ICC Opens Confirmation of Charges Hearing Against LRA Leader Kony

The International Criminal Court (ICC) has commenced the confirmation of charges hearing against fugitive Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA) leader Joseph Kony, marking the first time the court is conducting such proceedings in the absence of a suspect.

Kony, who has been on the run for nearly two decades, faces 39 counts of war crimes and crimes against humanity allegedly committed in northern Uganda between July 2002 and December 31 2005. The charges include murder, torture, cruel treatment of civilians, enslavement, rape, sexual slavery, forced marriage, and the conscription of children as soldiers.

Tuesday’s official opening of the hearing will be conducted at the ICC headquarters in The Hague, Netherlands, before Pre-Trial Chamber III of the ICC. The Chamber is composed of Presiding Judge Althea Violet Alexis-Windsor, Judge Iulia Motoc and Judge Haykel Ben Mahfoudh.

However, to ensure affected communities are kept informed, public viewing centres have been established across northern Uganda where the proceedings will be livestreamed.

In Gulu City, by 10:30 am, over 100 community members, some of whom are victims and survivors, had already gathered at a designated viewing site at Gulu Senior Secondary School to follow the proceedings, which commenced at 11:00 am local time.

Some of those who turned up are survivors from some of the case locations where the fugitive LRA leader is accused of commanding deadly attacks against the civilian population.

Maria Mabinty Kamara, the ICC Outreach Officer and spokesperson for Uganda, told Uganda Radio Network that the hearing seeks to determine whether there is sufficient evidence to believe the suspect committed the alleged crimes. 

Maria noted that during the course of the hearing, all the parties who including the prosecution, the defence and the lawyers for the victims, will submit oral arguments on the merits of the case. 

According to Maria, more than 5,000 victims have submitted applications to participate in this process.

Kony led a brutal 20-year insurgency that ravaged northern Uganda, leaving tens of thousands of people dead and displacing millions into internally displaced people’s camps. His campaign of terror extended beyond Uganda’s borders into the Central African Republic, South Sudan, and the Democratic Republic of Congo.

The confirmation of charges hearing will run for three days and conclude on September 11 with a closing statement made by all the participants, starting with the prosecution, the victims’ lawyers, and the defence lawyers. If the judges confirm one or more of the charges, the case will be transferred to a Trial Chamber, which will conduct the subsequent phase of the trial proceedings.

The ICC issued an arrest warrant for Kony in July 2005, but he has since evaded capture despite regional and international military operations. Kony is accused of having jointly planned with other LRA senior commanders to wage attacks in eight case locations of Lwala girls school, Pajule Internally Displaced People’s Camp (IDP), Abia IDP, Barlonyo IDP, Odek IDP, Pagak IDP, Lukodi IDP and Abok IDP Camp.