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and International Courts

African Women

Click below to read our background paper:

African Women Judges on International Courts: Symbolic or Substantive Gains?

Elizabeth Gwaunza

International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY)

ZIMBABWE

Elizabeth Gwaunza was born on June 15, 1953, in Zimbabwe. She holds a Diploma in Women’s Law from the Women’s Law Centre in Zimbabwe, a Diploma in Legislative Drafting, and another Diploma in Adult Education. Elizabeth has a Certificate in Gender Studies and Development and an honorary Master’s degree in Women and Gender Development from the Women’s University in Africa.

Elizabeth was admitted as a legal practitioner of the High Court of Zimbabwe in 1987. She became the first director of Legal Affairs in the Ministry of Community Development and Women’s Affairs and also worked as a director of Legal Aid in the Ministry of Justice. She was appointed as a Judge of the High Court in August 1998 and was eventually promoted to the Supreme Court in 2002. History was made when she became the second woman to sit on the Supreme Court after Justice Vernanda Ziyambi. Her hard work and integrity culminated in her appointment as the Deputy Chief Justice of the Constitutional and Supreme Court of Zimbabwe.

Judge Gwaunza’s international career started with her appointment to the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY), where she worked from 2008 to 2013. Her profound experience with both governmental and non-governmental organizations is noteworthy. She was founding member and past president of the Zimbabwe Association of Women Judges and member of the International Association of Women Judges.

Judge Gwaunza co-founded and was the national coordinator of the Women and Law in Southern Africa Research Project from 1989 to 1995. She further served on the boards of the Musasa Project and the Women’s Leadership and Governance Institute. In addition to the above-mentioned achievements, she chaired the Wills and Inheritance Project — a joint venture of DFID and the Ministry of Justice, Legal and Parliamentary Affairs. One of her notable firsts is being one of two black female law students who were the first to graduate in Zimbabwe.

Vonimbolana Rasoazanany

International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY)

MADAGASCAR

Vonimbolana Rasoazanany was born on November 13, 1950, in Antananarivo, Madagascar. She holds a Master’s degree in Law from the University of Antananarivo. This, she obtained between 1971 and 1975. Within that period, she concurrently studied for a Diploma from the Institut d’Etudes Judiciaires in the same university.

Vonimbolana started her career as a Deputy Public Prosecutor of Tribunal de première instance in Diego Suarez from 1976 to 1978. She was appointed Judge and examining magistrate at the Section of the Ambositra Tribunal from 1978 to 1981. Whilst serving in that capacity, she was responsible for investigating blood crimes, grand larcenies, killings, amongst others. From 1985 to 1990 she was appointed as Counsellor at the Court of Appeal of Antananarivo and President of the Ordinary Criminal Court. Vonimbolana lectured for about a year at the University of Antananarivo during her tenure at the Court of Appeal.

Judge Rasoazanany was elevated to the Supreme Court of Madagascar as Counsellor from 1991 to 2002. Her responsibilities involved the supervision of the Trial Courts and Appeal Courts. Thereafter, she became the Director of Studies and External Relations of the Ministry of Justice for about a year and in 2006 occupied the position of Presiding Judge at the Supreme Court of Madagascar. Judge Rasoazanany’s international career commenced as ad litem judge of the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY) for a four-year term beginning from 2001 and ending in 2005. She was re-elected by the United Nations General Assembly as ad litem judge of the ICTY for another term which ended in 2009. Rasoazanany has collaborated with international organizations such as the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and UNICEF on projects related to human rights and children’s rights.
Judge Rasoazanany is actively involved in non-governmental organizations, namely; African League for Human and Peoples’ Rights since 2000 and “Comité national malgache pour la défense des droits de l’homme”, since 2002. She has served on several boards in Madagascar and has participated in numerous conferences and workshops both locally and internationally. She has been awarded on several occasions for her industriousness in legal spheres.

