UGANDA: JOSEPH KONY TRIAL, A LONG DAUNTING PROCESS – INTERNATIONAL CRIMINAL COURT OUTREACH FOR EAST AFRICAN DECRIES

Joseph Kony, the elusive Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA) warlord (Photo credit, ICC archive).

The International Criminal Court (ICC), trial of Joseph Kony, the warlord of the Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA), has faced significant challenges and delay. In 2005, the ICC issued an arrest warrant for Kony, charging him with 33 counts of war crimes against humanity, including murder, abduction, and forced conscription of children.
However, Kony remains at large, and his trial has been delayed repeatedly due to his elusive nature and the ongoing conflict in the region. The ICC has been working with regional authorities and international partners to apprehend Kony and bring him to justice, but so far, these efforts have been unsuccessful.
Outreach Officer for the ICC, Maria Kamara B. alluded that the delay in Kony’s trial has sparked concerns about elusive justice and accountability for the victims of LRA’s brutal attacks, that have spanned over three decades and affected millions of people in Uganda, Sudan, D.R. Congo, the Central African Republic.

Maria Buntu Kamara addresses Northern Uganda Media Club (NUMEC) on the impending trial of the Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA) warlord in Gulu City, January 9, 2025. (Photo by

GULU CITY-THURSDAY, JANUARY 9, 2025

By Livingstone Okumu Langol
Series of questions were posed: what made the court believe that Joseph Kony is still alive? Why is it taking too long to apprehend Joseph Kony?
Maria Kamara in her response has alluded to the fact that Joseph Kony trial cannot start in his absence. Kony should first surrender or get apprehended, otherwise the case will keep dragging on. But the confirmation of charges can go on. Even if he (Kony) appears, the court process is likely to take long, Kamara intimated.
On the question of justice and peace for Northern Uganda, Maria Kamara says the ICC cannot address the issues, adding that justice is complementary to peace.
She said the strategy the ICC is employing is to engage with all the stakeholders in the Kony case to monitor all their surrounding areas and surrender information that can lead to the arrest or surrender of the fugitive Joseph Kony.
“Last year 2024, we relayed the same information to the media houses including radios, televisions and mainstream news outlets to assist in the endeavours to bring Kony to book,” Kamara said.
She told members of Northern Uganda Media Club (NUMEC) that the ICC is set to talk to the communities affected about interest in the Kony trial and that the campaign will be carried out in Uganda the D.R. Congo, CAR, and South Sudan.
Maria Kamara insisted that the ICC court will be set in Gulu City or Lira City for the Kony trial. “We will bear the cost for hearing in Gulu or Lira City,” she said.
Four places will help in the confirmation of cases against Joseph Kony namely: Pajule, Lukodi, Odek, Pagak in Acholi and Abok Abiya, Barlonyo in Lango and Lwala Girls Secondary School in Kalaki District, Eastern Uganda. These areas were characterized by massive abduction of children.
However, the Guardian News Correspondent questioned if the UPDF was not party to what happened, especially in Lwala Girls where some blames were attributed to the Uganda People’s Defense Forces (UPDF). Maria Kamara noted in her book but fell short of response.
She commented that the charges against Joseph Kony can either be confirmed or discarded by the Prosecutor if not backed by any evidence. She added that the court may not necessarily find Joseph Kony guilty of all the allegations against him.
Eventually, Kamara commented on the issue raised by the Guardian News correspondent concerning the alleged UPDF role in the abduction of Lwala Secondary School Girls.
“For one year, our team is here to send messages to him (Kony). “I do not know if the UPDF has cases to answer on the Lwala Girls’ abduction. The ICC will definitely gather more information about the abduction incident,” Kamara said.
For starters, Joseph Kony’s Lord’s Resistance Army remains an active rebel outfit somewhere in the jungles of the Central African Republic having waged a rebellion against the Ugandan Government since 1987.
He has been shifting geographical locations from Uganda to South Sudan, D.R. Congo, Darfur in Sudan and still abducting children to boost his force.
Several military actors including the feared Wagner Group of Russia have tried to capture or kill him to no avail. He has remained elusive as the ICC begins to prepare for his trial in absentia.