Editorial: To Whom Much Is Given Much Is Expected

Tuesday, 19 June 2012 05:04

(JollofNews) – So much has been made and said of the ascension of our sister, Fatou Bensouda, who has just been

sworn in as Chief Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court (ICC).

She becomes not only the second person to hold that position, but, importantly, the first African and first woman to occupy the seat.

Coming from Gambia, it no doubt evokes amusement among many outside the small West African country how Bensouda could have manoeuvred her way up that level, especially given the calibre of person she succeeded – the charismatic Argentine, Luis Moreno-Ocampo.

Fatou Bensouda

However, for those of us who are familiar with her record, it doesn’t take long to figure out her path and the tangibility of her eventual success.

Yes, eventual success. It wouldn’t be until at the end of her nine year term before we can genuinely judge Fatou Bensouda`s performance at the head of the ICC.

As Gambians, we can`t help but feel profoundly proud for a fellow Gambian to hold such a position. It is therefore why we should be under the obligation to remind her of the obvious.

Contrary to what the Western media has perpetually pulled off, the challenge is not to bring to justice either Saif Al Islam Khadaffi or Laurent Gbagbo, rather, it is to prevent imminent occurrences of what the above two helped perpetrated in their respective countries.

Bensouda`s spyglass should be focused beyond Tripoli and Abidjan; they should go as far as Darfur, Banjul, Cairo, Bamako, and the many other hotspots where the potential for chaos has been made obvious by human greed…
To whom much is given, much is expected.
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