National Identity cards are prerequisite for LRA victims' compensation -- ICC

________________

The International Criminal Court has called upon the Lord's Resistance Army victims in northern Uganda to register and acquire the national identity card as they prepare to kick-start reparation for people affected by the war.

The ID is one of the legal documents that proves the identity of a person and citizenship. Latest reports indicate that the National Identification and Registration Authority will start mass national identity card enrollment and renewal exercise on May 27, 2025. The exercise will run for 10 months.   

According to Maris Mabinty Kamara, the court`s outreach officer for Uganda, €52m (sh213.6b) has been earmarked for the reparation order, and it has been approved by the ICC judges.

The reparation or compensation, according to Kamara, will target victims who suffered atrocities under Dominic Ongwen`s case, which had been concluded by the court and is currently serving his jail sentence.

Ongwen, one of the former LRA commanders, was jailed for 25 years by the ICC for war crimes and crimes against humanity, and he is serving his jail sentence in Norway. 

One important aspect of this is the requirement of national identity cards. Please use all networks to reach out to the victims and encourage them to go and register,” she said.   

Kamara was Thursday meeting stakeholders at Gracious Palace Hotel in Lira City to update them on the development of Joseph Kony`s case.

She added: “Baptism card, approved of Kingship, school identity card and voter card, birth certificate and immunisation cards, while it will help you to register, but none of these have the weight of the national identity card.”

“So we encourage and urge victims to register and secure identity cards when the process starts within the community,” she added.

She added that for reparation, there will be so many people with the same name, and you need to be identified not only by your name but by your face.         

She said they have recruited clerks and deployed them in Lango, Teso, West Nile and Acholi sub-regions to execute the work.

“All proceedings had been concluded and the Trust Funds draft implementation plan was approved, indicating how the plan implementation will be rolled out,” she added.  

He said registration of the victims will soon kick start and run for eight months for the assessment of eligibility.

She said victims are expected to remain in their homes, where clerks will meet them to record their particulars.