New York / Nairobi, November 3, 2026
Professor Phoebe Nyawade Okowa of Kenya has been elected as a judge of the International Court of Justice (ICJ) for a full nine-year term after securing the required absolute majorities in simultaneous votes by the United Nations General Assembly and the UN Security Council.
Okowa, who has been serving on the Court since November 2025 to complete the remainder of a term vacated by Judge Abdulqawi Ahmed Yusuf of Somalia (which was set to expire on 5 February 2027), will now serve from 6 February 2027 to 2036. She becomes the first Kenyan to hold a full term on the 15-member principal judicial organ of the United Nations. Capitalfm
The election required multiple rounds of voting. In earlier rounds, Okowa received strong support in the General Assembly but fell short in the 15-member Security Council. Candidates from Sierra Leone (Prof. Charles Chernor Jalloh), Ecuador, and South Korea later withdrew, consolidating support. In the decisive third round, Okowa defeated Peru’s Luz del Carmen Ibáñez Carranza, securing 13 votes in the Security Council (with none for her rival) and a commanding majority in the General Assembly. Reports indicated she received as many as 183 votes in the Assembly in the final tally. Capitalfm
Four other judges were elected in the first round: Dapo Akande (United Kingdom), François Alabrune (France), Mahmoud Daifallah Hmoud (Jordan), and Rena Lee (Singapore). Under the ICJ Statute, candidates must obtain an absolute majority in both the 193-member General Assembly (at least 97 votes) and the Security Council (at least eight votes). The process is not subject to a Security Council veto.
Kenya’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Principal Secretary Korir Sing’Oei welcomed the outcome, describing it as a reflection of international confidence in Okowa’s expertise. Okowa, a former Professor of Public International Law at Queen Mary University of London and a member of the UN International Law Commission, was previously elected in November 2025 after several rounds of voting to fill the partial term. She is only the eighth woman to serve on the ICJ bench.
The election follows months of diplomatic lobbying by Kenya, which presented Okowa’s candidature as advancing African representation and the rules-based international order on the Court. Her new term begins in February 2027.