Lombe Chibesakunda


Lombe Phyllis Chibesakunda is a Zambian lawyer and diplomat, and 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, and has served as an Ambassador to Japan, the United Kingdom, the Vatican, and the Netherlands. Chibesakunda is the first woman president of the COMESA Court of Justice, in Khartoum, Sudan.

Early life

Lombe Phyllis Chibesakunda was born in Zambia on 5 May 1944. She was an orphan, and was later adopted by Garfield Todd as an adult.
She went to Chipembi girls school, then later studied at National Institute of Public Administration in Lusaka and also Gray's Inn in England

Career

Chibesakunda took part in the Lancaster House talks that led to the independence of Zimbabwe, and actively campaigned against South African apartheid.
Chibesakunda was the acting Chief Justice of Zambia from 2012 to 2015.
She is alleged to have stayed on in the role past retirement age, and passing "irregular judgements in favour of the ruling PF and their allies.", with the Law Association of Zambia and Zambia's former Attorney General Abyud Shonga filing a statement of claim.
In 2015, Chibesakunda was elected president of the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa Court of Justice, based in Khartoum, Sudan, and is the first woman to hold this position. She succeeded Nzamba Kitonga of Kenya in the role.
The last president her lady swore-in in her tenure was president Edgar Chagwa Lungu in August 2015.

Personal life

She has a son, Chita Chibesakunda.