Amb. Esme Jynet Chombo

Her Excellency Justice Esme Jynet Chombo is the Ambassador of the Republic of Malawi to Washington, DC in the United States of America (USA).  She was appointed the High Commission in June 2021 by His Excellency, the President of the Republic of Malawi, Dr. Lazarus McCarthy Chakwera.

Prior to her appointment, Esme Chombo served for 18 years as a Judge of the High Court of Malawi (2003 – 2021), during which she also worked as the Judge President overseeing the management of the Lilongwe District Registry of the High Court.  She served as a judge with powers of unlimited original jurisdiction, appellate and review jurisdiction over all subordinate courts in civil, criminal, administrative, and industrial relations matters.

Her adjudication experience spans over 28 years as she first joined the Malawi Judiciary as Chief Resident Magistrate from 1986 to 1995, supervising all magistrates and overseeing management of all lower courts in the Northern Region of Malawi.

Before progressing to the High Court, she worked as Company Secretary for Press Corporation Limited and Press Agriculture Limited between 1995 and 2002.

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Esme Chombo has also served in many other key roles, including as member of the Malawi Judicial Service Commission (1990 – 1995), Council Member for Central and Eastern Africa in the Commonwealth Magistrates’ and Judges’ Association (1992 -1995), Chairperson of the Malawi Prison Service Commission (2008 – 2019), Chairperson of the Malawi Law Commission’s Special Law Commission on the Review of the Adoption of Children Act (2009 – 2012), Vice Chairperson of the Southern Africa Development Community (SADC) Election Advisory  Council (2013 – 2015) and Chairperson of Malawi Law Commission’s Special Law Commission on the Review of the Abortion Law in Malawi (2015 – 2017).  She was also the founding President of the Women Judges Association of Malawi’s Chapter of the International Association of Women Judges from 2011 to 2019.

Esme Chombo holds a Master’s in Women’s Law and Human Rights from the University of Zimbabwe (2008), a Master’s in Strategic Management from the University of Derby, UK (2001), and a Bachelor of Law – (LLB) (Hons) from University of Malawi (1986).