Leading arbitration practitioners from South Africa, Kenya and France have joined the body which oversees the Southern African arbitral institution
The Arbitration Foundation of Southern Africa has appointed three leading African arbitration figures as members of its International Court
The Johannesburg-headquartered arbitral institution announced the addition of Aisha Abdallah, Diamana Diawara and Clement Mkiva on Tuesday 9 June
A statement from AFSA said the new appointees “bring exceptional experience in international arbitration, commercial litigation, mediation, and cross-border dispute resolution”
It follows the appointment of Lise Bosman as president of the court in December last year, succeeding Chief Justice Sandile Ngcobo
Established by the centre’s 2021 rules, the International Court administers cases, appoints arbitrators and handles challenges and jurisdictional questions. The trio join 19 other members, including eminent law firm partners, barristers, and current and former judges from South Africa, the UK, India, China and Qatar, among others
Nairobi-based Abdallah has spent 13 years with ALN Kenya (formerly known as Anjarwalla & Khanna) during which time she has gained a leading position in the growing Kenyan arbitration sector, following stints in the UK with Shoosmiths and Hewitsons. Earlier this month, Abdallah addressed London Arbitration Week on the rise of mining disputes stemming from Africa, and the evolution of arbitration in Nigeria and Kenya.
For Diawara, it is the second new appointment of 2026, after she left the ICC International Court of Arbitration to join boutique Paris dispute resolution firm TALEX INTERNATIONAL as a partner in March
Diawara has extensive experience of working in a major arbitral institution, having previously been secretary of the ICC’s Africa Commission and the organisation’s regional director for Africa, while she is also a co-president of Paris Arbitration Week. In these roles she has been a strong advocate for African institutions, telling last year’s ICC Africa Conference on International Arbitration, hosted in Nairobi, that the continent is “an undisputed player in international arbitration”.
Mkiva has spent almost his entire 19-year career to-date with Bowmans in Johannesburg, where he is a partner and the firm’s joint head of litigation. He has worked on a range of disputes including commercial and shareholder litigation, financial, banking and insolvency matters, class actions and disputes in the mining and construction sectors
His firm hired a Johannesburg transactional partner last month, followed by a Nairobi-based head for its transfer pricing group last week
“Together, these appointments reflect AFSA’s ongoing commitment to maintaining a diverse, highly skilled, and internationally respected court that supports excellence in arbitration and alternative dispute resolution across Africa and beyond,” said the statement
AFSA also confirmed that Jonathan Lim’s tenure as a member of the AFSA Court has been extended
The appointments form part of an ongoing evolution at AFSA, which appointed its first chief executive in 30 years of operation in January 2025 and began a scheme to provide free mediation services to small businesses and individuals in South Africa in September of that year. Last month, the institution hosted the second Johannesburg Arbitration Week, during which the institution announced the formation of a new conflict resolution centre, in partnership with four former African presidents, while it previously led the signing of an arbitration alliance with other Southern African countries during 2024’s edition.
