Museveni gives Kony amnesty
President Yoweri Museveni has declared that his government will grant total amnesty to Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA) leader Joseph Kony, despite the International Criminal Court (ICC) indictment, if he responds positively to the peace talks in Juba, Southern Sudan and abandons terrorism.
By Vision Reporter
President Yoweri Museveni has declared that his government will grant total amnesty to Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA) leader Joseph Kony, despite the International Criminal Court (ICC) indictment, if he responds positively to the peace talks in Juba, Southern Sudan and abandons terrorism.
Museveni said this while meeting the representative of the UN Secretary General on Human Rights of Internally Displaced Persons, Dr. Walter Kalin, at State House, Nakasero yesterday.
“To hand over Kony after he has come out himself, that’s out,†Museveni said, according to a statement issued after the meeting.
“Museveni emphasised that Kony’s atrocities against the people of Ugandan were only comparable to those of Adolf Hitler, World War II leader of Nazi Germany,†the statement added.
Nonetheless, Museveni said, “The noble cause of trying Kony before the ICC had been betrayed by the failure of the United Nations, which set up the court, to arrest him despite knowing his location in DR Congo’s Garamba National Park.
“The President said the UN system would, therefore, have no moral authority to demand for Kony’s trial after failing to arrest him for the nine months he has been in the Congo, and even killed UN troops.
“I am sending my people to talk to Kony because I have no partners (on arresting him).â€
“They (UN) don’t have capacity to hunt for Kony, they don’t allow us to hunt for him,†Museveni added.
He said he had communicated his position in writing to the President of Southern Sudan, Salva Kiir, whose government is mediating between the LRA and the Uganda government.
Museveni said once Uganda gave a guarantee to Kony, it would not go back on its word out of pressure from the international community. “They can’t make us violate our culture,†he said.
He added that Uganda would make its case to the African Union Peace and Security Council, if challenged.
He said in addition to lack of cooperation from the UN and the government of Congo, Uganda was willing to pardon Kony to assist Kiir’s government.
“We don’t want to put burdens on the young government of Southern Sudan,†Museveni said, noting that its people were the ones now bearing the brunt of LRA terrorism.
“We have been forced to abandon human rights and condone impunity (because we have no partners),†he said.
The President, nevertheless warned Kony that the talks in Juba would be the last chance for him to save his life.
He told Kalin that the Kony threat to Uganda was over and the situation in northern Uganda would “never regressâ€. “He can’t come back, if he does, he will die,†Museveni said.
Meanwhile, Kalin, who had just returned from a tour of IDP camps in northern Uganda, said the situation had greatly improved.
“Something is moving and it is positive,†Kalin said, noting that the people were returning to their villages.
Present at the meeting were the Minister for Disaster Preparedness, Prof. Tarsis Kabwegyere and the head of the United Nations Humanitarian Activities in Uganda, Martin Mogwanja.
President Yoweri Museveni has declared that his government will grant total amnesty to Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA) leader Joseph Kony, despite the International Criminal Court (ICC) indictment, if he responds positively to the peace talks in Juba, Southern Sudan and abandons terrorism.
Museveni said this while meeting the representative of the UN Secretary General on Human Rights of Internally Displaced Persons, Dr. Walter Kalin, at State House, Nakasero yesterday.
“To hand over Kony after he has come out himself, that’s out,†Museveni said, according to a statement issued after the meeting.
“Museveni emphasised that Kony’s atrocities against the people of Ugandan were only comparable to those of Adolf Hitler, World War II leader of Nazi Germany,†the statement added.
Nonetheless, Museveni said, “The noble cause of trying Kony before the ICC had been betrayed by the failure of the United Nations, which set up the court, to arrest him despite knowing his location in DR Congo’s Garamba National Park.
“The President said the UN system would, therefore, have no moral authority to demand for Kony’s trial after failing to arrest him for the nine months he has been in the Congo, and even killed UN troops.
“I am sending my people to talk to Kony because I have no partners (on arresting him).â€
“They (UN) don’t have capacity to hunt for Kony, they don’t allow us to hunt for him,†Museveni added.
He said he had communicated his position in writing to the President of Southern Sudan, Salva Kiir, whose government is mediating between the LRA and the Uganda government.
Museveni said once Uganda gave a guarantee to Kony, it would not go back on its word out of pressure from the international community. “They can’t make us violate our culture,†he said.
He added that Uganda would make its case to the African Union Peace and Security Council, if challenged.
He said in addition to lack of cooperation from the UN and the government of Congo, Uganda was willing to pardon Kony to assist Kiir’s government.
“We don’t want to put burdens on the young government of Southern Sudan,†Museveni said, noting that its people were the ones now bearing the brunt of LRA terrorism.
“We have been forced to abandon human rights and condone impunity (because we have no partners),†he said.
The President, nevertheless warned Kony that the talks in Juba would be the last chance for him to save his life.
He told Kalin that the Kony threat to Uganda was over and the situation in northern Uganda would “never regressâ€. “He can’t come back, if he does, he will die,†Museveni said.
Meanwhile, Kalin, who had just returned from a tour of IDP camps in northern Uganda, said the situation had greatly improved.
“Something is moving and it is positive,†Kalin said, noting that the people were returning to their villages.
Present at the meeting were the Minister for Disaster Preparedness, Prof. Tarsis Kabwegyere and the head of the United Nations Humanitarian Activities in Uganda, Martin Mogwanja.