How Many Former African Leaders Have Faced International Court of Justice?

The International Criminal Court (ICC) often faces limitations in its jurisdiction, only having authority in countries that recognise its mandate. 

This challenge is evident in the cases of several former African leaders who have been brought before the court.

Here are the African leaders that have faced the ICC:

Laurent Gbagbo

First Former Head of State Tried by the ICC In 2016, Laurent Gbagbo, the former president of Ivory Coast, became the first ex-head of state to stand trial at the ICC. 

He was charged with crimes against humanity following post-election violence in 2010, which resulted in approximately 3,000 deaths. 

Gbagbo had refused to concede defeat after a decade in power. However, in 2019, after a three-year trial, he was acquitted. The judges deemed the prosecution’s evidence linking him to the violence as “exceptionally weak.”

Uhuru Kenyatta

Charges Dropped Amid Political Pressure Uhuru Kenyatta, the former Kenyan president, also faced the ICC but was not convicted. He appeared in a pre-trial hearing in 2014 on five charges of crimes against humanity, accused of inciting ethnic tensions before he became president. 

The ICC later dropped these charges, citing political interference with witnesses as a key factor that hindered the prosecution.

Omar al-Bashir

The former President of Sudan has been indicted by the ICC for crimes against humanity, war crimes, and genocide in Darfur. He remains at large with international arrest warrants against him.

Jean-Pierre Bemba

Former Vice President of the Democratic Republic of Congo, Bemba was convicted by the ICC in 2016 for war crimes and crimes against humanity committed in the Central African Republic. However, his conviction was overturned on appeal in 2018.