment to Supreme Court in June 2011, he lectured law at the University of Nairobi for 20 years (1986-2004). He served as Assistant Director of the defunct Kenya Anti-Corruption Commission (KACC) from 2004 to 2009.

He is among the three longest-serving judges of the Supreme Court alongside Justices Mohammed Ibrahim and Njoki Ndung'u having been appointed as the first judges of the court in 2011. He has also participated in all the four presidential election petitions since 2013.

• Appointed as Judge of the Supreme Court in 2011
• Holds Bachelor of Laws (LLB, Hons) from the University of Nairobi
• Diploma in Law holder from the Kenya School of Law
• Holds a Master of Law (LL.M) Degree from Columbia University, New York
• Doctorate in Law (PhD) holder from the University of Ghent, Belgium
• Lecturer at the University of Nairobi between 1986 and 2004
• Received the Presidential Award of the Chief of the Order of the Burning Spear (CBS) [First Class] in 2012

Justice Isaac Lenaola

Justice Ouko with a Masters Degree in Criminology and Criminal Justice from Egerton University was elected as president of the Court of Appeal in 2018.

Justice Ouko is one of the longest serving judicial officers having spent his entire cumulative 34 years of legal experience in the corridors of justice and is considered an insider who has worked and seen both the bright and dark sides of the judiciary.

Justice Ouko was admitted to the roll of advocates in 1987, briefly worked at Mbogholi Msagha and Company Advocates for a few months before joining the judiciary as a District Magistrate and rose through the ranks within two years to become a Deputy Registrar of the High Court in 1989.

In 1997, he was promoted to judiciary's chief court administrator, a position he held until 2002 when he became the registrar of the High Court.

His first breakthrough as a superior court judge came in 2004 when he was appointed by retired President Mwai Kibaki as a High Court Judge and then to the Court of Appeal in 2012.

He was elected as president of the Court of Appeal in 2018 to take over from Justice Kihara Kariuki whose term had expired and was subsequently appointed to head the state law office.

• The judge has a Masters Degree in Criminology and Criminal Justice from Egerton University and Bachelor of Law from the University of Nairobi
• Appointed Judge of the Supreme Court in 2021Until 2021, he was president of the Court of Appeal
• Joined the Judiciary in 1987More than 33 years' experience in legal profession.
• Served as joint secretary of the Goldenberg Commission of Inquiry
• Holds a Master of Arts degree in Criminology and Criminal Justice (MACJ)
• Bachelor of Laws degree (LLB) holder from the University of Nairobi
• Diploma in Legal Practice from the Kenya School of Law