AfDB President Adesina: ‘Justice is the foundation of development’ at Kenya Law Society Conference

The President of the African Development Bank Group (AfDB), Dr. Akinwumi Adesina, has called on Africa’s legal community to strengthen judicial independence, uphold the rule of law, and reinforce governance systems to attract global investment and drive sustainable growth.

Delivering the closing keynote address at the Kenya Law Society’s 2025 Annual Conference in Diani, Adesina declared: “When Africa stands for the rule of law, the world will stand with Africa.”

Linking governance, justice, and development

Speaking before more than 1,200 lawyers, judges, and government officials, Adesina outlined the close connection between judicial independence, sound public finance, and economic prosperity.

He noted that while Africa faces a $100 billion annual investment gap, weak rule of law rankings, debt vulnerabilities, and predatory “vulture fund” cases continue to undermine growth. These cases see distressed debt bought cheaply on secondary markets, then litigated for full repayment plus backdated interest and fees in jurisdictions with weak protections.

“Evidence suggests that foreign direct investments move more to countries that have political stability, stable democracies, transparency, and low levels of corruption,” Adesina said.

Priorities for Africa’s legal sector

Adesina urged African nations to:

• Strengthen judicial independence and transparency to attract foreign capital.

• Reform natural resource laws to ensure benefits reach citizens rather than elites.

• Establish sovereign wealth funds to safeguard long-term prosperity.

• Develop African arbitration systems to resolve disputes fairly and locally.

He also emphasized the need for digitized court systems, legal aid, and grievance mechanisms that expand access to justice, stressing that “Justice is not a byproduct of development — it is the foundation of development.”

A call to Africa’s guardians of justice

Challenging lawyers, judges, and arbitrators to become “guardians of promise and stewards of destiny,” Adesina urged the legal fraternity to enforce constitutional safeguards on public finance and champion ethics and ESG principles.

The three-day conference focused on corporate governance, constitutionalism, responsible public finance, and legal digitalization. Closing proceedings included Kenya’s Chief Justice Martha Koome, Law Society President Faith Odhiambo, Mombasa Governor Abdulswamad Nassir, and AfDB East Africa Director General Alex Mubiru.

AfDB support for governance reforms

The African Development Bank has been instrumental in strengthening governance across Africa:

• In Rwanda and Côte d’Ivoire, AfDB-backed commercial courts reduced dispute resolution times by nearly half, unlocking over $1 billion in investment.

• In Seychelles, constitutional reforms supported by AfDB ensured parliamentary approval for all sovereign borrowing, cutting the debt-to-GDP ratio from over 100% to below 55%.

• In Kenya, AfDB has helped implement procurement and debt transparency reforms, safeguarding public finances.

Known as Africa’s “Optimist-in-Chief,” Adesina concluded with a powerful appeal: “Let us make a choice that history will record, and generations will remember. As lawyers, justices and guardians of the law, uphold the rule of law, and execute justice with fairness and righteousness.”