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
The Judiciary of Zambia is the branch of the Government of the Republic of Zambia which interprets and applies the country's laws to ensure impartial justice under law and to provide a mechanism for dispute resolution. Under the 1991 Constitution, ...
, 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
The Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA) is a regional economic community in Africa with twenty-one member states stretching from Tunisia to Eswatini. COMESA was formed in December 1994, replacing a Preferential Trade Area whic ...
(COMESA) Court of Justice in
Khartoum, 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 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
Lusaka (; ) is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Zambia. It is one of the fastest-developing cities in southern Africa. Lusaka is in the southern part of the central plateau at an elevation of about . , the city's population was ab ...
and also
Gray's Inn 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 talks that led to the independence of
Zimbabwe, and actively campaigned against South African
apartheid.
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
The Judiciary of Zambia is the branch of the Government of the Republic of Zambia which interprets and applies the country's laws to ensure impartial justice under law and to provide a mechanism for dispute resolution. Under the 1991 Constitution, ...
from 2012 to 2015.
In 2015, Chibesakunda was elected president of the
Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa
The Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA) is a regional economic community in Africa with twenty-one member states stretching from Tunisia to Eswatini. COMESA was formed in December 1994, replacing a Preferential Trade Area whic ...
(COMESA) Court of Justice, based in
Khartoum, 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 in August 2015.
Aside from judicial service, Justice Lombe Chibesakunda was a visiting professor at the
Kansai University in Japan. Chibesakunda is a Chancellor at
Rockview University
Rockview University is privately owned and operated university located in Lusaka, Zambia.http://www.whed.net/detail_institution.php?id=24165 It is one of the fastest growing universities in Zambia and keeps seeing an exponential increase in the n ...
in Lusaka, Zambia.
Personal life
She has a son, Chita Chibesakunda.
See also
*
First women lawyers around the world
This is a list of the first women lawyer(s) and judge(s) in each country. It includes the year in which the women were admitted to practice law (in parentheses). Also included are the first women in their country to achieve a certain distinction su ...
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
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