{"id":217903,"date":"2022-02-28T19:47:34","date_gmt":"2022-02-28T17:47:34","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.myza.co.za\/ugandan-rebel-joseph-kony-the-latest-us-arrest-bid-raises-questions\/"},"modified":"2022-02-28T19:47:34","modified_gmt":"2022-02-28T17:47:34","slug":"ugandan-rebel-joseph-kony-the-latest-us-arrest-bid-raises-questions","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.myza.co.za\/press\/ugandan-rebel-joseph-kony-the-latest-us-arrest-bid-raises-questions\/","title":{"rendered":"Ugandan rebel Joseph Kony: the latest US arrest bid raises questions"},"content":{"rendered":"
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The US, through its embassy in the Central African Republic, recently published<\/a> a warrant offering up to US$5 million for information leading to the capture of Ugandan warlord Joseph Kony. The US had previously announced<\/a> the bounty in early 2013. It has been on the trail<\/a> of the Lord\u2019s Resistance Army leader since the early 2000s, spending at least US$800 million<\/a> on efforts to bring him to book. We asked international justice experts Tonny Kirabira and Le\u00efla Choukroune to unpack the renewed interest in the Ugandan fugitive.<\/em><\/p>\n

What\u2019s the history of the Lord\u2019s Resistance Army?<\/h2>\n

The Lord\u2019s Resistance Army, a rebel group led by Joseph Kony, launched a war<\/a> in northern Uganda in 1987. For over two decades, the group engaged the Uganda People\u2019s Defence Forces, while also targeting civilians. Besides massacres and destruction of property, the group systematically targeted and abducted children to become its soldiers and sex slaves. <\/p>\n

It is infamous<\/a> for having pushed 66,000 children into war, and driven about 2 million people into camps. Over the years, various military campaigns by the Ugandan Army weakened the group and pushed its members into neighbouring Democratic Republic of Congo and South Sudan. <\/p>\n

The International Criminal Court issued arrest warrants for Kony and four of his top commanders \u2013 Vincent Otti, Raska Lukwiya, Okot Odhiambo and Dominic Ongwen \u2013 in 2005. <\/p>\n

The group took part in a two-year peace negotiation with the Ugandan government. The negotiation, brokered by South Sudan, collapsed in 2008. Kony pulled out<\/a> after Uganda\u2019s government failed to urge the International Criminal Court to lift the indictment against him and the other top commanders.<\/p>\n

In 2008, the Ugandan forces and troops from neighbouring countries launched Operation Lightning Thunder<\/a>, which drove the militants further into the Central African Republic. That\u2019s where Joseph Kony is believed to be stationed.<\/p>\n

What has kept this group together?<\/h2>\n

Besides its push for governance based on the Ten Commandments<\/a>, the Lord\u2019s Resistance Army\u2019s primary objective<\/a> was to overthrow the government of President Yoweri Museveni<\/a>. They perceived Museveni\u2019s government as hostile towards Kony\u2019s Acholi ethnic group in northern Uganda. <\/p>\n

In the early stages of the war, it was believed<\/a> that the Sudanese government provided logistical support to the group. At the time, Sudan had accused the Uganda government of supporting rebels in its Darfur region. <\/p>\n

The Lord\u2019s Resistance Army also engaged<\/a> in elephant poaching and illegal ivory trade in the Democratic Republic of Congo, to fund its war.<\/p>\n

What\u2019s known about the group\u2019s activities today?<\/h2>\n

The Lord\u2019s Resistance Army is believed to have fewer than 1,000 fighters<\/a>, all scattered in splinter groups. There are reports of its atrocities<\/a> in South Sudan and Central African Republic. The group\u2019s actions include violent attacks on civilian populations and abduction of children. <\/p>\n

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Read more: Photographs reveal the personal lives of the Lord’s Resistance Army<\/a> <\/strong> <\/em>\n<\/p>\n

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Significant reduction in the number of fighters, and deaths of commanders like Otti, Okot and Lukwiya, dismantled the group\u2019s top leadership. In addition, its commander, Ongwen, surrendered<\/a> to US forces in the Central African Republic in 2015. In 2021, Ongwen was convicted<\/a> for war crimes and crimes against humanity, and sentenced to 25 years of imprisonment. <\/p>\n

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Read more: Child victim, soldier, war criminal: unpacking Dominic Ongwen\u2019s journey<\/a> <\/strong> <\/em>\n<\/p>\n

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Why is the US going for Joseph Kony now?<\/h2>\n

The US has always maintained a strategic role and responsibility in the efforts to counter Kony\u2019s group. But its recent action \u2013 issuing a warrant and providing a WhatsApp number for relaying the information \u2013 poses more questions than it offers solutions. <\/p>\n

