Effie Owuor (born 1943) is a Kenyan lawyer and judge who was the country's first female State Counsel,

Magistrate The term magistrate is used in a variety of systems of governments and laws to refer to a civilian officer who administers the law. In ancient Rome, a '' magistratus'' was one of the highest ranking government officers, and possessed both judic ...

, High Court Judge, and Court of Appeal Judge.

Early life and education

Owuor was born in 1943 in Kakamega and attended Butere Girls High School and

Alliance Girls High School Alliance Girls' High School (AGHS) is a public national boarding school for girls located near the small town of Kikuyu in the Kiambu District of the Central Province of Kenya, 20 km from Nairobi. Founded in 1948 as the African Girls High S ...

. She graduated from the

University of Dar es Salaam The University of Dar es Salaam (UDSM) is a public university in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania. It was established in 1961 as an affiliate college of the University of London. The university became an affiliate of the University of East Africa (UEA) in ...

Tanzania Tanzania (; ), officially the United Republic of Tanzania ( sw, Jamhuri ya Muungano wa Tanzania), is a country in East Africa within the African Great Lakes region. It borders Uganda to the north; Kenya to the northeast; Comoro Islands ...

in 1967, which was at the time the only university offering law degrees in East Africa.

Career

Owuor became a State Counsel in the Attorney General's Chambers in 1967. She became Kenya's first female magistrate in 1970 and senior magistrate in 1974. In 1982, Owuor was appointed by

President President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) * President (education), a leader of a college or university * President (government title) President may also refer to: Automobiles * Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese ...

Daniel arap Moi Daniel Toroitich arap Moi ( ; 2 September 1924 – 4 February 2020) was a Kenyan politician who served as the second president of Kenya from 1978 to 2002. He was the country's longest-serving president. Moi previously served as the third vice ...

to the High Court of Kenya, the first woman to sit on the bench. In 1983, she was appointed alongside Cecil Miller and Chunilal Madan to the Judicial Commission of Inquiry to investigate corruption allegations against former Attorney General

Charles Njonjo Charles Mugane Njonjo (23 January 1920 – 2 January 2022) was a Kenyan lawyer who served as Attorney General of Kenya from 1963 to 1979, and Minister of Constitutional Affairs and the member of Parliament for Kikuyu Constituency from 1980 to 1 ...

. Owuor was also appointed a goodwill ambassador to

UNICEF UNICEF (), originally called the United Nations International Children's Emergency Fund in full, now officially United Nations Children's Fund, is an agency of the United Nations responsible for providing humanitarian and developmental aid to ...

. In 1993, she was appointed chair of the Task Force on Laws Relating to Women, which resulted in the passage of the 2006

Sexual Offences Act Sexual Offences Act (with its variations) is a stock short title used for legislation in the United Kingdom and former British colonies and territories such as Antigua and Barbuda, Crown dependencies, Kenya, Lesotho, Republic of Ireland, Sierra L ...

. She was a commissioner on the Kenya Law Reform Commission from 1984 until 2000. After the NARC government came to power, Owuor was named in Aaron Ringera's

report A report is a document that presents information in an organized format for a specific audience and purpose. Although summaries of reports may be delivered orally, complete reports are almost always in the form of written documents. Usage In ...

seeking to investigate the judiciary and opted to retire rather than fight malpractice charges. Under the Mwai Kibaki government, she was nominated to the

International Criminal Court The International Criminal Court (ICC or ICCt) is an intergovernmental organization and international tribunal seated in The Hague, Netherlands. It is the first and only permanent international court with jurisdiction to prosecute individuals f ...

in 2006 but her appointment was challenged due to her mention in the Ringera report. Owuor withdrew and the position on the bench was taken by fellow female Kenyan judge

Joyce Aluoch Joyce Aluoch (born 1947) is a Kenyan lawyer who served as Judge of the International Criminal Court from 2009 until 2018. She is a former judge of the High Court of Kenya. In addition to her career as a judge, she was the First Chairperson of the ...

. Owuor and Aluoch were the first two members of the Kenya Women's Judges Association, an affiliate of the

International Women Judges Association International is an adjective (also used as a noun) meaning "between nations". International may also refer to: Music Albums * ''International'' (Kevin Michael album), 2011 * ''International'' (New Order album), 2002 * ''International'' (The T ...

, formed in 1993 when they were the only two female judges in the country. Owuor retired from the court in 2008, but continues to chair the Sexual Offences Task Force.

Personal life

Owuor was married to research scientist Beneah Majisu, whose sister was married to

Amos Wako Amos Wako (born 31 July 1945) is a former Attorney General of Kenya and the first senator for Busia County from 2013 to 2017. Wako won the senatorial seat after defeating former minister of finance Chris Okemo. He won the senator seat on an Or ...

. They divorced. She has six children. Owuor was an advocate against customary practices, and she herself was caught up in the

Luo Luo may refer to: Luo peoples and languages *Luo peoples, an ethno-linguistic group of eastern and central Africa **Luo people of Kenya and Tanzania or Joluo, an ethnic group in western Kenya, eastern Uganda, and northern Tanzania. *** Luoland, th ...

custom of widow inheritance when her second husband died. She said, "the Luo community treats widows like dirty people who have to be cleansed before they can integrate into the society once again. As the chairperson of a government task force that is reviewing the legal regime and how it affects women, it is humiliating to be harassed by men when I am still mourning my husband." She refused to be "inherited" by her husband's family.

Works

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Owuor, Effie Living people 1943 births People from Kakamega University of Dar es Salaam alumni 20th-century Kenyan judges 21st-century Kenyan judges Kenyan women judges UNICEF Goodwill Ambassadors Alumni of Alliance Girls High School 20th-century women judges 21st-century women judges