ICC struggling to manage expectations ahead of Kony case hearing

The International Criminal Court (ICC) is struggling to manage people’s expectations pending a confirmation of charges hearing against fugitive warlord Joseph Kony, a member of the Hague-based court said.

On Wednesday, many victims of Kony’s war in northern Uganda asked the ICC to expedite a reparations order.

Anthony Otim from the Uganda Human Rights Commission inquired on the possibility of the Ugandan government to request the ICC to allow war crimes convict Dominc Ongwen to serve his 25-year jail term in Uganda.

Representatives of persons affected by the LRA also warned of “exhaustion and possible fatigue in context of the said hearing” as they urged Kony’s arrest. 

“We want an assurance from the ICC that they are about to arrest Kony,” said Bonney Odongo, a journalist with the Vision Group.

John Bua Ocen, a victim of the Kony-led Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA) insurgency said: “If he is eventually arrested, we want him to face trial in Uganda.”

In response, ICC’s acting field outreach coordinator in Uganda, Jimmy Otim, noted that “one of the most difficult things in life is to manage expectations.”

He further explained that reparations for the Ongwen case will only benefit victims of the four case locations of Abok in Oyam District, Lukodi in Gulu, Odek in Omoro District and Pajule in Kitgum District.

Otim was speaking on Wednesday in Lira City during a stakeholders’ meeting to provide updates on Ongwen’s case and the confirmation of charges against Kony.

Background

In 2022, the ICC chief prosecutor Karim Khan said he would ask judges to confirm charges against Kony.

The ICC issued an arrest warrant for Kony in 2005 on allegations of war crimes and crimes against humanity, but he remains at large.

Confirming the charges against Kony would make it easier and quicker to put him on trial should he be captured, the prosecutor added.