The International Criminal Court (ICC) has officially authorized the continuation of proceedings against fugitive Ugandan warlord Joseph Kony, leader of the notorious Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA), paving the way for a historic in-absentia hearing set for September. In a landmark ruling on Tuesday, the ICC’s Appeals Chamber upheld prior decisions allowing a confirmation of charges hearing against Kony to proceed, despite his continued evasion of arrest. It will be the first time the ICC holds such a hearing without the defendant present, as Kony’s whereabouts remain unknown.
Prosecutors plan to present extensive evidence to support multiple charges of war crimes and crimes against humanity against Kony, including murder, rape, sexual slavery, enslavement, and the conscription of child soldiers. Kony, indicted by the ICC in 2005 and the subject of an Interpol Red Notice since 2006, led a brutal insurgency in northern Uganda beginning in the late 1980s. Though the LRA was pushed out of Uganda by the mid-2000s, it continued to carry out massacres, abductions, and mutilations in parts of the Democratic Republic of Congo, South Sudan, and the Central African Republic.
The militia became infamous for abducting thousands of children, forcing boys to become soldiers and girls to serve as sex slaves. At its height, the LRA’s campaign displaced over two million people and led to the deaths of tens of thousands. Kony’s court-appointed defense team argued that holding a hearing in his absence would violate his right to a fair trial. However, ICC Judge Erdenebalsuren Damdin affirmed that “adequately robust safeguards” were in place to protect the integrity of the proceedings.
The ruling is being closely watched as a possible model for other high-profile cases involving absconding suspects, such as Russian President Vladimir Putin and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, both of whom face ICC arrest warrants. While the ICC does not allow full trials in absentia, the confirmation of charges hearing will determine whether there is sufficient evidence to proceed to trial once Kony is apprehended. Despite a global manhunt spanning nearly two decades, Joseph Kony remains at large.
