Empowering Kenyans Through Justice: Chief Justice Martha Koome on Wellbeing in Kenya Empowering Kenyans Through Justice: Chief Justice Martha Koome on Wellbeing in Kenya
Stories from the Hearth
Reflections from:
Her Ladyship Chief Justice Martha Koome
Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Kenya
🌍 Nairobi, Kenya
Her Ladyship Martha K. Koome assumed office as Chief Justice and the President of the Supreme Court of Kenya on May 21, 2021.
Prior to her appointment as the 15th Chief Justice of the Republic of Kenya, she was a Senior Judge of the Court of Appeal. During her stint as an Appellate Judge, she headed the Criminal Division of the Court and in addition, chaired Committees which developed the Court of Appeal Practice Directions in Civil and Criminal Appeals as well as the Registry Manual that standardized the registry experience at the Court.
At Hearth Summit Nairobi, the Chief Justice was chair of the pillar on restorative justice, providing deep insights on the role of formal and informal justice in societal wellbeing. She also spoke about the need to support the wellbeing of actors in the judicial system, like judges.
Read her reflections below, originally published on her blog, and watch her exclusive interview with The Star Kenya.
“I have the immense honour to co-host the Hearth Summit Nairobi, 2024 alongside Archbishop Anthony Muheria, Archbishop of Nyeri, Kenya, Wanjira Mathai, Managing Director, Africa and Global Partnerships, World Resources Institute and Edwin Macharia, Partner, Axum Kenya; The Wellbeing Project’s Advisory Board.
The Hearth Summit, hosted by local communities of changemakers, advances a hopeful vision of individual, collective and ecological wellbeing for all – catalyzing a culture of wellbeing for changemakers and in changemaking everywhere.
At this critical moment in our country and planet, wellbeing in all aspects remains core to our survival. At the Judiciary, we are focused on nurturing restorative justice which will heal the justice system by reshaping it through the lens of our innate, empowering age-old reconciliatory systems.
We are deliberately deploying green justice to ease remand and prison congestion and encouraging parliament to review our penal laws in alignment with the Constitution and post-independence state.
By investing in alternative justice systems, we acknowledge that justice is not only found in the formal court system but in homes, communities, places of worship and markets hence the need to have multiple ways of resolving disputes.
We will continue to nurture cohesion through justice and to find uplifting homegrown ways to ensure that the justice system holds safe and sacred the fabric of our society. As we protect the wellbeing of our nation, we also seek your support to nurture and protect the wellbeing of our exceptional judges, judicial officers and staff.
It is not the structure of the systems we build that guard our humanity, it is the humanness of those systems that make our lives dignified and worthy.”
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Stories from the Hearth
Guest post by:
Amos Leuka
Director, Living Culture and Climate Alliance (LCCA)
🌍 Loita Maasai community, Loita, Narok County, Kenya
Amos Leuka, director of the Living Culture and Climate Alliance (LCCA), from the Loita Maasai community in Loita, Narok County, Kenya, attended The Wellbeing Summit Dakar-Thiès in November 2023. Listen to his journey of learning, inner reflection, and motivation as he shares his reflections on the gathering.
The LCCA promotess culture and climate adaptations in Africa and in particular, Kenya. It enables indigenous communities to promote their bio-cultural rights and supports them to be economically and culturally resilient, capable of managing their land systems and biodiversity. By building this solid base, providing leadership, technical and facilitative support, and using Participatory Video, LCCA creates a space to connect all indigenous communities and enable them to gain influence on climate issues affecting them, maintain their languages and use indigenous knowledge systems to manage their lands, social change and shape their future.
EXPLORE THE REGIONAL SUMMITS FURTHEREXPLORE THE REGIONAL SUMMITS FURTHER
Dive Into Stories From Around the World
Discover the Wellbeing Movement in Africa Discover the Wellbeing Movement in Africa
Meet and hear stories from the changemakers championing the wellbeing movement in Africa.

