Outgoing Prosecutor Praised for Expanding ICC's Reach

PARIS - First woman, first African and only the second chief prosecutor of the still-young International Criminal Court, Gambia’s Fatou Bensouda leaves office Tuesday both praised for pushing The Hague tribunal’s boundaries as court of last resort, and skewered for key setbacks under her watch.

Under her nine-year tenure, Bensouda secured groundbreaking convictions, including the first-ever indictment defining an attack on cultural heritage as a war crime. But she also lost high-profile cases against Ivory Coast’s ex-president, Laurent Gbagbo, and former Congolese Vice President Jean-Pierre Bemba. Early in her tenure, Bensouda saw charges dropped against Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta and Vice President William Ruto over post-election violence, for reasons including alleged political interference. British lawyer Karim Khan, who defended Ruto in the case, takes over as chief prosecutor.