ICC Declines Request to Hear Kony's Case in Uganda

The confirmation of charges hearing in the case of the fugitive leader of the Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA) rebel outfit will not take place in Uganda, the Pre-Trial Chamber at the International Criminal Court (ICC) has ruled.

Last year, the ICC prosecutor requested the court to consider holding the confirmation of charges against Kony in his absence scheduled for September 9 from Uganda. The prosecutor cited the move would bring the Court closer to the victims and affected communities.

The Pre-Trial Chamber however denied the request in a ruling on February 20 and insisted the hearing will take place in The Hague, Netherlands, according to a press statement released by Kony’s Defence Team Monday.

According to the defence lawyers, the Pre-Trial Chamber denied the request, relying on the financial burden to the Court, and “inherent challenges and potential dangers” by transferring parts of the Court’s operation to the field.

So far a bench of five Judges has been assigned to decide an appeal filed by the Defence for Joseph Kony as to whether a hearing in the absence of a suspect is permitted under the ICC Statute, without the suspect having first made an initial appearance. It now remains unclear whether the September 9th hearing will go forward, as the matter rests with the ICC Appeals Chamber. 

Last year, both teams from the office of the prosecutor and the Kony defence team visited northern Uganda particularly Gulu and Lira to assess the court facilities as they pushed for the confirmation of charges hearing near the victims. The teams also met local leaders and victim representatives who supported the idea as it would have a significant impact on victims’ effective participation.

Kony waged a two-decade bloody rebellion from 1986 in Northern Uganda that left thousands of people dead, more than 1.5 million people forced into displacement camps and thousands of others abducted and forced into fighters.

He is suspected of 36 counts of war crimes and crimes against humanity allegedly committed in Northern Uganda between at least July 2002 and December 31 2005.

Kony was indicted by the ICC in 2005 along with five other senior LRA commanders and remains the most wanted man by the World Court with a bounty of 5 million dollars bounty on his head placed by the US Department of State.