Why ICC lawyers want Kony case held in Uganda and not in The Hague

Gulu, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | Trial lawyers in the Office of the Prosecutor at the International Criminal Court (ICC) are pushing for the confirmation of charges to be heard against the elusive leader of the Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA), Joseph Kony, in Uganda.

Last month, the ICC Pre-Trial Chamber III announced it would proceed to hold a confirmation of charges hearing against Kony in his absence. This was after it said it had met all conditions to hold confirmation of charges hearing in his absence.

Kony is facing 33 counts of crimes comprising of war crimes and crimes against humanity allegedly committed against the civilian population in Northern Uganda between July 1, 2002, and December 31, 2005. Dahirou Sant Anna, the International Cooperation Advisor, Office of the Prosecutor told Journalists in Gulu City Monday that the proposals to have the confirmation of charges hearing in Uganda is beneficial to the victims of the LRA in many ways.

Firstly, he says that based on the suggestion of the community and leaders in the country in the past and currently, bringing the court’s judicial processes would mean bringing justice closer to the victims of the LRA war. Anna says having the confirmation of charges hearing held in Uganda will help in building confidence and trust among the victims on the work of the ICC in handling the case against Kony.

According to Anna, the victims of the crimes allegedly committed by Kony will easily share pieces of evidence in support of the charges labeled by the prosecutor when the hearing of confirmation of the charges is held in Uganda. The office of the prosecutor is already inspecting the courts in Lira, Gulu and Kampala where the confirmation of charges hearing may be held once their proposals are approved by the World Court.

Last week, the Defence counsel of Kony led by Peter Haynes visited Gulu High Circuit in Gulu City, one of the proposed court facilities. Anna however notes that the officials from the ICC registry have yet to interact with the Ugandan Judiciary on the proposals to utilize the Ugandan court facilities.

While the Ugandan judiciary has shown the competence to handle war crimes and crimes against humanity cases at the domestic level, the ICC maintains it’s its responsibility to handle the proceeding against Kony. Leoni van Bruan, a senior Trial Lawyer in the Office of the Prosecutor says the ICC is working closely with the Ugandan government to ensure Kony is brought to book including advocating having his in-absentia confirmation of charges hearing in the country.

Bruan notes that the indictment against Kony focuses on seven Internally Displaced People’s Camps in Barlonyo, Abia, Pagak, Pajule, Lukodi, Abok, and Odek all in the districts of Lira, Amuru, Pader, Gulu, and Omoro. Kony is indicted over the forceful abduction of about 140 girls from Lwala Secondary School, abduction, enslavement, and severe mistreatment of children until the age of 18, and conscription of child soldiers until the age of 15.

Other charges are the enslavement of girls, particularly for forced labor, sexual exploitation, engaging in fighting, forced marriages, rape, enslavement, and abduction of hundreds of women. Bruan notes that it’s the first time, the prosecutor has charged a suspect at the ICC over crimes committed against children born in captivity.

“So we are saying that they are direct victims, just like children who were abducted and integrated. Those children born out of captivity and then remaining for a certain period within this coercive environment are also direct victims,” she said.

Kony was indicted by the ICC in 2005 and remains the longest-standing suspect wanted by the ICC on the run. Bruan acknowledged that Kony has for long evaded arrest and attributes it to his flexibility to navigate some of the toughest terrain on the planet rather than his spiritual powers.

Both the office of the prosecutor and the Defence counsel of Kony are currently in Northern Uganda on outreach missions with various stakeholders in the communities affected by the 20-year LRA war.

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