Hearth Summit Nairobi 2024 Hearth Summit Nairobi 2024
Regional Hearth Summits
ABOUT THE SUMMIT
An Exploration of Wellbeing Systems and Wellbeing Practices

Organized by Axum, Kenya hosted the first regional Hearth Summit in East Africa! Hearth Summit Nairobi offered 300 changemakers from 15 African countries to gather in a transformative space and examine wellbeing through a systems change lens. Together, they explored the relationship between the systems and practices that impact wellbeing at the individual, collective, and planetary levels, and how to use both to achieve positive social change in Kenya.
The Summit encouraged changemakers to reflect critically on wellbeing through a uniquely Kenyan lens: how do local political, economic, judicial, and social structures enable or limit wellbeing? How do activities and rituals — from dietary choices to daily routines to cultural traditions to leadership styles — do the same?
These conversations, united under a shared celebration of Kenyan culture, invited changemakers to lay a roadmap for collective action for the wellbeing movement in the country.
Insights From the Organizers
We left the Summit feeling reinvigorated by the insightful conversations and the deep spirit of community.
“We’re excited to continue the dialogue around the wellbeing movement in Kenya and look forward to championing a pan-African effort to bring the movement to the rest of the continent!”
THE PROGRAMTHE PROGRAM
Learn, discover, and connect around the Hearth
Inter- generational Wellbeing
Together, changemakers discuss how to understand and heal the multi-generational impacts of trauma on individuals, families, and communities, exploring pathways for breaking cycles through mindfulness, empathy, and systemic change. Conversations emphasized the role of collective healing, storytelling, and supportive networks in fostering resilience and wellbeing.
Faith and Wellbeing
An exploration of the profound connection between faith, spiritual beliefs, practices, and overall wellbeing. The Summit covered how various faith traditions contribute to mental, emotional, and community health; the role of spirituality in healing and resilience; and interfaith approaches to fostering a supportive environment for inner peace and societal harmony.
Restorative Justice
The Summit explored the role of justice in societal wellbeing as a whole, as well as the wellbeing of those working in the justice ecosystem. Conversations also discussed the different pathways of formal and informal justice; alternative rehabilitation pathways for corrective behaviour and societal cohesion; and the mental health of actors and its overall impact on the judicial system.
A HOLISTIC APPROACH TO WELLBEING A HOLISTIC APPROACH TO WELLBEING
Embodied Workshops and Interactive Discussions
The program weaved the main pillar themes into a holistic exploration of the key topics facing changemakers in East Africa today along with wellbeing practices, such as:
Youth movements, intergenerational dialogue, and the role of Gen-Z in social change
Wellbeing at work: the value of fostering employee work-life balance and mental health
Coping with grief and loss; healing; and self-care
Physical wellbeing: nutrition, health, and exercise
Financial wellbeing
Wellbeing for different types of changemakers, such as judicial system actors, journalists and storytellers, creatives, healthcare workers, and caregivers
How philanthropy can enable and facilitate wellbeing and social change
Connecting the Dots for Systemic ChangeConnecting the Dots for Systemic Change
STORIES FROM THE SUMMIT
Crafting a New Culture of Social Change in Kenya and BeyondCrafting a New Culture of Social Change in Kenya and Beyond
RELIVE THE SPIRIT OF THE SUMMIT
PROGRAMME PILLARS & CO-CHAIRS PROGRAMME PILLARS & CO-CHAIRS
HEARTH SUMMIT NAIROBIHEARTH SUMMIT NAIROBI
In The News
Read and watch local coverage of this groundbreaking event in Kenya and East Africa.
HOSTED BY
WITH SPECIAL THANKS TO THESE GENEROUS SPONSORS, FUNDERS, AND PARTNERS
Imaginable Futures, Radio Africa Group, Vitol Foundations, WPP | Scan Group, and The Wellbeing Project