Overview
- Kony, the fugitive leader of the Lord’s Resistance Army, faces charges for atrocities committed between July 2002 and December 2005, including murder, rape, sexual slavery, forced pregnancy and the use of child soldiers.
- A three‑judge ICC panel found substantial grounds to hold him responsible as an indirect co‑perpetrator for 29 counts tied to attacks on civilians and abductions.
- Judges said he also has a case to answer as a direct perpetrator in 10 counts linked to two victims forced to be his 'wives', including enslavement, forced marriage, rape and forced pregnancy.
- The court rejected a defense bid to freeze the case after the ICC’s first-ever confirmation-of-charges hearing held without the suspect present.
- No trial can begin until Kony is in custody under a 2005 ICC arrest warrant, and victims in northern Uganda say the decision offers recognition but not justice while he remains at large.