LRA’s Ongwen ICC trial starts in December
Former LRA commander Dominic Ongwen
KAMPALA. The International Criminal Court (ICC) has set December 6 of this year when when it will open the full trial against the former commander of the Sinia Brigade of the Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA), Mr Dominic Ongwen who’s facing charges of crimes against humanity and war crimes.
According to the press statement from the ICC’s Public Affairs Unit dated May 30, the Trial Chamber IX decided to set this date after the respective submissions by the prosecution and the defence sides were in and also the necessary time for the disclosure of evidence and other materials.
Explaining exactly what will happen on December 6, the Hague-based court according to the press release, said it will only hear out the opening statements on that day. This will then be followed by the presentation of the evidence by the prosecution in January 2017.
Mr Ongwen’s trial is to be heard by a panel of three judges who include; Bertram Schmitt (presiding judge), Mr Peter Kovacs and Mr Raul C Pangalangan.
The setting of the trial date comes three months after the Pre-Trial chamber of the same court, confirmed all the 70 charges that were brought against Mr Ongwen and committed him to full trial.
This was after the same court conducted a week long pre-trial session early this year to establish whether there was enough evidence to have Mr Ongwen committed to full trial or not.
Indeed after the pre-trial session, the court ruled that it had found enough evidence to have Mr Ongwen stand trial for the crimes he allegedly committed during the two-decade insurgency in Northern Uganda.
The confirmed charges are in connection to LRA rebel attacks on various internally displaced people’s camps in Northern Uganda including Pajule, Odek, Lukodi and Abok.
Mr Ongwen is also accused of sexual and gender-based crimes directly and indirectly committed by him and crimes of conscription and use of hostilities of children under the age of 15.
The former LRA war lord allegedly committed these crimes between July 2002 and December 2005. He denies committing the crimes.
Mr Ongwen was handed over to the ICC on January 16 last year following a warrant of arrest by the ICC and he was accordingly transferred to the court’s custody on January 21 last year.
The former war lord was part of the top commanders of Joseph Kony’s led LRA rebel group that caused havoc in Northern Uganda that saw millions of civilians being killed and burnt alive in internally displaced people’s camps for close to two decades.
