On September 9, in a dusty school auditorium in a remote corner of northern Uganda, rows of men and women sat stiffly on wooden chairs, watching a flickering television. The air was tense with anticipation.
Three thousand miles away, charges are being read out at the International Criminal Court (ICC) in The Hague against warlord Joseph Kony, notorious for his role in terrorizing the region as leader of the Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA). Only one person is missing: Kony himself.
Kony is still believed to be hiding somewhere in central Africa. However, the ICC took the unprecedented step of confirming the charges in his absence in the hope that a full trial could begin quickly if he is caught.
Legal experts say the proceedings could provide a blueprint for other high-profile ICC fugitive defendants, including Russian President Vladimir Putin and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
The move stirred mixed emotions in Uganda. Some grapple with how justice can be served without someone in the dock. Others would rather not hear his name at all.
Audiences watch ICC screening of Gulu hearings against Joseph Kony – Sophie Neiman
Twenty years have passed since the court first issued an arrest warrant for Kony. Today, northern Uganda is peaceful but poor, still haunted by the shadow of the war Kony waged there in the late 1990s and early 2000s.
Between 1987 and 2004, some 25,000 children were forced into military service and some 2 million people were internally displaced by his religious army. Atrocities included the razing of villages, summary executions and the abduction of young girls for use as sex slaves.
There was silence in the school auditorium as prosecutors opened a trial in The Hague and listed 39 counts of war crimes and crimes against humanity against him.
In 1994, 12-year-old Evelyn Amony was abducted from her home. At first, she worked as a nanny for Kony’s children. However, when she was 14 years old, Kony decided to make her his wife.
“They will hand you over to anyone, whether you want it or not,” she told The Daily Telegraph. “If you refuse, they will kill you.”
She has three children with Kony, who is more than twice her age. “I wanted to be a doctor, but my future was lost,” she said.
Evelyn Armoni was abducted by the Lord’s Resistance Army as a young woman and forced to marry Joseph Kony – Sophie Neiman
Her companion, Franka Akello, acted as nanny for her children. Ms. Emoni tried to care for the young girl. “She told me not to worry too much about home because one day we will all go home,” Ms. Akello said.
Both women remember Coney acting condescendingly. He claimed to be able to channel spirits, telling them he was immune to bullets on the battlefield and could predict the future.
Former Lord’s Resistance Army commanders, speaking on condition of anonymity, described the group’s leaders with equal parts fear and reverence. Some claim that Kony’s eyes turned red when the spirit took over.
Kony’s story begins in the village of Oldeke, where he served as an altar boy at the local Catholic parish. Zakio Onan, one of Kony’s cousins, recalled that he was “always smiling.” They grew up together on the family homestead.
In some ways, he’s a kid like everyone else. Kony was obedient in school and loved swimming in the nearby creek. However, according to Mr Onan, his cousin began to change until he seemed “possessed”.
Kony arrives in the jungles of southern Sudan for peace talks in 2006 – Adam Pletts/Getty Images
This shift is rooted in broader upheaval. The Lord’s Resistance Army grew out of the ashes of the Holy Spirit Movement led by Alice Omar. Followers of the outlet fought with Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni’s troops armed with rocks they believed would be turned into grenades.
After Omar fled into exile in Kenya in 1987, Kony rallied the remnants of her forces to form the Lord’s Resistance Army. He swelled his ranks by kidnapping tens of thousands of children to serve as soldiers, while he and his commanders married the girls.
Kony’s stated goal is to overthrow the Ugandan government and establish a new order based on the Ten Commandments. In fact, the LRA turned its weapons against Acholi civilians in northern Uganda, attacking schools and villages in the area.
The Ugandan government responded with force, deploying troops against the Lord’s Resistance Army. It tortured and killed civilians in these battles, according to Human Rights Watch. The government has also forced millions of people off their land and established unprotected resettlement camps, where disease and starvation are rampant.
