The “night commuters”, one of the emblematic features of the horrific insurgency
The International Criminal Court will this week hear 39 war crimes and crimes against humanity charges against Joseph Kony, the fugitive Ugandan warlord accused of leading a violent rebellion that left tens of thousands dead. The three-day confirmation of charges hearing, the ICC’s first ever in absentia, will focus on accusations of murder, torture, rape, sexual slavery, and pillaging.
Who is Joseph Kony, and what did the LRA do?
Kony, once a Catholic altar boy and self-proclaimed prophet, founded the Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA) in the late 1980s. His rebellion against President Yoweri Museveni left at least 100,000 dead and saw over 60,000 children abducted, according to UN estimates. Survivors have told horrific stories: children forced to kill their families, girls taken as sex slaves, and captives subjected to blood-drinking rituals and amputations.
The LRA terrorized refugee camps, decapitated civilians, burned people alive, and forced children into roles as soldiers or slaves. Prosecutors highlight one case where fighters snatched a baby girl from her mother, threw her into a river, and then mutilated the woman with a machete.
Why is the ICC hearing important now?
Despite global manhunts, Kony has not been seen in public for nearly two decades. He became widely known in 2012 after the viral “Kony 2012” campaign, which drew over 100 million views. Although then-US president Barack Obama sent troops to assist in capturing him, the mission ended in 2017 without success. Today, the LRA has dwindled to a small presence across Sudan, South Sudan, the Democratic Republic of Congo, and the Central African Republic.
The ICC issued its first-ever arrest warrant against Kony in 2005. Although the court cannot try him without his presence, prosecutors argue that the current hearing will speed up proceedings if he is ever arrested and provide some sense of justice for survivors.
Kony’s defense counsel has called the process a waste of resources, labeling it “an enormous expense of time, money, and effort for no benefit at all.” However, prosecutors insist that documenting the crimes at a global level is crucial. For many victims, especially those who testified about the horrors they endured, even the confirmation hearing signals recognition of their suffering.
Earlier this year, the ICC awarded 52 million euros in reparations to victims of Dominic Ongwen, a former LRA commander serving 25 years in prison. That ruling underscored the court’s commitment to holding the group’s leaders accountable, even as Kony himself remains at large.
By Lucky Anyanje
