ICC Breaks New Ground in War Crimes Case Against Fugitive Warlord Joseph Kony

The International Criminal Court (ICC) on Monday, September 8, opened confirmation of charges against fugitive Ugandan rebel leader Joseph Kony, moving forward without him in court, a first in the tribunal’s history.

Kony, founder of the Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA), has evaded arrest for nearly two decades despite a warrant issued for his arrest in 2005. He faces 39 counts of war crimes and crimes against humanity, including murder, sexual enslavement, abduction, and the forced conscription of children between 2003 and 2004 in  Northern Uganda, according to ICC filings.

Deputy prosecutor Mame Mandiaye Niang, opening the case, acknowledged the long wait for justice, “Many victims who had the strength to survive the horrors of civil war have not survived this lengthy wait, others have lost patience, but there are some who have waited for this moment.”

Kony rose to global notoriety as the self-proclaimed prophet of the LRA, a group infamous for mutilations and mass kidnappings. Though he claimed to fight for the Acholi people under a biblical mandate, his militia’s terror campaigns displaced thousands. The Ugandan army forced the LRA out of the country in 2005, after which it operated across South Sudan, the Democratic Republic of Congo, and the Central African Republic, engaging in poaching and illegal mining.

For victims in Northern Uganda, many of whom watched the proceedings on screens installed by ICC, the hearing represents a long-awaited recognition of his atrocities. “Even if Kony is not in custody, the world is hearing what happened to our communities,” one survivor said.

The case marks the ICC’s first use of the Rome Statute provisions to advance without a suspect in custody. Judges will decide whether to confirm the charges, but a trial cannot begin until Kony is arrested. Legal experts say the move could set precedent for other fugitives beyond the court’s reach.

Kony’s name re-entered the global conversation in 2012 with the viral “Kony 2012” campaign, which spotlighted LRA atrocities but failed to secure his capture. Earlier peace talks collapsed in 2008 when Kony demanded immunity from prosecution.

With few ongoing trials and mounting scrutiny of its effectiveness, the ICC is seizing this case to reassert its relevance.