Survivors of the reign of terror inflicted by the Lord's Resistance Army (LRA) rebels in Uganda have told the BBC they welcome the move by the International Criminal Court (ICC) to confirm charges against the group's leader Joseph Kony. An arrest warrant was issued for him in 2005, but he remains at large - believed to be hiding in the Central African Republic (CAR). On Thursday, the ICC said he was being charged with 39 counts of war crimes and crimes against humanity, including murder, rape, using child soldiers, sexual slavery, and forced pregnancy.
A woman abducted by the LRA as a child and forced to become one of Kony's wives said she hoped the move would renew efforts to capture him. I cannot be happy like other women who went to school. I need justice for women who went through abduction like me, 42-year-old Evelyn Amon told the BBC.
She spent 11 years in the bush with the LRA after being abducted from her home at age 11 - and she said she even forgot her own name as the rebels called her Betty Achol. Ms. Amon emphasized that victims like her wanted Kony to be tried and held accountable so they could receive compensation from the court. Kony's ICC trial cannot begin unless he is arrested and present in court in The Hague.
The LRA was formed by Kony in the late 1980s in northern Uganda, claiming its goal was to install a government based on the biblical Ten Commandments. The group became infamous for its brutal tactics, including the mutilation of its victims and the forced enslavement of children. Despite international efforts to capture him, Kony remains elusive, and a US-backed manhunt ended in 2017 without success. Survivors, like 28-year-old Patrick Ochieng, who was born into captivity, echoed the call for urgent action: He should first be arrested. The victims who suffered can't wait - some of these victims are already dying.
Kony's notoriety surged following a social media campaign in 2012, yet he remains a fugitive. Survivors hope the ICC's recent actions signify a possible path to justice, with Kony finally facing the consequences for decades of crimes against humanity.
A woman abducted by the LRA as a child and forced to become one of Kony's wives said she hoped the move would renew efforts to capture him. I cannot be happy like other women who went to school. I need justice for women who went through abduction like me, 42-year-old Evelyn Amon told the BBC.
She spent 11 years in the bush with the LRA after being abducted from her home at age 11 - and she said she even forgot her own name as the rebels called her Betty Achol. Ms. Amon emphasized that victims like her wanted Kony to be tried and held accountable so they could receive compensation from the court. Kony's ICC trial cannot begin unless he is arrested and present in court in The Hague.
The LRA was formed by Kony in the late 1980s in northern Uganda, claiming its goal was to install a government based on the biblical Ten Commandments. The group became infamous for its brutal tactics, including the mutilation of its victims and the forced enslavement of children. Despite international efforts to capture him, Kony remains elusive, and a US-backed manhunt ended in 2017 without success. Survivors, like 28-year-old Patrick Ochieng, who was born into captivity, echoed the call for urgent action: He should first be arrested. The victims who suffered can't wait - some of these victims are already dying.
Kony's notoriety surged following a social media campaign in 2012, yet he remains a fugitive. Survivors hope the ICC's recent actions signify a possible path to justice, with Kony finally facing the consequences for decades of crimes against humanity.
