Teso victims demand recognition in ICC’s Kony case

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Leaders in the Teso sub-region have expressed concern over the limited scope of the International Criminal Court (ICC) case against Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA) rebel leader Joseph Kony.

The concerns were raised during a stakeholders’ meeting organised by the ICC in Soroti city on May 14, 2025. The meeting was aimed at updating communities and stakeholders on the progress of Kony’s case.

Kony, the founder of the LRA, led a brutal rebellion in northern Uganda that displaced approximately 1.5 million people, according to United Nations reports. The conflict resulted in hundreds of thousands of deaths, with thousands more abducted and forced into the rebel ranks.

Kony remains the only fugitive among the five LRA leaders indicted by the ICC in 2005 for war crimes and crimes against humanity.

The other four include Dominic Ongwen, a former senior brigade commander who is currently serving a 25-year prison sentence in Norway following his conviction by the ICC. The arrest warrants for Raska Lukwiya, Okot Odhiambo and Vincent Otti were dropped after confirmation of their deaths.

The ICC prosecution accuses Kony of 36 counts of war crimes and crimes against humanity, allegedly committed between July 1, 2002, and December 31, 2005, in northern Uganda.

The ICC announced that the confirmation of charges hearing in Kony’s case is scheduled for September 9 2025. British counsel Peter Haynes and his legal team will represent Kony, despite his continued absence.

During the Soroti city meeting, ICC officials said the charges against Kony are based on atrocities committed in eight locations in northern Uganda: Abok, Abia, Lukodi, Pajule, Odek, Balonyo, Lwala and Pagak.

However, community members, media representatives, religious leaders, cultural figures, and civil society organisations expressed disappointment that the case is limited to these eight areas. They argued that Kony’s crimes extended to many other regions, including Obalanga sub-county in Kapelebyong district, which served as an entry point into the Teso region.

Elizabeth Adongo, an intermediary and victim whose husband was allegedly killed by the LRA in Obalanga in 2003, lamented the exclusion of the over 300 people killed, as well as many others tortured and abducted on June 15, 2003, from any reparations framework if Kony is arrested and prosecuted.

Maria Kamara Mabinty, the ICC outreach officer in Uganda, underscored two major thematic crimes prevalent across northern Uganda: the recruitment and use of individuals under 18, and the exploitation of children under 15 born in captivity, including sex-related offences.



On Wednesday, May 14, the ICC team visited Lwala Girls Secondary School in Kalaki district, where more than 100 girls were abducted during the conflict.

Officials noted that since the arrest warrants were issued for Kony and his top commanders nearly 19 years ago, he has evaded capture and has yet to surrender to the ICC.

Kamara stated that efforts have been made to notify Kony of the charges against him, and the ICC believes the confirmation of charges can proceed in his absence.