Government and Policy

Uganda’s Dominic Ongwen Found Guilty Of War Crimes

BY Juma · February 5, 2021 09:02 am

KEY POINTS

LRA is known for kidnapping women and girls and raping them. It is also known for forcing children into being soldiers as well as killing those against them by boiling them in a pot.

Trial Chamber IX of the International Criminal Court on Thursday convicted ex-Ugandan rebel commander Dominic Ongwen of war crimes and crimes against humanity in a ruling that has been welcomed by millions of victims in Uganda.

Dominic Ongwen, who is a former Ugandan child soldier was found guilty of 61 charges over a reign of terror in the early 2000s, including the first conviction by the ICC for the crime of forced pregnancy. He oversaw the kidnapping and raping of women and children.

“His guilt has been established beyond any reasonable doubt,” Presiding Judge Bertram Schmitt said, naming the victims and describing the crimes. “This case is about crimes committed by Dominic Ongwen as a fully responsible adult as a commander of the LRA in his mid-to-late 20s.”

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Ongwen was also convicted for the crime of forced pregnancy for atrocities committed against seven women. He is said to have been in charge of a group that kidnapped the women that he later raped and impregnated. He was under Joseph Kony.

“As a result of the sexual and physical violence and the living conditions to which they were submitted, the abducted women and girls suffered severe, barely imaginable physical and mental pain,” Judge Schmitt added.

Both Crimes against humanity and war crimes were committed in Northern Uganda between July 1, 2002, and December 31, 2005. The Lord’s Resistance Army in Uganda has for years committed crimes against humanity and described as the worst terror group in terms of inflicting pain.

The Chamber did not find evidence that supported the claim that he suffered from any mental disease or disorder during the period relevant to the charges or that he committed these crimes under duress or under any threats. He might be sentenced to up to 30 years in prison.

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About Juma

Juma is an enthusiastic journalist who believes that journalism has power to change the world either negatively or positively depending on how one uses it.(020) 528 0222 or Email: info@sokodirectory.com