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ICC Proceeds to Hold Hearing of Charges Against Kony in Absentia

Initially, the ICC had scheduled the confirmation of charges hearing against Kony on October 15 but was postponed in September following the Defence, Prosecution, and Office of the Public Counsel for Victims observations to ensure proper procedure and evidence presentation.
30 Oct 2024 11:26
LRA leader Joseph Kony. AFP Photo
The International Criminal Court (ICC) has said it will proceed to hold confirmation of charges hearing against Lord’s Resistance Army rebel leader Joseph Kony in his absence.

The elusive LRA leader is facing 33 counts of crimes comprising war crimes and crimes against humanity allegedly committed in 2003 and 2004 in northern Uganda.

Initially, the ICC had scheduled the confirmation of charges hearing against Kony on October 15 but was postponed in September following the Defence, Prosecution, and Office of the Public Counsel for Victims observations to ensure proper procedure and evidence presentation.

On Tuesday, the ICC Pre-Trial Chamber III announced in a decision that all conditions to hold confirmation of charges hearing in the absence of the suspect Joseph Kony had been met. No new date has however been announced.

The decisions were arrived at by the chamber composed of Judges Althea Violet Alexis-Windsor, Presiding Judge, Iulia Antoanella Motoc and Haykel Ben Mahfoudh.

They found that Kony is a person who ‘cannot be found’ within the meaning of Article 61(2)(b) of the ICC Rome Statute.

"All reasonable steps to secure his appearance and to inform him of the charges and the date of the confirmation of charges hearing, initially scheduled for 15 October 2024, have been taken, and there is cause to hold the confirmation of charges hearing in absentia,” the Judges decided.

The chamber also noted that a large-scale media campaign conducted both in Uganda and the neighbouring countries in the Acholi language had been conducted by the ICC registry as one of the requirements to notify Kony of the date of the hearing.

The Rome Statute allows for the confirmation of charges proceedings at the Pre-Trial stage in the absence of the suspect, under specific conditions. If the charges are confirmed, the case can only proceed to trial if the accused is present before the Trial Chamber.

Kony was indicted by the ICC in 2005 along with four other senior commanders of the LRA over his bloody two-decade campaign in Northern Uganda seeking to oust Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni. He remains the longest-standing suspect still on the run wanted by the ICC.

Cases against Raska Lukwiya, Okot Odhiambo and Vince Otti have since been dropped after confirmation of their death while Dominic Ongwen was convicted of 61 counts of war crimes and crimes against humanity and sentenced to 25 years in jail in May 2021.

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