The confirmation of charges hearing in the case of Joseph Kony, the fugitive leader of the Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA), will not take place in Uganda, as ruled by the Pre-Trial Chamber of the International Criminal Court (ICC).
Last year, the ICC Prosecutor requested the court to consider holding the confirmation of charges hearing, scheduled for September 9, in Uganda. The Prosecutor argued that holding the hearing closer to the victims and affected communities would be beneficial.
However, the Pre-Trial Chamber denied the request in a ruling issued on February 20, insisting that the hearing will take place in The Hague, Netherlands. This decision was confirmed by a press statement released by Kony’s Defense team on Monday.
The Defense lawyers noted that the Pre-Trial Chamber based its ruling on concerns regarding the financial burden on the Court, as well as the “inherent challenges and potential dangers” of transferring parts of the court’s operations to Uganda.
Currently, a panel of five judges has been assigned to decide on an appeal filed by Kony’s defense team, which questions whether a hearing can proceed in the absence of the suspect, who has not yet made an initial appearance before the court. As a result, it remains unclear whether the September 9 hearing will go forward, with the final decision now resting with the ICC Appeals Chamber.
Both the Prosecutor’s office and Kony’s Defense team visited northern Uganda last year, particularly Gulu and Lira, to assess the feasibility of holding the hearing closer to the victims. During their visit, they met with local leaders and victim representatives who supported the idea, believing that it would greatly enhance victims’ participation in the process.
Kony led a bloody, two-decade-long rebellion beginning in 1986 in northern Uganda, which caused the deaths of thousands of people, displaced over 1.5 million individuals, and resulted in the abduction and forcible recruitment of countless others into his army.
He is facing 36 counts of war crimes and crimes against humanity, allegedly committed in northern Uganda between at least July 2002 and December 31, 2005.
Kony was indicted by the ICC in 2005, alongside five other senior LRA commanders. He remains the most wanted man by the ICC, with the U.S. Department of State offering a $5 million bounty for information leading to his capture.
