She’s a Lady and she’s a Justice, and the first jurist in Kenya to hold the distinguished Lady Justice title. Effie Owuor was amongst the first entrants to the erstwhile University of East Africa where she studied law at the Dar es Salaam campus. Upon graduation in 1967 she moved back to Kenya and became the first female State Counsel at the Attorney General’s chambers. She rose from strength to strength, becoming a Resident Magistrate in 1971 and subsequently Senior Magistrate and in 1981 was appointed the first Lady Puisne Judge of the High Court of Kenya. 17 years later she broke yet another barrier and became the first Lady Judge of the Court of Appeal of Kenya. At this point, the Court of Appeal was the highest court in Kenya, as the Supreme Court was only established in 2010.
A mother of six, Effie Owuor was not only an exacting jurist but also a strong advocate of women’s and children’s rights which she worked on when she was not prosecuting civil and criminal cases. She chaired the National Task Force on laws concerning children from 1992-1996, eventually bringing about the 2001 Children’s Act. Another one of her notable moments was defending widows from the Luo community. Effie herself refused to be inherited upon the death of her husband. “[The Luo community] treat[s] widows like dirty people who must be cleansed before they can integrate into the society once again. As a 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 said at a gathering, shocking those present. Effie also served as Kenya’s Goodwill Ambassador to UNICEF, a role that garnered her special commendation from the UN Secretary General. Lady Justice Effie Owuor holds several other firsts such as being one of the first three members of the Kenya Women Judges Association formed in 1993 a role she undertook with grace, aplomb and unwavering commitment to her work.
The legacy of this Butere Girls’ alumna showcases the power of Kenya’s working mothers!