Judges at the International Criminal Court (ICC) on Tuesday began hearings to confirm charges against fugitive Ugandan warlord Joseph Kony, nearly two decades after his indictment.
Kony, the elusive leader of the Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA), has been wanted by the ICC since 2005 and is accused of masterminding atrocities in northern Uganda between 2002 and 2005.
Prosecutors are seeking to hold him accountable for 39 counts of war crimes and crimes against humanity, including murder, rape, sexual slavery, forced marriage, forced pregnancy, and the use of child soldiers.
Fugitive Ugandan warlord Joseph Kony, elusive leader of the Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA), with Abducted Children Photo/Courtesy: INVISIBLE CHILDREN
Because efforts to capture Kony have repeatedly failed, the court is proceeding in absentia. A panel of three judges will hear evidence and arguments before deciding whether to formally confirm the charges, with Kony’s interests represented by court-appointed lawyers.
Legal analysts say the proceedings could set a precedent for handling other high-profile suspects at large, including Russian President Vladimir Putin and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Both face ICC warrants over alleged war crimes, though their governments reject the court’s jurisdiction.
The LRA, founded in the late 1980s, waged a brutal insurgency across northern Uganda and neighboring countries, killing and abducting thousands of civilians. Kony’s ability to evade capture has made him one of the ICC’s longest-standing fugitives.
In 2022, prosecutors revived the stalled case by seeking hearings without Kony’s presence, a move judges later approved. The hearings mark a rare step in advancing justice despite the accused remaining beyond the court’s reach.
The ICC itself remains under scrutiny, with critics accusing it of politicisation and selective justice. Yet for victims of the LRA’s decades-long reign of terror, the case offers a chance to keep international attention on Kony and his crimes.
Source: Reuters
Written By Rodney Mbua
