PROFILE
Hon. Lady Justice Bubala Chibbonta was appointed Judge of the High Court on 27th May 2026. Before her appointment, she served as Chief Parliamentary Counsel and Head of Legislative Drafting in the Ministry of Justice from 2021.
Justice Chibbonta holds a Master of Laws Degree in Human Rights and Democratisation in Africa from the University of Pretoria, South Africa, and a Bachelor of Laws Degree from the University of Zambia. She was admitted to the Bar on 24th November 2006.
Her professional credentials include a Post Graduate Diploma in Legislative Drafting from the Zambia Institute of Advanced Legal Education (ZIALE) and a Post Graduate Certificate in Legislative Drafting from the Ghana Bar Association, obtained in collaboration with the Commonwealth Secretariat. She has also completed short courses at the University of Pretoria covering International Law, Socio-Economic Rights, Sexual Minority Rights, Forced Migration and Human Trafficking, European Project Cycle Management, and Human Rights and Access to Medicines.
Justice Chibbonta served within the Ministry of Justice as Deputy Chief Parliamentary Counsel from 2019 to 2021 and as Parliamentary Counsel from 2009 to 2013. Her public sector experience also includes serving as a State Advocate in the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions, now the National Prosecutions Authority, from November 2006 to 2009.
In the corporate and civil sectors, she served as In-House Counsel for the Food Reserve Agency from 2014 to 2019. She also gained international human rights experience as an Intern at the Human Rights Network, Uganda, from September to November 2010. Prior to her admission to the Bar, she completed her Learner Legal Practitioner attachment within the Ministry of Justice from March 2005 to June 2006.
Justice Chibbonta has also undertaken ad hoc judicial and committee roles, representing the Attorney General at various international meetings and institutional boards. She has served as a board and committee member for several organisations, including the Zambia Law Development Commission, the Road Transport and Safety Agency, ZIALE, the Zambia National Public Health Institute, and the Zambia Information and Communications Technology Authority (ZICTA).
