The prosecutor maintained that the confirmation proceeding will not affect return of former LRA fighters and reconciliation process in Northern Uganda. He argued that there is no clear basis that the court’s proceedings to date hindered return and reconciliation process in the region.
However, in an appeals judgement delivered by Presiding Judge Solomy Balungi Bossa, the appeals chamber rejected 14 grounds of the appeal raised by Ongwen’s representative.
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.
Grace Adong, one of the victims of Kwoyelo’s attack in Pagak Internally Disolaced People’s Camp in Lamogi Subcounty says she was expecting a life imprisonment sentence for Kwoyelo but is shocked that he will only serve 25 years in jail.
Maria Mabinty Kamara, the ICC Outreach Officer for Uganda, told URN in an interview Tuesday that the additional information will help determine the type and modalities of reparations the judges could decide upon.
Ongwen was sentenced to 25 years’ imprisonment by the ICC in May last year after being found guilty of a total of 61 crimes comprising crimes against humanity and war crimes.
Launching the book in Kampala, Phil Clark said a strong notion of distance justice is not only reflected in the geographical location of the court but also in the various ways it operates. He says the Work of the International Criminal Court is also crippling African creativity for dealing with African problems such as conflicts. He cites the failure of the Juba Peace process between the Lord’s Resistance Army and the government of Uganda as one case which could have ended the conflict peacefully.
