Former commander in Joseph Kony’s LRA could face war crimes trial over atrocities, despite also being a victim.
A commander in Joseph Kony’s Ugandan rebel group will attend a hearing at the International Criminal Court, to assess whether evidence against him is strong enough to merit making him stand trial for war crimes.
Ben Gumpert, prosecutor at the ICC, said on Thursday that Dominic Ongwen, a longtime commander in the Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA) “bears significant criminal responsibility” for brutal attacks during which civilians were killed and tortured, and women and children were abducted.
“People were murdered, dreadfully wounded and maimed. Houses were burned, but above all, people were abducted, either to become fighters in the LRA or to become sex slaves,” Gumpert said.
Al Jazeera’s Malcolm Webb, reporting from Lukodi in northern Uganda, said there was a lot of interest in the case in the town.
“At a school, a television screen and projector has been set up for people to watch a live streaming of the hearing,” Webb said.
Source: Al Jazeera and agencies