A former fighter of the Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA) rebels has revealed that Joseph Kony, the elusive and much sought after leader of the LRA is hiding in Sudan’s Darfur region, a former fighter of the rebel group has said.
Peter Kidega, 32, who defected from the rebel group in November last year has said Joseph Kony wanted by the International Criminal Court (ICC) with the support of some individuals in Sudan has left the jungles of the Central African Republic (CAR) and is now in living the volatile Darfur region.
Kidega did not say where Kony was before he left for the Darfur region.
After being edged out of Uganda more than a decade ago, the brutal leader of the LRA—notorious for abductions and mutilations fled to the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) before he moved to Central African Republic after Uganda forces attacked his bases in the Garamba forest.
Kidega who held the rank of a Sergeant Major in the LRA was speaking to journalists on Friday afternoon at Gulu airfield where he was airlifted by US Special Forces from their bases in the CAR.
Kidega further revealed that Kony is often visited by men believed to be Sudanese in his Darfur hideout. He adds that the men usually carry food and weapons for the wanted LRA rebel leader who is accused of committing serious crimes in northern Uganda, the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and Central Africa Republic (CAR).
According to Kidega, the men suspected to be Sudanese are friendly to Kony and sometimes are given money by the rebel leader to buy food from an unknown place.
Kidega, a former Senior One student of Kalango Secondary School in Agago district told reporters that he last met Kony on October 9, 2016 in Darfur before he escaped with six others and reported to the Seleka rebels in November last year.
The Seleka rebels according to Kidega handed him and his group to the regional joint taskforce pursuing Kony in Obbo (CAR) before being brought to Uganda.
US Special Forces were deployed in the great lakes to offer support Uganda troops hunting for Kony in the great lakes during former President Barrack Obama’s. New president Donald J Trump has said he will focus on America for Americans and reduce on US engagements around the world in the fight against terrorism.
This is not the first time Kony is reported to be living in Darfur, a Khartoum controlled area.
In 2014, US based campaign groups said the fugitive rebel leader had sought refuge in Kafia Kingi enclave between Sudan and South Sudan.
Kony, commander of the Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA) is originally from northern Uganda, has been accused of crimes in the great lakes region has had in ICC indictment since October 2005.
LRA defectors say Kony and his sons, Salim Saleh, George Bush and 150 fighters have resorted to survival tactics with Kony allowing only 15 of his guards to be near him in order to avoid being detected.
