Mixed reactions from relatives, victims as Ongwen’s judgement day nears

Kitgum, Uganda |  THE INDEPENDENT | There are mixed reactions from the population in Northern Uganda ahead of the International Criminal Court-ICC verdict on conviction in the case of Former Lord’s Resistance Army Rebel Commander Dominic Ongwen.

Ongwen’s judgment has been set for February 4, 2021, at The Hague-based court in the Netherlands, four years after his trial started. He was facing 70 counts of war crimes and crimes against humanity allegedly committed during attacks in Pajule IDP camp in October 2003, Odek IDP camp in April 2004, Lukodi IDP camp in May 2004, and Abok IDP camps in June 2004.

They also cover sexual and gender-based crimes directly and indirectly committed by Dominic Ongwen and crimes of conscription and use in hostilities of children under the age of 15 allegedly committed in northern Uganda between July 1, 2002, and December 31, 2005.

In Lukodi village, in Gulu District, one of the locations where Ongwen is alleged to have commanded an attack on May 19, 2004, that leftover 60 people dead, the survivors and victims are anxiously waiting for the verdict date.

Janet Akonyo 48, one of the survivors of the attack told Uganda Radio Network that she has been closely following the trial and she is happy to know a verdict will be made on Thursday after a long wait. Akonyo says she lost a seven-year-old son and her grandfather during the evening raid orchestrated by the LRA.

She, however, notes that as a victim of the alleged crimes committed, her expectation is to see that the suspect is sentenced to serve justice basing on pieces of evidence and testimonies adduced. Akonyo says a fair judgment will help to heal those affected by the crimes of the LRA in the region.

Translation “…I think the verdict should be delivered fairly, and the victims get compensated to heal us. Even if the compensation is little and won’t bring back our loved ones, it would have at least served justice. We have been hearing that Ongwen has denied the accusation, but as victims, we know very well that he was the one who commanded it, we have a son who was operating their radio while in captivity and disclosed hearing Ongwen confirm on walkie talkie the attack in Lukodi…”

Nelson Abola, another victim of the Lukodi massacre says that a conviction for Ongwen will serve as a lesson to perpetrators of crimes against humanity. Abola says he lost many relatives in the attack which still haunts him to-date.   

However, at Coorom village in Lamogi sub-county in Amuru District, the birthplace of Ongwen, his relatives believe he is a victim of circumstances that were beyond his own making. His 69-year-old paternal uncle Johnson Odong says Ongwen was abducted at only 10-years of age and trained to commit the crimes he is alleged to have committed as a child soldier by seniors in the LRA rebel outfit.

Odong prays that the Thursday judgment is lenient to Ongwen given the fact that he was manipulated into becoming a criminal as alleged. He says they are hoping that Ongwen emerges victorious and one day returns home to take care of his children and family members.

Translation “…he was unfairly treated, because he was abducted while young and grew up in captivity, we are concerned how he was treated while in captivity but above all, we pray that God helps him out…”

Ongwen’s cousin, Johnson Onekalit 28, a resident of Coorom village also reiterates that his brother was abducted at a tender age and shouldn’t be faulted for a crime he did on orders of his seniors while in captivity.

“…I haven’t seen Ongwen face to face but I heard he was abducted at a young age at 10 years old. Those who started the war are still alive, the court should have understood that those who started this war wasn’t, so as family members, we won’t be happy because he was young when he got abducted,” he said.

Onekalit instead faulted the Ugandan government for failing to guarantee the security of his brother during the LRA insurgency leading to his abduction.

Translation“…the reason we haven’t been able to live with our brother is due to the negligence of the government to protect him. Today he suffering in court and carrying a burden he shouldn’t have carried, those to carry the burden should have been the government of Uganda and the LRA, we shall not be happy once he is convicted…” 

Ongwen is the first among the five LRA rebel commanders indicted by the ICC in 2005 to face trial at The Hague based court in the Netherlands. Others indicted included LRA rebel leader Joseph Kony still on the run, Vincent Otti, Okot Odhiambo, and Raska Lukwiya who are all presumed dead.

Since his trial commenced in December 2016, a total of 69 witnesses and experts have testified for the prosecution, while 54 witnesses and experts testified for the defence, and 7 witnesses and experts testified for the victim participants.

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