Recently, Dominic Ongwen, commander in Joseph Kony’s Lord Resistance Army in Uganda, was charged by the International Criminal Court with war crimes.
Ongwen pled not guilty.
Ongwen told the court he didn’t understand the charges. He said, “The charges are against the LRA. The LRA is Joseph Kony, the leader. But I am not the LRA.”
So who is Joseph Kony?
In 1986 rebel leader Yoweri Museveni overthrew the government. Once in control Museveni’s forces sought revenge on ethnic groups that didn’t support their military campaign. Joseph Kony formed the LRA, but the LRA wasn’t just an anti-Museveni group. Their mission was to seize control of the country and govern it under biblical commandments and tribal tradition.
Kony was considered a prophet.
Kony and the LRA launched their insurgency in 1987, but Kony didn’t target government installations, he targeted the civilians he wanted to govern. Kony raided villages for supplies and forced children to carry the goods into the bush.
In 1991, President Museveni announced a massive military campaign to seek and destroy the LRA but it failed. Over the years the LRA grew and increased its methods of brutality. Any civilian that was suspected of supporting Museveni’s government or forming a self-defense force had their ears, lips, and noses cut off.
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