(The Hague) – The International Criminal Court (ICC) has once again postponed the long awaited hearing against Joseph Kony, Uganda’s most wanted fugitive and, apparently, the world’s best hide and seek champion. Kony, who has been dodging both the ICC and his moral compass since 2005, is wanted for war crimes and crimes against humanity. But, like a Ugandan boda boda rider promising “I’m just around the corner,” the date for his hearing keeps shifting.
For those keeping track, Kony, now 63, has been on the run longer than some of Uganda’s most famous drama series have been on air. The ICC was supposed to hold hearings in October 2024 to confirm 36 charges against him, but it has been postponed. The ICC says a new date will be announced “at a later stage.” If we Ugandans know anything about such promises, it could be later today, or much like the Kampala-Jinja Expressway project, it could be years from now.
This latest delay, according to the ICC’s statement, was prompted by “observations” from Kony’s defense team, the prosecution, and the Office of the Public Counsel for Victims. The defense lawyer, Peter Haynes, only joined the case in June this year. Haynes argued that the hearings might waste “time and money,” given that Kony might not show up. After all, no one is even sure if Kony is still alive, or if he is pulling a magic trick somewhere in the bushes of Congo. It seems the man is more elusive than a plate of Muchomo at a Ugandan school lunch.
Kony, who started off as a humble altar boy before trading in the rosary for AK-47s, founded the Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA) in the 1980s. His plan was to build a regime based on the Ten Commandments. Now, if you think following the Ten Commandments sounds good, you might want to think again. Kony’s “interpretation” included launching a rebellion against President Yoweri Museveni and spreading terror across Uganda, Central African Republic, the Democratic Republic of Congo, and Sudan. The very commandments he wanted to uphold didn’t seem to apply to his own actions.
The LRA’s legacy is one of horror—more than 100,000 people killed and over 60,000 children abducted, forced into becoming child soldiers, porters, and sex slaves. If Kony is Uganda’s most infamous villain, then the ICC’s quest to bring him to justice has been like waiting for the rainy season during a Karamoja drought—long, frustrating, and unpredictable.
