Court of Appeal Judge Martha Koome receives prestigious UN award

Court of Appeal Judge Martha Koome has received a runner-up award as UN Kenya Person of The Year 2020.

Lady Justice Koome was recognised for her advocacy for the rights of children in conflict with the law as well as child victims.

“In accepting this nomination, I do so to celebrate and affirm that our children are indeed a gift from God, our bridge to the future and we owe them a duty of care. All of us stand in a position of local parents for a child be it a child in the streets, in a remand home, in schools and everywhere if a child is not in a good place, it is because of failure of a system in the society. This is the message I spread that our “children our collective responsibility,” she said in her acceptance speech.

Lady Justice Koome chaired the NCAJ Special Task Force on Children matters that has highlighted the plight of children in the Justice system.

The task force mobilised and coordinated other stakeholders; reviewed the Children’s Act to align it with the Constitution of Kenya 2010 and developed practice directions on how to deal with children during COVID-19.

The team further sourced for laptops which were supplied to children’s remand homes to enable them conduct virtual hearing of cases.

The Award was introduced in 2002 by the collective UN family of agencies to honour an individual or  institution for succeeding in highlighting significant issues related to the Sustainable Development Goals.