ICJ verdict made me cry!
Dec 21, 2005
SIR — It is a pity the International Court of Justice (ICJ) has ruled that Uganda violated the sovereignty of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), plundered its natural resources and was responsible for the human rights abuses when it sent its troops there.
SIR — It is a pity the International Court of Justice (ICJ) has ruled that Uganda violated the sovereignty of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), plundered its natural resources and was responsible for the human rights abuses when it sent its troops there.
The Hague-based ICJ is the highest judicial organ of the United Nations and its ruling is final. This means Uganda has to compensate the DRC in reparations and cannot appeal this disastrous decision!
As I read the judgment of the ICJ, I could not hold back my tears. To be found guilty of such grave international offences such as acts of torture, inhuman treatment, destruction of villages, incitement of ethnic violence and now the worst economic crime of plunder and looting of the natural resources of an independent state by a court of record like the ICJ is a big shame to the Government of Uganda, and to all Ugandans.
This goes a long way to show that the invasion of the DRC may after all not have been for security purposes as the government claims but for the purpose of looting the minerals and timber there! However, what is important at this stage is the fact that Uganda has to pay reparations to the DRC. The proceeds from the looting went into the pockets of private individuals and not the national treasury but now all Ugandans have to pay taxes to meet this compensation!
The officers responsible for the plunder of the resources in the DRC as clearly implicated in the UN Panel of Experts Report, 2002 and now the ICJ judgment should have their assets seized and sold and the proceeds used to meet part of the costs of this compensation.
There is no reason why taxpayers’ money should be used to pay for the acts which benefited only a few private individuals. Why should generations and generations of Ugandans pick the bill?
The peacekeeping mission of the officers involved was to keep the Allied Democratic Forces (ADF) at bay in the DRC and not in any way get involved in looting and plunder as part of the work plan of the UPDF. Such soldiers are therefore personally liable for such atrocities.
Uganda’s international fame cannot be recovered by advertising on CNN as long as she is so tragically tainted. Imagine an advert calling upon tourists to come to Uganda running side by side with a story on how the ICJ has been found Uganda guilty of plunder the natural resources of another independent state!
I call upon the Director of Public Prosecutions and the Government of Uganda to use this ICJ judgment as evidence in the prosecution of the officers implicated.
Kakungulu-Mayambala
Lund, Sweden
The Hague-based ICJ is the highest judicial organ of the United Nations and its ruling is final. This means Uganda has to compensate the DRC in reparations and cannot appeal this disastrous decision!
As I read the judgment of the ICJ, I could not hold back my tears. To be found guilty of such grave international offences such as acts of torture, inhuman treatment, destruction of villages, incitement of ethnic violence and now the worst economic crime of plunder and looting of the natural resources of an independent state by a court of record like the ICJ is a big shame to the Government of Uganda, and to all Ugandans.
This goes a long way to show that the invasion of the DRC may after all not have been for security purposes as the government claims but for the purpose of looting the minerals and timber there! However, what is important at this stage is the fact that Uganda has to pay reparations to the DRC. The proceeds from the looting went into the pockets of private individuals and not the national treasury but now all Ugandans have to pay taxes to meet this compensation!
The officers responsible for the plunder of the resources in the DRC as clearly implicated in the UN Panel of Experts Report, 2002 and now the ICJ judgment should have their assets seized and sold and the proceeds used to meet part of the costs of this compensation.
There is no reason why taxpayers’ money should be used to pay for the acts which benefited only a few private individuals. Why should generations and generations of Ugandans pick the bill?
The peacekeeping mission of the officers involved was to keep the Allied Democratic Forces (ADF) at bay in the DRC and not in any way get involved in looting and plunder as part of the work plan of the UPDF. Such soldiers are therefore personally liable for such atrocities.
Uganda’s international fame cannot be recovered by advertising on CNN as long as she is so tragically tainted. Imagine an advert calling upon tourists to come to Uganda running side by side with a story on how the ICJ has been found Uganda guilty of plunder the natural resources of another independent state!
I call upon the Director of Public Prosecutions and the Government of Uganda to use this ICJ judgment as evidence in the prosecution of the officers implicated.
Kakungulu-Mayambala
Lund, Sweden