Prisca Matimba Nyambe

International Residual Mechanism for Criminal Tribunals (IRMCT)

ZAMBIA

Prisca Matimba Nyambe was born on December 31, 1951, in Zambia. She obtained her Law degree from the University of Zambia in 1975 and was admitted as an advocate of the High Courts and Supreme Courts of Zambia and Zimbabwe in 1978 and 1982 respectively. Prisca was appointed as a Resident Magistrate in Kabwe, Zambia in 1978 and continued in this capacity until she was appointed Senior Magistrate in Harare and Gwelo, Zimbabwe. Four years after, she became Legal Counsel to the Central Bank of Zambia and transitioned to private legal practice from 1992 to 1996.

Prisca Nyambe joined the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda (ICTR) in 1996 as Senior Legal Officer of the Chief Court Management Section for four years. She then became the Chief of the General Legal Services Section from 2000 to 2002 and General Counsel to the ICTR between 2002 and 2006. Nyambe was elected Judge ad litem of the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY) in 2005, where she sat on the trial of Zdravko Tolimir, a wartime Bosnian Serb general convicted of genocide, giving the sole dissenting opinion.

In 2006, she was further appointed as a judge of the High Court of Zambia and served in this position until her retirement in 2015. Her wealth of knowledge and experience led to her election as judge of the International Residual Mechanism for Criminal Tribunals (IRMCT) in 2011. Justice Nyambe has previously had special assignments and appointments in both local and international spheres. Notable amongst them are; member of Parliamentary Fact-finding Committee of Legal Experts appointed to report on discriminatory laws against women in government and state-owned enterprises in Zambia (1989), Commissioner of the Elections Commission of Zambia (1992), Human Rights expert/International observer under the International Commission of Jurists (1993-1995), Collaborator on a Direct Contact Mission to the Republic of Ethiopia on behalf of the International Labour Organization (2008) and chairperson of the group on the Establishment of Divisions of the High Court of Zambia (2004). Judge Nyambe was honored with the rank and dignity of State Counsel by the President of Zambia in 2005.


Florence Rita Arrey

International Residual Mechanism for Criminal Tribunals (IRMCT)

CAMEROON

Florence Rita Arrey was born on May 18, 1948, in Cameroon. She earned her Bachelor of Law degree at the University of Lagos, Nigeria, and a Diploma in Legal Drafting as well as a certificate in International Law at the University of London Advanced Institute for Legal Studies. Florence subsequently obtained a diploma in Magistracy from the National School of Administration and Magistracy, Yaounde.

Judge Florence Arrey’s career has been marked by notable firsts beginning with her appointment as the first female State Counsel in Cameroon in 1974 and her appointment as the first woman Chief Justice of the Court of Appeal in 1990. Between 1974 and 1990, other positions occupied by Florence Arrey were the President of the Court of 1st Instance Tiko, Advocate General of the Court of Appeal, and Vice President of the Court of Appeal. Her industriousness led to her appointment to the Supreme Court of Cameroon in 2000 and her subsequent appointment as the director of Judicial Professions in the Ministry of Justice, Cameroon. In 2018, Judge Arrey was appointed a pioneer member of the Constitutional Council, an institution mandated to rule on the constitutionality of laws in Cameroon.

Justice Arrey’s international career began in 2003 when she was elected as ad litem judge of the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda, the first Cameroonian to be so elected. In 2011, the lady justice occupied the positions of Vice President of the United Nations International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda (ICTR) and Judge of the International Residual Mechanism for Criminal Tribunals (IRMCT). Judge Arrey has been a vibrant member of many local and international associations including the International Association of Women Judges (Vice President), Common Law Magistrates and Judges Association (first president of the Cameroon chapter), and President of the Cameroon Association of Women Judges. She is recognized for ruling in landmark cases that advocated for women’s right to own property and influenced gender reforms in Cameroonian laws. In 2010, she was one of the fifty women recognized during the celebration of the 50th Anniversary of Cameroon's Independence.

Elizabeth Ibanda Nahamya

International Residual Mechanism for Criminal Tribunals (IRMCT)

UGANDA

Elizabeth Ibanda-Nahamya is a Ugandan High Court judge who was appointed in March 2009. She holds an LLB from Makerere University in Kampala (1975), a Post Graduate Diploma in Legal Practice from Law Development Centre, also in Kampala (1976), and a Master’s Degree in Criminal Justice from the University of New Haven, USA (1980).

