In a recent meeting with President Museveni at State House in Entebbe, the family of Joseph Kony, infamous leader of the Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA), conveyed that the 62-year-old Kony is presently in a debilitated state.
Leading the delegation was Kony’s son, Brig Ali Ssalongo Kony, accompanied by his mother, children, and Kony’s uncle, Kony Otim Thomas. The family expressed their gratitude to President Museveni for welcoming them back and facilitating their reintegration into the community, expressing their readiness to become productive members of society.
Rwot Yusuf Okwonga Adek III, Chief of Pageya Chiefdom, also extended gratitude to President Museveni for the prevailing peace in Northern Uganda, enabling the return of displaced individuals to their homes. Rwot Yusuf Okwonga Adek III informed President Museveni that Joseph Kony’s physical condition is considerably weakened at his age of around 62, rendering him incapable of resurgence. He suggested that the focus should shift towards rehabilitating and supporting Kony’s family to engage in productive endeavors like agriculture.
Rwot Yusuf Okwonga Adek conveyed, “Your excellency, Kony’s children are now your children. The family needs help from you as their father.”
In response, President Museveni pledged assistance in acquiring land for collective agricultural activities, emphasizing the concept of a family company as a practical model for resource distribution.
“We can help them set up a farm there so that they work together as a company and then share what comes out. All the children and the wives should be shareholders. What I’m telling you is what I have been telling other Ugandans. So, I can use you as an example and become a model for other people to see,” Museveni stated.
Museveni also assured continued support for victims of Kony’s war nationwide.
Present at the meeting were Odoch Bosco Olak, the Presidential Coordinator for Northern Uganda, and others.
Kony initiated a rebellion against the Ugandan government in 1987, causing extensive civilian casualties, displacement, and other atrocities during a conflict that spanned over two decades in Northern Uganda. Pursued by the UPDF, Kony and his forces eventually moved to the Central African Republic, where their strength waned.
Joseph Kony has been the subject of an arrest warrant since 2005, issued by the International Criminal Court (ICC), which includes 33 charges stemming from crimes against humanity and war crimes. The charges encompass offenses such as rape, attacks on civilians, sexual enslavement, murder, pillaging, and conscription of child soldiers.
Notably, the U.S. government offered a reward of 17 billion Ugandan shillings for information leading to Kony’s capture in the past year.