LRA's Ongwen handed over to UPDF

American troops have handed over the Lord’s Resistance Army rebel commander Dominic Ongwen to Uganda People’s Defence Forces in Central African Republic.
The Public Affairs Officer at American Embassy in Kampala, Daniel Travis confirmed the handover of Ongwen who will be transferred to the International Criminal Court in Hague, Netherlands for trial.
“This is a major step forward toward securing the future of LRA-affected areas of Central and Eastern Africa. Our understanding is that Ongwen will be handed over to CAR officials after being debriefed,” Travis said.
He said the United States commends the governments of the Central African Republic and Uganda for their collaboration and cooperation in this process.
He dismissed media reports that there was a disagreement between Uganda and US over delayed handover. “We are aware of reports that the time taken between Ongwen’s surrender and this day may have been the result of disagreement among the parties. This is patently untrue. All parties concerned have been, and remain focused on the goal of seeing to it that Ongwen faces justice,” he said.
The UPDF spokesperson, Lt. Col Paddy Ankunda said the rebel commander would be handed over to CAR authorities before he is moved to the Hague.
Mr Travis said Uganda, the Central African Republic, the United States, the AU, and the ICC have taken “great care” to review all relevant legal aspects of the handover in order to ensure that Ongwen was not able to avoid trial based on some unforeseen legal technicality arising from his capture and subsequent disposition.