The capital of Kenya, Nairobi, will host Africa’s first international religious freedom summit on June 16th. Kenya’s Supreme Court Justice Martha Coomb announced that the first meeting will bring together judicial officers and organisations working to promote religious freedom from across the continent.
“I take this incredible opportunity and invite you all to me. I hope to support my efforts to set fire to this movement in Africa,” he said on February 4th, “Video Connection at the IRF Summit in Washington, DC.” Judge Coomb said while speaking through.
The Africa Summit hopes to mobilize religious freedom movements across the continent to take action amid the rising crisis of religious persecution in Africa. Judge Koome has recognized the partnership between Pepperdine University, the Institute of Religious Freedom and the International Religious Freedom Summit, which will host the African Summit along with Kenya’s judiciary.
She invited representatives to the summit as part of building a “continent-wide union of faiths.” Judge Koome said a coalition of attorney generals, judges and judicial officers across Africa have come together to bring justice efficiency and effective access across the continent.
“So far, 14 countries have joined the movement and are planning a lot of work to advance this continental movement in 2025,” Koome said.
The IRF Summit brings together over 90 partners who support religious freedom around the world for a two-day in-person event each year for International Religious Freedom. “There’s also a reason for hope.”
“We have countless partners on the ground, including Nigeria, Egypt, Kenya, and more. They are ready and want to achieve lasting change. Ambassador Brownback said: He says so.
The African-specific session at the Washington DC Summit is entitled Spotlight Africa: A Global Justign and Relialfeed Freedom Initiative, and is heard from panelists working to promote religious freedom on the continent.
Cameron McCallum, who heads Pepperdine’s Global Judicial Institute, said efforts to reform Africa’s judicial system (an important part of strengthening religious freedom) began with Uganda’s pilot program in 2010 .
“What happened was that they were so successful in their own reforms, and their neighbors started calling, so they finally got to Ghana next office, and then Kigali, Rwanda, and now, just a few years later, the largest It has now become 14 countries. McCallum said:
Christians in many parts of Africa continue to be killed, exiled and imprisoned for their faith. According to the 2024 Open Doors Report, 3,100 Nigerian Christians were killed in 2024, killing more people in countries like DRC, Burkina Faso, Cameroon and Niger. Eight of the eight of the top 10 most dangerous for Christians are in sub-Saharan Africa.
