The senior jurist from the International Court of Justice has in the past been praised for her work for women's and children's rights.
The outgoing general statement of the International Criminal Court, Pato Bensuda // Photo: AP
Pato Bensuda, the Attorney General of the International Court of Justice in The Hague, is known in Israel mainly for her decision to open an investigation into war crimes committed in Judea and Samaria and Gaza, a decision that provokes strong political opposition in Israel and its supporting countries.
But the figure of Bensuda, one of the most impressive jurists in West Africa, whose meteoric progress from a junior lawyer in the Gambia to one of the best-known legal figures in the international community, is sometimes ignored or treated only superficially.
As happens too many times when it comes to Africa, and especially to small countries on the vast continent, the background in which the outgoing prosecutor of the International Criminal Court grew up is not known at all.
Basuda, the daughter of a civil servant and a famous professional wrestler, completed her law degree in Nigeria and in 1986 became the first Gambian resident to complete a master’s degree in maritime law at the University of Malta.
Upon returning to the country in 1987 she was appointed Attorney General.
In 1994, a military coup took place in the Gambia that led, without bloodshed, to the replacement of the veteran president and ruler, Dawada Jawara, and brought to power a popular and smiling general named Yahya Jama.
Jama's lack of bloodshed and Jama's promise of far-reaching reforms have earned him a relatively warm attitude from the international community.
Basuda, who served as Deputy Attorney General during the coup, was promoted to Attorney General in 1996 and Minister of Justice in 1998.
Under the new regime, Basoda became the central figure in the justice system and her vigorous work for women's and children's rights, encouraged by Jama, won her praise from the floor.
Basuda oversaw the new legislation that banned, under significant punishment, female circumcision and the marriage of minors.
But Jama's regime very quickly disengaged from its reformist image and its true face began to emerge.
While Basuda is in office, a series of religious laws and Islamic regulations have begun to pass, along with the growing restriction of individual freedom in the country.
Basuda was fired as justice minister in 2000, and less than a month after her dismissal, a massacre of protesting students took place.
Although the justice system investigated the killings, it took no action to punish those responsible.
In the years that followed, Jama's regime continued to deteriorate and the legal infrastructure it left behind in its foundation was used by the regime for serious persecution.
Jama himself boasted that the country's religious laws were "stricter than Iran's" and in 2007 called for "beheading homosexuals."
On other occasions, the president called on his residents to slit the throats of gays and lesbians.
Among the crimes committed by the Jama regime are the killing of illegal immigrants to the country, the arrest and torture of opponents of the regime and even the hunting of witches and wizards, which led to the execution of more than a thousand civilians on witchcraft charges.
It is important to note that at these stages, the foundation itself has already screwed up at the top of the international legal community, but throughout its career until Jama's ouster in 2017, it refused to condemn the regime’s actions and remained a popular figure by the regime.