Elizabeth Ibanda-Nahamya’s career commenced as an Assistant lecturer with the Law Development Centre, Kampala in 1976 for about a year. She transitioned to private practice working as an advocate with Mawaali & Co. Advocates from 1979 to 1980 and later as a Senior Legal Assistant at Katende, Sempebwa & Co. Advocates from 1990 to 1992. Elizabeth worked as a part-time lecturer with the Central Bank of Lesotho and the National University of Lesotho Maseru from 1980 to 1981, teaching Law of Contract and Company Law. She subsequently obtained a permanent role in the legal academy at Ahmadu Bello University in Nigeria from 1981 to 1989. In 1993, Elizabeth started her own firm under the name Ibanda Nahamya & Co. Advocates. Her depth of knowledge in International Criminal Law, Human Rights, and International Humanitarian Law led to her appointment as a judge for the International Crimes Division of the High Court of Uganda from 2009 to 2017.

Judge Ibanda-Nahamya’s international career begun six years after she started her firm. She became the Trials Chamber Coordinator for the United Nations Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda, Arusha in Tanzania. Eight years after working diligently in this position she was appointed as Deputy Principal Defender and later as Principal Defender for The Special Court for Sierra Leone set up jointly by the Government of Sierra Leone and the United Nations. In 2013, Ibanda-Nahamya was appointed as judge of the United Nations International Residual Mechanism for Criminal Tribunals (IRMCT). Judge Ibanda- Nahamya has previously engaged in consultancy for the Ministry of Finance and the World Bank. She has also participated in numerous conferences throughout her career and is a member of both local and international associations contributing immensely towards their development and impact.

Aminatta Lois Runeni N’gum

International Residual Mechanism for Criminal Tribunals (IRMCT)

THE GAMBIA

Aminatta N’gum was born on June 7, 1953, in Harare, Zimbabwe, and is a Gambian national by marriage since 1981. She earned a B.A. Joint Honours in Law and Sociology from the University of Keele, the United Kingdom in 1978 and was called to the Bar of England and Wales in July 1979. She has been a member of the Honourable Society of Lincoln’s Inn since 1977. Aminatta received an LL.M in Public International Law with an International Criminal Law Specialisation from Leiden University, the Netherlands, in 2005.

Judge Aminatta N’gum served the Judiciary of The Gambia as a Magistrate from 1980 to 1990 and Master of the Supreme Court from 1990 to 1994. She then transitioned to Private Legal Practice from 1994 to 1998 and 2009 to 2010. Additionally, she was the first Judicial Secretary from 1998 to 1999 and was appointed Judge of the Gambian Court of Appeal from the High Court from 2010 to 2011. Beginning in 2012, Judge N’gum served as a Judge of the International Residual Mechanism for Criminal Tribunals. During this period, she has actively participated in amending and finalizing the Draft Mechanism Rules of Procedure and Evidence as well as the Code of Professional Conduct for Mechanisms Judges. Prior to this position, Judge N’gum served as a Legal Officer at the UN International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda (ICTR) from 1999 to 2009. Ngum’s work in this capacity begun in Arusha, Tanzania, in the Court Management Section as Deputy Chief, and sometimes Officer-in-Charge. She was then reassigned as Head of the Appeals Support Unit in The Hague and subsequently to Arusha in the Defence Counsel and Detention Management Section as Deputy Chief and Head of Section and later Officer-in- Charge. She finally returned to the Court Management Section as a Legal Officer and Coordinator.

Judge N’gum has occupied other enviable positions including Assistant Editor for the 1994 Gambia Law Reports, Senior Counsel to the Commission of Inquiry into Land Administration (1994-1998), and Part-Time Law Lecturer at The Gambia Technical Training Institute. Further, she is recognized as a founding member of both the Soroptimist International of Banjul and The Gambia Women Finance Association.

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