The legal committee from the International Criminal Court (ICC) has provided updates on the arrest and trial of Gen. Joseph Kony, the notorious leader of the Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA).
The team of investigators, analysts, and case managers from the Office of the Prosecutor, led by Maria Kamara Mabinty, has been actively reporting on the progress of the case.
Joseph Kony, who has been evading justice for 19 years, has yet to appear before the Court to face charges. His hearing has not yet taken place, even in absentia. The prosecutor is still working on confirming the charges, which include evidence showing that the accused has committed various offenses. Witnesses will be presented before the Court to provide additional evidence, but the trial cannot proceed until Joseph Kony appears before the Court.
“Everything has been done to ensure that Joseph Kony knows his hearing is imminent. If he does not appear, the case will proceed. Under the Rome Statute, if all efforts have been made to inform him of the hearing, the prosecutor can move forward with the trial, even in his absence,” said Dahirou Sant-Aana.
Requests have also been made to the ICC judges to consider holding the trial in one of the districts in Uganda, with Gulu, Lira, or Kampala being potential locations. However, the judges have not yet agreed to this, pending thorough assessments conducted by the Registry of the ICC.
Leonie Van Braun, Senior Trial Lawyer at the Office of the Prosecutor, emphasized that the ICC is working closely with Uganda’s government to ensure Kony’s arrest. “The hearing can only take place once he is arrested,” she said.
Joseph Kony was indicted in January 2024, and the charges against him have been expanded to include additional atrocities committed in former internally displaced persons (IDP) camps such as Abok, Abia, Lukodi, Pajule, Barlonyo, Pagak, and Odek.
“We have been traveling throughout Northern Uganda and asking critical questions within the community about the men who were abducted many of them over 18 years old. They were forced to carry looted items, and some were killed during the process.
The community responses indicate that this was part of a widespread pattern, and we are working to highlight the systematic nature of the crimes across the region. We will continue gathering evidence to help us win the case,” said Leonie Van Braun.
Kony is also charged with the abduction of over 140 girls from Lwala Girls School, as well as the abduction of young boys and girls who were then forced into child soldiering. Other charges include sexual exploitation, forced marriage, enslavement of both women and children, and crimes against humanity.
The prosecution accuses Kony of personally committing crimes of enslavement, forced marriage, torture, and sexual slavery, particularly in relation to young women during the period from July 2003 to September 2004 in northern Uganda and Sudan. Kony is currently facing between 30 and 36 counts of war crimes.
