Lombe Phyllis Chibesakunda (born 5 May 1944) is a Zambian lawyer and diplomat. She has been the chairperson of the Human Rights Commission of Zambia, Solicitor General, Deputy Minister in the Ministry of Legal Affairs, acting Chief Justice of Zambia, and has served as an Ambassador to Japan, the United Kingdom, the Vatican, and the Netherlands. Chibesakunda is the first woman president of the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA) Court of Justice in

Khartoum Khartoum or Khartum ( ; ar, الخرطوم, Al-Khurṭūm, din, Kaartuɔ̈m) is the capital of Sudan. With a population of 5,274,321, its metropolitan area is the largest in Sudan. It is located at the confluence of the White Nile, flowing n ...

, Sudan.

Early life

Lombe Phyllis Chibesakunda was born in Zambia on 5 May 1944. She comes from Chibesakunda royal family. Chibesakunda is a chief in the

Muchinga Province Muchinga Province is one of the ten provinces of Zambia. It is located in the northeast of the country and borders with Tanzania in the north, Malawi in the east, Eastern Province in the south, Central Province in the southwest, Luapula Province ...

of the Bisa ethnic group, one of the many dialects of northern Zambia. She attended Chibesakunda and Pandala Primary School in Northern Zambia. She later went to Chipembi Girls where she served as Head Girl, then later studied at the National Institute of Public Administration in Lusaka and also

Gray's Inn The Honourable Society of Gray's Inn, commonly known as Gray's Inn, is one of the four Inns of Court (professional associations for barristers and judges) in London. To be called to the bar in order to practise as a barrister in England and W ...

in England.

Career

Chibesakunda is a woman of ‘firsts’. She became the first female Zambian lawyer and State Advocate in the Ministry of Legal Affairs. She was a parliamentary candidate for the Matero constituency and Solicitor-General of the Republic of Zambia in 1973. After a successful career in Law, Social Action, and Politics, she joined the diplomatic corps serving as ambassador to Japan (1975), Zambian High Commissioner to the United Kingdom (UK), Netherlands, and Holy See (1978–81). Chibesakunda took part in the

Lancaster House Lancaster House (originally known as York House and then Stafford House) is a mansion in the St James's district in the West End of London. It is close to St James's Palace, and much of the site was once part of the palace complex. This Gr ...

talks that led to the independence of

Zimbabwe Zimbabwe (), officially the Republic of Zimbabwe, is a landlocked country located in Southeast Africa, between the Zambezi and Limpopo Rivers, bordered by South Africa to the south, Botswana to the south-west, Zambia to the north, and ...

, and actively campaigned against South African

apartheid Apartheid (, especially South African English: , ; , "aparthood") was a system of institutionalised racial segregation that existed in South Africa and South West Africa (now Namibia) from 1948 to the early 1990s. Apartheid was ...

. Chibesakunda was appointed Judge of the Industrial Relations Court in 1986 and later became Africa Development Bank Court President. Chibesakunda was appointed Chairperson of the Human Rights Commission of Zambia in 1997. Since 1981 she has concentrated on the judicial service as a judge at High Court, and Supreme Court and served as acting Chief Justice of Zambia from 2012 to 2015. In 2015, Chibesakunda was elected president of the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA) Court of Justice, based in

, Sudan, and is the first woman to hold this position. She succeeded

Nzamba Kitonga Philip Nzamba Kitonga (1956 – 24 October 2020) was a Kenyan lawyer and politician. Career He held many positions in his career but he was best known for being on the Committee of Experts on Constitutional Review (CoE) that drafted the new Consti ...

of Kenya in the role. The last president her lady swore-in in her tenure was president

Edgar Lungu Edgar Chagwa Lungu (born 11 November 1956) is a Zambian politician who served as the sixth president of Zambia from 25 January 2015 to 24 August 2021. Under President Michael Sata, Lungu served as Minister of Justice and Minister of Defence. ...

in August 2015. Aside from judicial service, Justice Lombe Chibesakunda was a visiting professor at the

Kansai University , abbreviated as or , is a private non-sectarian and coeducational university with its main campus in Suita, Osaka, Japan and two sub-campuses in Sakai and Takatsuki, Osaka. Founded as Kansai Law School in 1886, It has been recognized as one o ...

in Japan. Chibesakunda is a Chancellor at Rockview University in Lusaka, Zambia.

Personal life

She has a son, Chita Chibesakunda.

References

Lombe is writing her book titled My Trodden Path : An Autobiography 1944 births Living people 20th-century Zambian women politicians 20th-century Zambian politicians Chief justices of Zambia Women chief justices 20th-century Zambian judges Members of the National Assembly of Zambia 21st-century Zambian women politicians 21st-century Zambian politicians 21st-century Zambian judges {{Zambia-bio-stub

Early life

Career

Personal life

See also

References