The Office of Botswana’s Ambassador to the United Nations recently announced that Botswana has nominated renowned jurist and scholar, Justice Oagile Bethuel Key Dingake, to run for Judge of the International Court of Justice
The Office of Botswana’s Ambassador to the United Nations recently announced that Botswana has nominated renowned jurist and scholar, Justice Oagile Bethuel Key Dingake, to run for Judge of the International Court of Justice (ICJ).
This is a consequential nomination, because in an era where the pillars of the international order are often tested, the election of Judges to the ICJ is a critical barometer of global commitment to the rule of law.
In November 2026, the United Nations will cast a significant vote.
Dingake’s nomination stands out not merely for the calibre of the jurist, but for the symbolic weight of the nation putting him forward.
Botswana, a beacon of stable democracy and unwavering multilateralism in Africa, has made a characteristically astute choice.
One practising senior attorney in Botswana, Onalethata Kambai, said in Dingake, Botswana, offers the world not just a judge, but a jurisprudential philosopher for the global stage.
“His nomination is a testament to Botswana’s own democratic credentials – a nation that has consistently punched above its weight in championing good governance and now seeks to gift one of its finest legal minds to the world,” Kambai said.
Dingake’s credentials are, by any measure, superlative. He is a global jurist, currently serving on the Supreme and National Courts of Papua New Guinea — the first African to hold such a post — and on the Residual Special Court for Sierra Leone, a role in which the UN Secretary-General appointed him.
Dingake’s career is a tapestry woven from threads of adjudication in diverse common law jurisdictions and profound academic scholarship, with advanced degrees from the University of London and a PhD from the University of Cape Town.
“Yet, it is his jurisprudential philosophy that renders him uniquely suited for the ICJ. Justice Dingake articulates a vision of the judge as a ‘moral custodian’, a role he likens to a priestly vocation,” Kambai said.
“This is not mere rhetoric; it is a profound commitment to impartiality, requiring the renunciation of partisan loyalties and worldly temptations in solitary devotion to justice. In an international court where geopolitical pressures are an unspoken reality, such an ethos of ethical self-restraint is the very bedrock of legitimacy. He embodies the principle that law’s power derives not from its coercion, but from its moral content and its human relevance.”
Dingake is also described as a transformative constitutionalism, viewing law not as a static set of rules but as a living instrument for social justice and human dignity. This aligns perfectly with the humanistic aims of international law.
Kambai said at the ICJ, where cases often hinge on the delicate balance between state sovereignty and fundamental human rights, Dingake’s ability to navigate this dialogue, with both intellectual rigour and moral imagination, will be invaluable.
“He stands in the tradition of great transformative jurists like South Africa’s Edwin Cameron, former Chief Justices Pius Langa and Arthur Chaskalson, Justices Albie Sachs and Dikgang Moseneke,” he said.
For the community of democratic nations, supporting Botswana’s nomination is a strategic opportunity. It is a chance to elect a judge of impeccable integrity and a modern, progressive legal mind. But it is also a moment to reward a nation that has been a faithful servant of the UN’s ideals.
Botswana’s consistent democracy, its respect for judicial independence at home, and its enthusiastic participation in multilateral institutions make it a model global citizen.
“Electing justice Dingake would be a powerful affirmation that the international court benefits from diverse, cross-jurisdictional experience and from the ethical vision that emerging democracies can contribute to the world,” Kambai said.
“He is not only Botswana’s candidate; he is the candidate for all nations that believe in a court that is both legally sound and morally anchored. When the votes are cast, the world would be wise to offer Botswana an opportunity to showcase a judge who embodied the true virtues of judgeship.”
When asked about how he feels about being nominated as a judge of the ICJ, Dingake said: “I am deeply honoured by my nomination to serve as a judge of the International Court of Justice. It is a privilege that fills me with gratitude, humility and resolve — gratitude for the trust shown in me, humility in the face of great responsibilities ahead, and resolve to serve the cause of international justice with integrity”.
And on the significance of the ICJ, Dingake said: “The ICJ stands as a beacon of hope for a world governed not by might but by right. In an era of global challenges, we must remind ourselves that the rule of law between states is not an optional virtue — it is the foundation for peace, cooperation and the dignity of peoples”.