By Gary Raynaldo    Diplomatic Times Fatou Bensouda is a woman who hunts tyrants around the world to bring to justice for war crimes.  Bensouda is the Chief Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court located in The Hague Netherlands. She has been busy lately. During the past month, two suspected war criminals from the Central African Republic have been arrested and surrendered over to the ICC. Alfred Yekatom (AKA‘Rambo’)  was surrendered to the ICC in The Hague Nov. 18, 2018 by authorities of CAR.  The former militia leader will face trial for alleged crimes against humanity.  The ICC had issued a warrant of arrest against Yekatom on 11 November 2018 for his alleged criminal responsibility for war crimes and crimes against humanity committed in western CAR between December 2013 and August 2014. Central African Republic militia leader Patrice-Edouard Ngaïssona was arrested Dec. 12, 2018, in France pursuant to an ICC warrant for alleged crimes against humanity and war crimes.  The Hague-based war tribunal submitted a request to French authorities for the arrest and surrender of Ngaïssona to the Court upon completion of necessary national proceedings.

“On Wednesday, 12 December, I welcomed the arrest of the second suspect resulting from our investigation in the Central African Republic (“CAR”) since August 2012. Mr Patrice-Edouard Ngaissona’s arrest follows Mr Alfred Yekatom’s arrest and surrender to the International Criminal Court (the “Court” or “ICC”) in November of this year. I welcomed these arrests as important steps towards the fulfillment of my prosecutorial mandate to hold accountable those responsible for the gravest crimes in CAR no matter what side of the conflict they are on. These arrests in no way put an end to our work in CAR.”  ICC Chief Prosecutor Fatou Bensouda 

Yekatom, the former militia leader will face trial for alleged crimes against humanity. The opening of the confirmation of charges hearing was scheduled for 30 April 2019. 

ICC Prosecutor Fatou Bensouda Opened An Investigation Into CAR In 2014 “As I have clearly and repeatedly stated in the past, my Office’s investigations into conduct of all sides to the conflict in CAR continues,” Besouda said in statement Dec. 14, 2018.  ” This concerns alleged crimes falling under the Court’s jurisdiction committed by all parties to the conflict, including the Séléka and the Anti-Balaka armed groups.”   The ICC prosecutor stated that her office’s mandate is to investigate independently and impartially alleged crimes that destroyed the lives of so many men, women and children in CAR.

“My Office seeks to ensure justice and accountability on all sides. This is what the Office’s legal mandate requires, that is what the victims deserve, and that is what my Office is fully committed to and is working to achieve.   I encourage the people of CAR to be patient. In accordance with its mandate, my Office remains steadfast in its pursuit of blind justice for the benefit of all the people of the Central African Republic.” ICC Prosecutor Fatou Bensouda

Per the ICC:   Ngaïssona – who was the most senior leader and the “National General Coordinator” of the Anti-Balaka – is alleged to be responsible for crimes committed in this context in various locations in the CAR, including Bangui, Bossangoa, the Lobaye Prefecture, Yaloké, Gaga, Bossemptélé, Boda,Carnot and Berberati, between at least 5 December 2013 and at least December 2014. Per the ICC:  Yekatom was allegedly commanding a group of around 3,000 members which operated within the Anti-Balaka movement. He is alleged to be responsible for crimes committed in this context in various locations in the CAR, including Bangui and the Lobaye Prefecture, between 5 December 2013 and August 2014. Bensouda emphasized  that her ICC Office remains seized of the situation in CAR, and continues to closely monitor the situation on the ground. “I am concerned about the prospects of further violence in CAR. We will not hesitate to take action within our mandate and means as necessary,” she stated. Bensouda Is An International Lawyer Born In The Gambia West Africa 

Born on 31 January 1961 in Banjul (then Bathurst), the Gambia, Bensouda is the daughter of Omar Gaye Nyang, was a government driver and the country’s most prominent wrestling promoter. She attended primary and secondary school in the Gambia before leaving in 1982 for Nigeria, where she graduated from the University of Ifewith a Bachelor of Laws (Hons) degree in 1986. The following year, she obtained her Barrister-at-Law (BL) professional qualification from the Nigeria Law School. She later became the Gambia’s first expert in international maritime law after earning a master of laws from the International Maritime Law Institute in Malta. Bensouda’s international career as a non-government civil servant formally began at the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda, where she worked as a Legal Adviser and Trial Attorney before rising to the position of Senior Legal Advisor and Head of the Legal Advisory Unit (May 2002 to August 2004). On 1 December 2011, the Assembly of States Parties of the ICC announced that an informal agreement had been reached to make Bensouda the consensus choice to succeed Luis Moreno-Ocampo as Prosecutor of the ICC. She was formally elected by consensus on 12 December 2011. Her term as prosecutor began on 15 June 2012.