Kenya on the cusp of women-led justice system with Rebecca Miano’s AG nomination

The country sits on the cusp of an all-female-led justice system if President William Ruto’s pick for Attorney General, Rebecca Miano, is approved for appointment.

Miano was one of six cabinet secretaries who were given a new lease of life, nearly a week after the entire inaugural Kenya Kwanza Cabinet was shown the door.

Her return to Cabinet, if approved by the National Assembly, sets her on course to a history-writing role, as the first female Attorney General of the Republic of Kenya.

For Miano, this would be her third stint in different dockets in Ruto's cabinet.

She first joined the Cabinet as the CS for EAC, Arid and Semi-arid Lands and Development, before moving to the Trade docket after a Cabinet reshuffle.

But this won't be her first rodeo in a glass ceiling-shattering role.

Prior to her appointment to Cabinet, Miano, an advocate of the High Court, had already blazed the trail as the first female Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of the Kenya Electricity Generating Company PLC, a role she held for five years before her appointment to the Cabinet.

If the national assembly approves her nomination, she will be the ninth Attorney General of post-independent Kenya.

Her ascension to that office will be significant in more ways than one; she will be joining the justice sector at a time when the sector has registered significant steps in gender representation.

While she will be the government's chief legal advisor, she will be joining other women holding equally powerful positions.

In the Judiciary, she will be working closely with Chief Justice Martha Koome, also the first female to hold that role, in the National Council on the Administration of Justice.

Other notable women in the sector include Deputy Chief Justice Philomena Mwilu, as well as Winfrida Mokaya Boyani who serves as the Chief Registrar of the judiciary.

On the other hand at the Bar, she will also interact with the first Law Society of Kenya female president Faith Odhiambo.

As the country's chief legal advisor, Miano will be required to formulate legal policies and ensure proper administration of the country's legal system.