05 Jun 2006: ISS Today: Uganda: Interpol Issues Red Notice for Kony

5 June 2006: “Interpol issues red notice for Kony”
H MUKASA, NEW VISION

 

The International criminal Police Organisation (Interpol) has issued ‘Red Notices’ for the arrest of the five Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA) commanders named in ICC arrest warrants: Joseph Kony, Vincent Otti, Okot Odhiambo, Raska Lukwiya and Dominic Ongwen. These individuals are wanted for trial at the ICC for multiple counts of crimes against humanity and war crimes, including murder, abduction, sexual crimes, rape and child conscription. These are the first wanted persons for whom notices have been issued by Interpol, on behalf of the International Criminal Court.

 

Commentary

 

Pressure is mounting on Joseph Kony and his Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA) to end the 20-year reign of terror that has maimed and killed thousands and displaced 1.5 million people in Northern Uganda. Recent reports claim that the physical strength of the LRA has been reduced to fewer than 300 rebels, who are now scattered in Garamba in the DRC, Kitgum in Southern Sudan and Pader in Northern Uganda. The LRA has increasingly lost its capability to wage a war because of defections, surrenders and ambushes by UPDF that have put many of them out of action.

 

Pictures of emaciated captives such as that of the “LRA chief priest”, Jenaro Bongomin (commonly known as Col Abonga) whose first request upon his surrender was to be given “good food and medical attention,” have highlighted the hardships and plight faced by the LRA rebels. Kony himself looked sickly when he was videotaped receiving $20,000 for “food” from southern Sudan’s Vice President, Riek Machar, in early May. Machar had met Kony to convey a message of peace from the Vice President of Sudan and Southern Sudan President, Salva Kiir.

 

For its part, Uganda was not only appalled by Kiir’s humanitarian gesture but has also increased the pressure on Kony. Kampala fears that Kony could easily use the $20,000 to buy 200 Sub-Machine Guns that sell for $100 a piece in the bush markets to arm his shrinking band of fighters. The Museveni government is suspicious that Kony’s impassionate plea for peace is a tactic to buy time in order to regroup his scattered and demoralised rebels.

 

But Kiir strongly feels that the LRA is committed to a peaceful conclusion to the war with the Museveni government. While justifying his generous donation of “food money”, Kiir has argued that his gesture is “the only way to stop the LRA” from abducting boys, and raping and killing Ugandan and southern Sudanese women and girls.

 

Kony is now a man under siege. During President Museveni’s swearing-in ceremony for an unprecedented third term, he called on regional powers to join hands to end the Kony rebellion in the same way they resolved the Burundi political crisis, ended the war in southern Sudan, ousted Idi Amin from power and stopped the genocide in Rwanda.

 

President Museveni is being strongly backed in his latest determination to deal with the Kony menace for once and for all by the USA, which has made it a “priority to get rid of the LRA before the end of this year”. On 16 May, US Assistant Secretary of State for African Affairs, Jendayi Frazier, committed her country to “take care of this nasty little group called the Lord’s Resistance Army in northern Uganda which is just creating havoc, killing kids, (and) kidnapping people.”

 

Although the International Criminal Court (ICC) in The Hague indicted Kony and his four top commanders, Vincent Otti, Okot Odhiambo, Raska Lukwiya and Dominic Ongwen, last year, it was only on 31 May that Interpol issued “Red Notices” for their arrest and trial at “the ICC for multiple counts of crimes against humanity and war crimes, including murder, abduction, sexual crimes, rape and child conscription.”

 

The “Red Notices” have been transmitted to 184 countries “to arrest and detain named individuals if found” has formally made the five LRA commanders internationally wanted fugitives. Although Uganda, Sudan and the DRC have been served with the arrest warrants, it is doubtful that they will execute them. Museveni would prefer these “terrorists” to be delivered in open coffins rather than in shackles. Neither the DRC nor the fledgling government of Southern Sudan have the capacity to execute this warrant as their militaries are undisciplined and underpaid.

 

In view of these weaknesses, calls have been made for the UN mission in the DRC, MONUC, to arrest Kony under its mandate. However, this is complicated by the fact that MONUC is also weak and thinly dispersed in Eastern DRC.

 

Museveni is further complicating matters, and also annoyed the ICC, by offering Kony a deal that undermines the case against the LRA Five. The ICC has strongly called on him to remain committed to his November 2003 referral he made to the court. Museveni is giving too many mixed signals. For instance, while offering a carrot to Kony to surrender in return for protection from prosecution by the ICC he is also calling on his neighbours to hunt him down while at the same time building up his military force for a final assault on the LRA strongholds in eastern DRC.

Wafula Okumu