Justice Tujilane Chizumila, who was elected one of the judges for the African Court, was on Monday sworn in at the African Court of Human and People’s Rights (AFCHPR) in Arusha, Tanzania.
A press statement from the court says Chizumila—who once held the Office of the Ombudsman in Malawi—was sworn in together with Justice Chafika Bensaoula from Algeria.
The statement says the two will be joining their colleagues Justice Ntyam Ondo Mengue from Cameroon and Justice Marie Thérése Mukamulisa from Rwanda who were elected to the court during the 27th AU Summit in Kigali, Rwanda in October.
The fifth female Judge already at the Court is Justice Solomy Balungi Bossa from Uganda who was elected in June 2014.
“For the first time in the history of the court, there will be five female judges sitting on the 11-member court. The increased number of female Judges is the fulfilment of the requirement for adequate gender representation provided for in Article 12(2) and Article 14(3) of the Protocol establishing the court,” reads the statement.
Chizumila and Bensaoula replace Justice Fatsah Ouguergouz of Algeria and Justice Duncan Tambala of Malawi whose term came to an end on September 5 2016. The court’s Judges are elected for a term of six years and renewable once.
The two new Judges were elected in January during the 28th Assembly of Heads of State and Government of the African Union in Addis Ababa.
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