Phoebe Okowa's salary: What trailblazing Kenyan judge will earn at International Court of Justice

Kenyan law professor Phoebe Nyawade Okowa has been elected a judge of the International Court of Justice (ICJ) for a full nine-year term following a poll on Tuesday.

Okowa’s election will extend her place on the United Nations' principal judicial organ until 2036 and she is set to be compensated handsomely for the plum role.

The trailblazing Kenyan judge clinched the seat following separate ballots at UN headquarters, easily clearing the required threshold with an overwhelming 183 votes in the General Assembly and 13 out of 15 votes in the Security Council.

The decisive outcome followed several rounds of intense voting and high-stakes diplomatic negotiations. The path to victory was cleared when Sierra Leone’s contender, Prof. Charles Jalloh, alongside candidates from South Korea and Ecuador, withdrew their bids after the third round to prevent an extended stalemate.

Okowa joins a distinguished group of newly-elected jurists from France, Jordan, Singapore and the United Kingdom who will also take their places on the bench.

The International Court of Justice is composed of 15 judges elected to nine-year terms of office by the United Nations General Assembly and the Security Council.

These organs vote simultaneously but separately. In order to be elected, a candidate must receive an absolute majority of the votes in both bodies.

The court is based in The Hague, Netherlands and is headed by the President who is deputised by a Vice President.

As per the ICJ website, each member of the 15-judge bench receives an annual base salary, which as of 2026, is US$212,784 (Ksh27,649,152). They are also entitled to a post-adjustment allowance that changes monthly based on the US dollar and euro exchange rate.

Upon the end of her nine-year term, Justice Okowa will be entitled to an annual pension which is equal to half the annual base salary, in this case US$106,392 (Ksh13,824,576).

Hailing from Kericho, Okowa developed her legal acumen through premier institutions across Kenya and the United Kingdom.

Her career has been marked by pioneering milestones, including becoming the first woman to attain top academic honours within her university's Faculty of Law, establishing a formidable reputation in international jurisprudence that has now carried her to The Hague.

She first joined the ICJ in November 2025 after being elected to fill a vacancy left by Judge Abdulqawi Ahmed Yusuf of Somalia, who resigned from the court, and her election now makes her the first Kenyan and the eighth woman to serve on the 15-member bench.

She was initially elected to serve only the remainder of Yusuf's term, which was due to expire on February 5, 2027, but her election now hands her a full nine-year mandate, beginning on February 6, 2027.