Lord’s resistance army Joseph Kony case set for september 9th

By ALEX PITHUA

The confirmation of charges against the leader of the Lord`s Resistance Army (LRA) Joseph Kony before the International Criminal Court (ICC) has been set for September 9th, 2025.

Maria Kamara Mabinty, the ICC Outreach Officer for Uganda says judges confirmed that the confirmation of charges hearing will occur in Kony`s absentia.

A confirmation of charges hearing is not a trial however it is a preliminary stage to ensure the judges are satisfied that prosecutors have presented substantial evidence to determine that indeed Joseph Kony may have committed the crimes.

The judges are also yet to issue a position on whether the confirmation of charges hearing will be held in northern Uganda as requested by the Office of the Prosecutor (OTP) or in The Hague, Netherlands.

Kony was indicted with 36 counts of war crimes and crimes against humanity allegedly committed between July 8th, 2002, and December 31st, 2005 in northern Uganda.

Joseph Kony born 1961 is a Ugandan fighter who led the Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA), a militia that fought the Uganda government in northern Uganda and later moved to the neighbouring countries of South Sudan, Central Afriaca Republic and DR Congo respectively.

Kony was born in the village of Odek Acholi land in northern Uganda   he served as an altar boy during his youth.

When Yoweri Museveni seized power in Uganda in 1986 and became president, Kony mobilized his fighters launched a protracted battle with government of president Museveni for two decades.

According to ICC, Kony is Alleged Commander-in-Chief of the Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA), at time of warrant. Arrest warrant: 8 July 2005

The Prosecution’s submission of the Document containing the charges, “Joseph Kony is suspected of 36 counts of war crimes and crimes against humanity, allegedly committed between at least 1 July 2002 until 31 December 2005 in northern Uganda. While the case originally involved Raska Lukwiya, Okot Odhiambo and Vincent Otti, proceedings against them were terminated due to their passing.”

ForThe International Criminal Court (ICC) in 2024 sentenced Dominic Ongwen, a Ugandan child soldier turned commander of the Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA) rebels, to 25 years in prison for war crimes and crimes against humanity.

Dominic Ongwen, 45, was convicted in February on 61 counts, including forced pregnancy, which had never before been brought before the Hague-based ICC.

He was also found guilty of murder, rape, sexual slavery and conscripting child soldiers, among other charges.

Another commander of the LRA, Thomas Kwoyelo was found guilty by a Ugandan court of 44 counts of atrocity crimes convicted to prison  

“On August 13, 2024, the International Crimes Division (ICD) of the High Court of Uganda delivered its long-awaited verdict in the case of Uganda versus Thomas Kwoyelo, a former commander and colonel in the rebel group the Lord’s Resistance Army Kwoyelo was convicted on 44 counts of crimes against humanity, war crimes, and other serious crimes—including murder, rape, enslavement, torture, unlawful imprisonment, and pillaging—committed during the decades-long armed conflict in Northern Uganda between the LRA and the Ugandan government.”   According to the International Court of transitional Justice (ICTJ).