The ongoing phase is featuring testimonies of prominent defence witnesses testifying before The Hague based court. The Court is trying Ongwen for 70 counts of war crimes and crimes against humanity, sexual and gender based crimes, allegedly committed during the course of the Lord’s Resistance Army conflict in Northern Uganda.
Court in Gulu district on Friday afternoon granted bail to John Bosco Uhuru, the Social Media activist arrested in connection with the Apaa Land violence demonstration held in Gulu Town early this week.
The motion filed by the Defense of Dominic Ongwen on February 1St implicates the Prosecution and Trial Chamber II of the Court for irregularly confirming 70 charges and Six modes of liability of war crimes, crimes against humanity and sexual crimes against Dominic Ongwen.
On Monday, a panel of three judges of the International Criminal Court approved the implementation of the six projects saying their execution will have no bearing on the ongoing trial of former LRA Commander Dominic Ongwen. It is unclear how much the projects will cost the Trust Funds for Victims to implement.
Krispus Ayena Odongo, Ongwens lead lawyer says they are demanding the dismissal of the case due to several defects emanating from the confirmation of charges.
Maria Mabinty Kamara, the Head of ICC Uganda Field Outreach office says the judges of Trial Chamber IX made the adjustment on Friday. She said the conditions under which the judges adjusted the court calendar have not been made public.
The warning follows an announcement by The Independent National Electoral Commission CENI on Thursday that it was unable to organize the vote on time, and that the poll would now take place around seven days later. The country should have gone to presidential, Parliamentary and Provincial polls on Sunday December 23rd.
Prosecution trial lawyer Adesola Adeboyejo says they are critically following the evidence already shared by the twelve defense witnesses who testified between October 1 and November 23. She says of deep interests to prosecution is the evidence of the first Defense witness Rwot Yusuf Adek Okwonga.
Solomy Awidi, a Transitional Lawyer at Refugee Law Project, says the victims shared their frustration with the trials during a documentation exercise to trace the various perspectives of communities affected by the conflict in the greater Northern Uganda held in Dzaipi and Arinyapi sub counties in Adjumani district last week.
The court has so far ordered 10 Million US dollar reparations award to victims in the case of former Congolese warlord Thomas Lubanga. Lubanga is challenging the amount describing it as excessive adding that the eligibility of several victims to receive the reparations are also questionable.
The child whose gender has been concealed was conceived during the second leg of a private family visit his wife and children made to him last year from the custody of the International Criminal Courts ICC Detention Center.
According to Ayena, the camps became soft targets for LRA rebels who were looking for livelihood and weapons. After forcing people from their villages into concentrated camps were the LRA previously derived food and other necessity, the only gateway to such livelihood including food became attacking the military rings around the camps, Ayena said.
Krispus Ayena Odongo, Dominic Ongwens lead counsel, who told the court that Ongwen became brutal after he was indoctrinated to believe that killing was the only strategy to stay or remain alive while in the LRA ranks.
Ongwen, indicted for the most number of war crimes and crimes against humanity is facing up to 70 charges at The Hague based International court. The charges relate to attacks on civilians who had sought government protections in Lukodi, Pajule, Abok and Odek internally displaced persons camps in Northern Uganda between 1st July 2002 and 31st December 2005.
The spiritualist who is also a subsistence farmer has been registered as witness D26-0112 among the witnesses of Dominic Ongwen to be called by the defense. He is going to defend Dominic Ongwen, the first former Lords Resistance Army commander to stand trial at The Hague based court as his special witness in a group of 72 witnesses.
Adesola Adeboyejo, a trial lawyer in the office of the prosecutor says the decision to admit Dominic Ongwen in the judicial site visit was reconsidered based on many factors including representation by his own counsel Krispus Ayena Odongo.
The witnesses have been drawn from a pool of 82 people initially lined up to testify in favour of their client at the court. The figure is just three people short of the 69 witnesses that prosecution called against Dominic Ongwen.
To address the confusion, Amooti says Uganda Law Society has developed a project to sensitize victims about their rights before the international crimes division of the high court and how they can access information in the court.
The abductees served directly under Ongwens command while some were under subordinates he directly supervised while serving commander of the Sinia brigade.
Morrish Komakech, the Focal Point person of the ICC Field Outreach in Coorom village, says the perception of Ongwens relatives towards his trial has changed after understanding his rights as an accused person before the court.