Survivors of the reign of terror inflicted by Lord's Resistance Army (LRA) rebels in Uganda have welcomed the International Criminal Court’s (ICC) recent move to confirm charges against the group's leader Joseph Kony. An arrest warrant was issued for him in 2005, but he remains at large in the Central African Republic (CAR).
On Thursday, the ICC announced that Kony is being charged with 39 counts of war crimes and crimes against humanity, including murder, rape, using child soldiers, sexual slavery, and forced pregnancy. Survivors are hopeful that this confirmation will renew efforts to capture Kony.
A woman named Evelyn Amon, abducted by the LRA as a child, stated her desire for justice: I cannot be happy like other women who went to school. I need justice for women who went through abduction like me. Amon spent 11 years with the LRA and expressed that victims like her feel they cannot receive compensation until Kony is apprehended and tried.
Patrick Ochieng, who was born into LRA captivity, echoed similar sentiments, urging for Kony's arrest before he dies. The effects of the LRA's insurgency were devastating, with over 100,000 individuals killed and between 60,000 to 100,000 children abducted during nearly two decades of conflict.
The LRA, formed by Kony in the late 1980s, became infamous for its brutal methods, including hacking off limbs and sexual slavery. It was ultimately pushed out of Uganda in 2005 and has since been linked to poaching and illegal mining in neighboring regions of the Democratic Republic of Congo and South Sudan.
Though there were efforts for peace, they faltered, particularly in 2008 when Kony sought immunity from prosecution. Survivors are hopeful that the ICC’s decision to move forward with charges signifies a possibility of justice being served, despite Kony's continued evasion of capture.
