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Reuters

Judges at the International Criminal Court (ICC) on Monday ruled that prosecutors can bring a hearing on charges against fugitive Ugandan warlord Joseph Kony in his absence on October 15.
Kony, the founder and leader of the Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA), is the ICC’s longest-standing fugitive. An arrest warrant was issued against him in 2005.
ICC prosecutors are looking to charge Kony with 36 counts of war crimes and crimes against humanity including murder, rape, using child soldiers, sexual slavery, forced marriage and forced pregnancy.
Led by the now 62-year-old Kony, the LRA sowed fear among Ugandans for nearly 20 years as it battled the government of President Yoweri Museveni from bases in northern Uganda and neighbouring countries. It has now largely been wiped out.
About 100,000 people were killed in the conflict, according to United Nations figures.
According to prosecutors Kony had ultimate power over the entire LRA and led a coordinated campaign to abduct children to integrate them into the LRA.
The abducted children were subjected to a “carefully designed and coordinated regime of physical and psychological violence” including sometimes being forced to beat and even kill other abductees, the document containing the charges said.
Kony, who is still at large, has said he is not guilty of the allegations against him.
The fugitive African warlord who couldn’t be killed or captured
In late 2022 ICC prosecutor Karim Khan requested a hearing in the case to offer a “meaningful milestone” for victims and to present the depth of evidence gathered against Kony.
It is the first time since the court became a legal reality in 2002 that ICC judges have allowed a so-called confirmation of charges hearing without the suspect present and could have implications for other cases with fugitive suspects.
Other high-profile ICC fugitives include Russian President Vladimir Putin, who is wanted on charges of child abduction in Ukraine, and former Sudanese leader Omar al-Bashir, wanted for alleged genocide in Darfur.
Russia denies committing war crimes in Ukraine, while Sudanese authorities dismissed the court when the warrant against Bashir was issued in 2009.


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ICC allows in absentia hearings in case against Ugandan warlord Joseph Kony

Fugitive Ugandan rebel leader Joseph Kony. Photo: AP

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Why the US and Uganda were willing to give up the hunt for African warlord Joseph Kony

A Ugandan soldier hunting Lord's Resistance Army (LRA) fugitive leaders takes position behind a machine gun in a forest bordering Central African Republic (CAR), South Sudan and Democratic Republic of Congo. File photo: Reuters

FILE - In this Sunday, April 29, 2012 file photo, U.S. Army special forces Master Sergeant Eric, center, who would only give his first name in accordance with special forces security guidelines, speaks with troops from the Central African Republic and Uganda, in Obo, Central African Republic, where U.S. special forces have paired up with local troops and Ugandan soldiers to seek out Joseph Kony's Lord's Resistance Army (LRA). A rebel in charge of communications for warlord Joseph Kony has surrendered to Ugandan forces, the military said Thursday March 30, 2017, shortly after the U.S. indicated it was pulling out of the international manhunt for one of Africa's most notorious fugitives. (AP Photo/Ben Curtis, File)

FILE - In this Nov. 12, 2006 file photo, the leader of the Lord's Resistance Army, Joseph Kony answers journalists' questions following a meeting with UN humanitarian chief Jan Egeland at Ri-Kwangba in southern Sudan. A rebel in charge of communications for warlord Joseph Kony has surrendered to Ugandan forces, the military said Thursday, March 30, 2017 shortly after the U.S. indicated it was pulling out of the international manhunt for one of Africa's most notorious fugitives. (Stuart Price, Pool Photo via AP, File)

Lord's Resistance Army (LRA) leader Major General Joseph Kony, holds his daughter, Lacot, and son, Opiyo, in this exclusive image, at peace negotiations between the LRA and Ugandan religious and cultural leaders in Ri-Kwangba, southern Sudan ini this November 30, 2008 file photograph. A video calling for the arrest of Joseph Kony, the fugitive leader of the Lord’s Resistance Army terror group in Uganda, swept through the Internet this week, attracting a wave of support on Twitter as well as a skeptical backlash against a little-known team of filmmakers based in San Diego. REUTERS/Africa24 Media/Files (SUDAN - Tags: CIVIL UNREST CONFLICT) NO ONLINE USE. NOT FOR SALE FOR INTERNET DISPLAY. TV OUT. NOT FOR SALE TO TELEVISION BROADCASTERS

On patrol in DRC, South Sudan and Central African Republic with the 31st of the Ugandan Army, hunting for LRA rebels and their leader, Joseph Kony. Post Magazine, 20 May 2012.

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Ugandan warlord Joseph Kony has been on the run for almost two decades
Kony, 62, is suspected of 36 counts of war crimes and crimes against humanity


Joseph Kony, the founder and leader of the Lord’s Resistance Army, is the International Criminal Court’s longest-standing fugitive. An arrest warrant was issued against him in 2005.


ICC allows in absentia hearings in case against Ugandan warlord Joseph Kony

Ugandan warlord Joseph Kony has been on the run for almost two decades Kony, 62, is suspected of 36 counts of war crimes and crimes against humanity

Ugandan warlord Joseph Kony has been on the run for almost two decades

Kony, 62, is suspected of 36 counts of war crimes and crimes against humanity