Previously, the US put political pressure<\/a> on the Democratic Republic of Congo to counter the rebel group. The George W. Bush administration<\/a> provided logistical and intelligence support for the Operation Lightning Thunder<\/a> in 2008 and 2009. <\/p>\n

US civil society has also been active in the efforts to neuter Kony\u2019s group. As a result, President Obama signed<\/a> the Lord\u2019s Resistance Army Disarmament and Northern Uganda Recovery Act of 2009 in 2010. <\/p>\n

In 2011, Obama deployed<\/a> 100 military advisors in Central African Republic to \u201cenhance regional efforts against the Lord\u2019s Resistance Army\u201d. Succinctly, the deployment was premised on both national security and foreign policy interests of the US. While the foreign policy is magnified in the growth of US presence and influence in the region, supporting counterinsurgency operations could be critical to national security interests. <\/p>\n

But with the reduction in the group\u2019s capacity and threat, the renewed US interest is not clear. Does the move aim to support the International Criminal Court\u2019s mandate, or is it simply a humanitarian intervention for civilians? <\/p>\n

Following the conviction of Ongwen in 2021, the US Department of State issued a statement<\/a> in support of the International Criminal Court\u2019s verdict. The statement noted: \u201cWhile we continue to believe the court is in need of significant reform, we are pleased to see Ongwen brought to justice\u201d. <\/p>\n

It is in this same statement that the US emphasised its goal of hunting down Kony. The US$5 million prize for information leading to \u201cthe arrest, transfer, or conviction\u201d of Kony was first announced by the Obama administration in 2013<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Different interpretations can be made from this explicit US interest. The US$5m prize could demonstrate a tacit support of institutions like the International Criminal Court, as alternative avenues for peace and justice. <\/p>\n

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Read more: The hunt may be off, but a $5 million pledge might bring Kony to justice<\/a> <\/strong> <\/em>\n<\/p>\n

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Prior to the Donald Trump administration, the US supported<\/a> the International Criminal Court\u2019s interventions in Darfur and Libya. It is important to note that the US is not a state party to the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court. It has had a fractious relationship<\/a> with The Hague based court in previous years. <\/p>\n

Ultimately, the Biden administration could be viewed as a new chapter in the US – International Criminal Court relationship, albeit under \u201cpartial and conditional<\/a> cooperation\u201d. In essence, such cooperation is only limited to situations where US interests are at stake. In this case, the intervention in the fight against the Lord\u2019s Resistance Army in Central Africa Republic. <\/p>\n

Therefore, by placing a prize on Kony\u2019s arrest, the Biden administration could be demonstrating a willingness to assist in the enforcement of an International Criminal Court-sanctioned warrant, in the process offering support to the Court.<\/p>\n

But it could be argued that searching for Kony is a US entry point back into the Central African Republic. This is amid the growing influence<\/a> of Russia in the country. France, the UK and the US accuse Russian paramilitary forces of committing atrocities<\/a> in the Central African Republic. <\/p>\n

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Read more: What it will take to end civil war in the Central African Republic<\/a> <\/strong> <\/em>\n<\/p>\n

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From a humanitarian perspective, the US intervention can be founded on a moral imperative to protect civilian victims of the Lord\u2019s Resistance Army. And an external intervention would attain more legitimacy if received as a humanitarian intervention.<\/p>\n

Source: The Conversation<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The US, through its embassy in the Central African Republic, recently published a warrant offering up to US$5 million for information leading to the capture of Ugandan warlord Joseph Kony. The US had previously announced the bounty in early 2013. It has been on the trail of the Lord\u2019s Resistance Army leader since the early […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":217904,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_genesis_hide_title":false,"_genesis_hide_breadcrumbs":false,"_genesis_hide_singular_image":false,"_genesis_hide_footer_widgets":false,"_genesis_custom_body_class":"","_genesis_custom_post_class":"","_genesis_layout":"","ngg_post_thumbnail":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[4584],"tags":[3257],"class_list":{"0":"post-217903","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-africa-news-2","8":"tag-mypr","9":"entry"},"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.myza.co.za\/press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/02\/ugandan-rebel-joseph-kony-the-latest-us-arrest-bid-raises-questions.jpg","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.myza.co.za\/press\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/217903","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.myza.co.za\/press\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.myza.co.za\/press\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.myza.co.za\/press\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.myza.co.za\/press\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=217903"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.myza.co.za\/press\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/217903\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.myza.co.za\/press\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/217904"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.myza.co.za\/press\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=217903"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.myza.co.za\/press\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=217903"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.myza.co.za\/press\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=217903"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}