The International Criminal Court (ICC) has revealed that Mr Dominic Ongwen, the former Lord’s Resistance (LRA) rebels’ Field Commander could face fresh additional charges in relation to his participation in the brutal war which claimed dozens of lives in northern Uganda.
Ongwen has so far appeared in the dock at ICC in The Hague to face war crimes charges though he was not required to enter a plea.
He is the first member of the LRA to appear before the court and faces a total of seven counts of crimes against humanity and war crimes, including murder and enslavement.
The charges all relate to an attack on Lukodi Internally Displaced Persons camp in Bungatira Sub County in 2004 where over 50 unarmed civilians were massacred.
But Mr Phakiso Mochochoko, the Head of the Jurisdiction, Complementarity and Cooperation Division (JCCD) told journalist in Gulu town on Thursday that The Hague based court is looking into other cases where Ongwen is believed to have participated while he was still active in the bush.
Mochochoko says the office of the ICC Prosecutor led by Fatou Bensuda is considering charging Ongwen with cases related to massacres in Pajule, Pader district and Odek Sub County, Gulu district.
The Director JCCD says Ongwen is also likely to face charges of sexual and gender based violence as well as forceful conscription of children into the LRA ranks.
He explained that, “The new charges arise from concerns on the scope of earlier charges where Ongwen was charged with seven counts of crimes against humanity and war crimes, including murder and enslavement.”
“We believe Ongwen could be responsible for the killings, abduction of children and sexual exploitation of abductees” He said.
According to Mochochoko, the charges will be presented before judges in September this year and asked the communities, local leaders, religious and cultural institutions to come forward in case they have evidence that can implicate Ongwen.
1 Comment
ICC is a useless court. It has picked on ex child soldiers like Dominic Ongwen while leaving siting presidents. After all ICC failed to convict Museveni for genocide caused in Uganda, Congo and neighbouring countries. ICC also failed to convict the president of Kenya for killings.