THE HAGUE – The International Criminal Court (ICC) Prosecutor has asked judges to withdraw war crimes charges against Abdallah Banda, saying developments in the available evidence and witness testimony have made it legally impossible to proceed with the case.
The Office of the Prosecutor said it had applied to the Pre-Trial Chamber to terminate the proceedings after concluding that several key witnesses could no longer be relied upon and that newly obtained exculpatory evidence had further weakened the case.
It added that, given the advanced stage of the investigation and the passage of time, there was no realistic prospect that additional investigative steps would produce evidence capable of supporting the charges.
Deputy Prosecutor Nazhat Shameem Khan said the decision was not taken lightly, acknowledging its impact on victims who had waited years for justice. She said prosecutors have a duty not to proceed to trial unless the available evidence provides a realistic prospect of conviction.
The Office stressed that the request relates only to the case against Abdallah Banda and does not affect other ICC cases concerning Darfur or the Court’s ongoing investigations into crimes allegedly committed during Sudan’s current conflict.
It also noted that ICC Prosecutor Karim Khan has been recused from the Banda case since taking office in June 2021 because he previously served as Banda’s defence counsel. Responsibility for the case has since been handled by Deputy Prosecutor Khan.
The prosecution said withdrawing the charges would not prevent the Court from bringing new charges against Banda in the future should sufficient evidence become available.
The ICC opened its Darfur investigation after the U.N. Security Council referred the situation to the Court in 2005, following allegations of war crimes, crimes against humanity and genocide committed during the conflict that began in 2003.
The case against Banda relates to the September 29, 2007 attack on the African Union peacekeeping mission in Haskanita, North Darfur, in which 12 peacekeepers were killed, others were wounded and mission equipment was destroyed. The ICC issued an arrest warrant for Banda in 2010 on charges including murder, intentionally directing attacks against peacekeepers and pillaging.
Banda voluntarily appeared before the Court in 2010, but proceedings were suspended after he failed to appear for trial in 2014, prompting judges to issue a new arrest warrant.
The request comes as the ICC continues broader investigations into Darfur. In 2025, the Court convicted Ali Muhammad Ali Abd-Al-Rahman (Ali Kushayb) on 27 counts of war crimes and crimes against humanity, marking the first conviction in the Darfur cases. Arrest warrants issued for former President Omar Hassan Ahmad al-Bashir, Ahmad Harun and Abdel Rahim Mohamed Hussein remain outstanding.
