Martha Karambu Koome, Kenya’s Chief Justice, arrived in Uganda yesterday by a private plane in advance of the 17th International Association of Women Judges conference (IAWJ).
The head of the National Association of Women Judges in Uganda, Justice Henrietta Wolayo, greeted her at Entebbe International Airport and expressed the need for more women to participate in decision-making and policy formulation in the nation.
“In Uganda, we have made significant progress in the judiciary; currently, there are 49.2 more female judicial officers than male judicial officers. At a news conference at the airport, Justice Wolayo stated that the gap was so minimal that it was almost if we were on same footing.
“Those are some of the problems we will explore, such as barriers to women’s participation in decision-making roles and also access to employment possibilities,” she continued.
The conference’s topic is “Women Judges: Breaking Barriers to Equal Justice, Strengthening Institutions,” and it begins tomorrow and ends on Saturday.
“In the past, it was challenging for women to advance and hold these roles, but today, we are and we’re celebrating. The conference is intended to encourage young ladies to embrace a career in law, so we are requesting more, she said.
In her remarks, Chief Justice Koome stated that as judges from different nations gathered in Uganda, they would examine the successes and difficulties and chart a course for how they could best serve the public as female judges.
The discussion will also include other subjects, such as how to increase public access to justice, according to CJ Koome.
The 13 IAWJ chapter countries, according to her, must learn and adapt legal systems from one country that they can employ in their own judicial systems.
“I’ll pick up a lot from what’s happening in Uganda. By adopting the small claims courts that are more prevalent in Uganda than in Kenya, we are aiming to cascade justice to the people in Kenya, the woman stated.
“We only established the Small Claims Procedure Court last year, but you’ve had them for a lot longer than we have,” she continued. Because it’s a true game changer, we expect to have them cascaded throughout all courts by the end of the year.
Justice Koome claimed that, like Uganda, Kenya is attempting to introduce specialized courts to address sexual and gender-based violence.
“They (Uganda) have another Division of the High Court that deals with the foreign crimes, and I am also under pressure to form a similar division to battle crimes like piracy, terrorism, and all other international crimes,” the official said. As CJ Koome said.