Justice without the accused: ICC opens historic case against Uganda’s fugitive warlord

In a landmark moment for international justice, the International Criminal Court (ICC) on Tuesday (9 September) began its first-ever in absentia hearing, presenting evidence against fugitive Ugandan rebel leader Joseph Kony, who remains at large nearly two decades after his indictment.
Kony, founder of the brutal Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA), faces 39 counts of war crimes and crimes against humanity, including murder, rape, torture, and the abduction of thousands of children between 2002 and 2005 in northern Uganda. Though he is not in custody, a court-appointed lawyer is representing him. “Everything that happens at the ICC is precedent for the next case,” said international law expert Michael Scharf. The hearing, while not a trial, could shape future proceedings against other high-profile fugitives, including Russian President Vladimir Putin and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
Survivors in Uganda, like Everlyn Ayo, who witnessed atrocities as a child, are closely watching. “The rebels raided the school, killed and cooked our teachers in big drums and we were forced to eat their remains,” she recalled. Kony’s religiously charged uprising, rooted in the claim that he was a spirit medium, evolved into a reign of terror that displaced 2.5 million people and killed at least 100,000. Despite international efforts — including a $5 million U.S. bounty — he has evaded capture, allegedly hiding in remote Central African border regions. As the court deliberates on whether to confirm the charges, many Ugandans welcome the proceedings but still await the day Kony is finally brought to justice.