Officials from the office of the Chief Prosecutor for the International Criminal Court (ICC) have revealed that they are preparing for the full trial of Dominic Ongwen, a former senior commander of the Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA) despite an appeal by Ongwen’s lawyers against a ruling confirming all the 70 charges.
Benjamin Gumpert, the ICC lead prosecutor in the Ongwen’s trial told reporters at the Northern Media Club (NUMEC) in Gulu town on Friday that they are going a head with preparations for a full trial of the indicted former LRA commander.
Gumpert explained in response to questions from journalists that Ongwen’s case rests on what the judges decided; judges of the pre-trial chamber confirmed all the 70 charges brought against him(Ongwen). He added that they will go on with preparations for the trial of the former LRA commander as they wait for judges to decide on the fate of the appeal.
The Prosecutor further said that even if Ongwen’s legal team has appealed, the same judges have to give permission for the appeal to go to the appeal chamber where it will be heard provided there are merits to it[ the appeal].
According to the ICC, the appeal is not an opportunity for the Ongwen’s defence team to reargue the evidence presented before the judges prior to the confirmation of the charges.
The Pre-Trial Chamber of the ICC is yet to sit and consider whether Ongwen raises valid appeal grounds before they can give him a go-ahead or not.
The defence team also faults the judges for failing to consider evidence presented by his defense lawyers regarding his age and accuses the chamber of deciding that article 25 (3)c of the Rome Statute does not require a substantial- contribution to the crime.
The Chamber concluded that there are substantial grounds to believe that Ongwen is responsible for crimes against humanity and war crimes.
The confirmed charges concern crimes allegedly committed during attacks against the Pajule IDP (October 2003); Odek IDP (April 2004); Lukodi IDP (May 2004) and Abok IDP camps (June 2004).
Ongwen is also accused of sexual and gender-based crimes directly and indirectly committed; conscription and use of children under age of 15 in hostile situations. The crimes were allegedly committed between July 1, 2002 and December 31, 2005.
The Head of the Jurisdiction, Complementarity and Cooperation Division (JCCD), Phakiso Mochochoko, said the office of the prosecutor believes they have a strong against Ongwen.
Mochochoko noted that considering the fact the judges were satisfied and confirmed all the 70 charges, it is a clear sign that the case against Ongwen is solid.
Ongwen appealed the recent decision by the Pre- Trial chamber to confirm all 70 charges against him before committing him for trial.
Ongwen’s legal team led by Crispus Odongo- Ayena argues that the Pre-Trial Chamber II erred when it refused to exclude non-translated statements and transcripts.
In a live telecast watched by dozens of some of the survivors of horrific attacks across northern Uganda in January this year, witnesses said that the LRA commander distributed women and girls among men in his brigade, the prosecutor told the court.
Known as the White Ant, Ongwen was 10 years old, walking to school in northern Uganda when he was abducted by the Lord’s Resistance Army rebel movement.
Earlier, evidence was presented to show how the Ugandan army intercepted communications between the LRA commanders.
The prosecution has been looking at the how the rebel leader Joseph Kony and his deputies communicated.
Ongwen surrendered in January last year to the Seleka rebel group in the volatile Central African Republic (CAR) and handed over to the US forces working with African Union troops in the region, before being transferred to the ICC.
On March 23, this year, the Pre-Trial Chamber II composed of Presiding Judge Cuno Tarfusser (Italy), Judge Chang-ho Chung (Republic of Korea) and Judge Marc Perrin de Brichambaut (France) adopted a separate concurring opinion and confirmed all the 70 charges preferred against Ongwen and also committed him to stand full trial.
