Historic ICC trial in absentia to proceed against fugitive Ugandan warlord Joseph Kony
Born in northern Uganda in 1961, Kony rose from altar boy to feared warlord, claiming spiritual visions that justified his fight to topple President Yoweri Museveni and rule Uganda under the biblical ten commandments.
The International Criminal Court (ICC) will on Tuesday present evidence against fugitive Ugandan warlord Joseph Kony in the court's first-ever in absentia hearing, marking a major step toward holding him accountable for war crimes and crimes against humanity.
Kony, the leader of the notorious Lord's Resistance Army (LRA), faces dozens of charges, including murder, rape, and sexual enslavement. Despite a nearly two-decade international manhunt, he remains at large. The proceedings will test whether the ICC can advance cases even when suspects evade capture.
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Reports indicate that prosecutors will present evidence against Kony, while a court-appointed lawyer will represent him in absentia. Judges will then decide whether to confirm the charges, though a trial cannot proceed until Kony is in custody.
The hearing is a pivotal moment for Uganda, where survivors of the LRA's atrocities have long awaited justice. Some have welcomed the move as overdue, while others have expressed regret that Kony has never been caught.
"He did many bad things. If they can arrest Kony, I am very happy," a survivor told AP.
Terrorised northern Uganda
Kony's LRA terrorised northern Uganda from the late 1980s, abducting thousands of children and subjecting civilians to massacres, mutilations, and sexual violence.
At the height of its campaign in the 1990s, the group forced hundreds of thousands into displacement camps while launching attacks in neighbouring Sudan, Congo, and the Central African Republic.
The brutality elevated Kony into one of the world's most infamous fugitives. Despite years of international pursuit, including a $5 million (Sh645.4 million) US reward for information, he has managed to evade capture.
Born in northern Uganda in 1961, Kony rose from altar boy to feared warlord, claiming spiritual visions that justified his fight to topple President Yoweri Museveni and rule Uganda under the biblical ten commandments.
Starting in 1987 with just a handful of followers, he built a rebel movement that thrived on ambushes, abductions, and terror, silencing dissent even within his ranks, including the alleged killing of his deputy Vincent Otti.
Today, most of Kony's top commanders are dead or captured, but he is believed to be hiding in the remote borderlands of the Central African Republic or Sudan's Darfur region.
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