Even more influential in curbing the fighting was the 2000 Amnesty Law, which allowed any LRA combatant who surrendered to receive clemency and return home.
One of many young boys who joined the Lord’s Resistance Army as a fighter – Adam Pletts/Getty Images
As a result, more than 12,900 members of the Lord’s Resistance Army emerged from the jungle. Before returning to their farm and family, they undergo a forgiveness ceremony rooted in Acholi customs.
Onan himself joined the army in the hope that his cousin Kony would see him on the front lines and return home.
Then, in 2003, Uganda asked the newly established International Criminal Court to intervene. The indictment against Kony and four of his top deputies is the first to be filed in this court. Kony and his remaining troops fled to the Democratic Republic of Congo, where they continued to kidnap children and attack civilians.
James, one of the fighters who followed Kony into Congo, spoke to The Telegraph under a pseudonym.
Early in the war, James was kidnapped at age 12. He slowly rose through the ranks to become a senior commander. He said the Lord’s Resistance Army kidnapped children like him because they were the best soldiers.
“[Kony’s] The mission is to overthrow the government. In order to have good fighters, you need to have children without wives, without families,” he said.
Spectators watch a screening of the confirmation hearing on charges against Josper Kony hosted by the International Criminal Court in Gulu city – Sophie Neiman
James returned to China two years ago. He hopes Kony will be granted clemency as he has been, but fears confirmation of the ICC charges will prevent Kony from turning himself in.
“If he continues to hear about this, he’ll never come back,” James said. He recalled how LRA leaders listened to the radio every night before going to bed, switching between the BBC and Voice of America.
“He was obviously watching and listening from beginning to end. He was planning every possible means to not get to the courtroom,” James said.
For the International Criminal Court, the new hearings aim to focus the world’s attention on the continued freedom of brutal war criminals.
“Now is the time to revive the fact that Joseph Kony remains at large. We revive the international community’s interest in continuing to find Joseph Kony,” said Maria Kamara, ICC spokesperson in Uganda.
At a time when the court’s importance is being questioned, a return to its first case serves as a reminder of the ICC’s powers.
Kony’s defense lawyers said the ICC’s confirmation of the charges was “a huge waste of time, money and effort for no good”.
Uganda ICC spokesperson Maria Kamela takes photos of the audience during a screening – Sophie Neiman
Questions abound on Guru’s streets. One of Kony’s sons, born in LRA captivity, wanted nothing more than to talk to his father.
“When conflicts occur, destruction is caused and lives are lost, but only he has the answers,” said Kedi, using the nickname Kony gave him.
For others, the ICC process is opaque and confusing.
The first and only LRA commander to stand trial at the ICC was Dominic Ongwen, a child soldier abducted by Kony as a brigade commander.
In February 2021, he was sentenced to 25 years in prison after being found guilty of similar war crimes and crimes against humanity to which Kony was charged, including attacking civilians and forcing other children in the Lord’s Resistance Army.
But Ongwen’s victims have yet to receive compensation.
Franka Akello looks after Jospeh Kony’s children after being kidnapped by the Lord’s Resistance Army – Sophie Neiman
Scott Bartell, who manages the ICC’s programs in Uganda through the Victims Trust Fund, said Ongwen’s compensation order would be the largest in the court’s history “by far.”
Mr Battle said the trust hoped to receive a list of victims by the end of the year, at which point they could start making payments to the most vulnerable. They also plan to support memorial and recovery programs.
“We need a list of victims. We also need continued support from donors,” Mr Battle told The Telegraph. “It’s a challenge to go to the donor community and keep saying – this is another priority.”
For Kony’s victims, reparations can’t come soon enough.
Franka Akello, a nanny in Kony’s camp, is eager to see Kony stand trial. She wanted to attend the hearing in September but could not afford the £4 public taxi fare to attend the public screening.
Ms. Emoni, once one of Kony’s wives, is now a peace activist. She asked simply: “When will the world come together to help victims?”
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