Supreme Court Judge, Lord Justice Isaac Lenaola was on Friday, February 21 elected as president of the International Association of Refugee and Migration Judges board.
Lenaola takes over from Justice Katelijne Declerck with Greece's Aikaterini Koutsopoulou elected vice-president.
Prior to his election as head of the global body, Lenaola served as vice president. He has been a member of the committee since 2013.
The IARMJ seeks to foster recognition that protection from persecution on account of race, religion, nationality, membership in a particular social group, or political opinion is an individual right established under international law.
The body further champions for the determination of refugee status and its cessation subjected to the rule of law.
Lenaola boasts an impressive track record, and thus translating to the recognition and better yet, the election.
Prior to his appointment to the Supreme Court of Kenya, Justice Lenaola served as Presiding judge of the Constitution and Human Rights Division of the High Court and as deputy principal judge of the East Africa Court of Justice.
He was drafted to the apex of the court in late 2016 following a lengthy interview to fill the vacant positions left by Justice Philip Tunoi and Justice Kalpana Rawal who had attained the mandatory judicial retirement age of 70 years.
Lenaola was part of the bench that annulled President Uhuru Kenyatta and Deputy President William Ruto's win in the August 8, 2017, general election following a petition by the National Super Alliance challenging the victory.
