Kony defence team ready to challenge charges in absentia

Gulu, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | The defence lawyers of Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA) rebel commander Joseph Kony have said they are ready to mount a strong challenge to the International Criminal Court (ICC) confirmations of charges against Kony despite his absence.

The ICC has scheduled the confirmation of charges hearing against Kony in his absence for September 9 to 11th at the Hague-based court in the Netherlands. This is the first time the court will conduct such a proceeding for a suspect who remains at large.

Lead Defence counsel Peter Haynes said Friday that they are confident the defence will present a strong argument on why some of the charges against Kony shouldn’t be confirmed by the judges at the ICC.

Haynes noted that the defence lawyers have carefully analysed all the evidence presented in the court, arguing that the process of holding a confirmation of charges hearing against Kony is legally flawed.

Kony, who has been wanted by the ICC since 2005, faces 39 charges of war crimes and crimes against humanity allegedly committed between July 1 2002 and December 31 2005, in Northern Uganda.

Haynes, however, acknowledged the difficulty of preparing a defence without the direct instruction of Kony, whom the legal team have never been in contact with since the case was reopened.

He noted that despite Kony’s absence, they are optimistic that the defence team will put up a concise and sensible argument before the court on why they need charges against Kony shouldn’t be confirmed.

Kate Gibson, a co-counsel for Kony’s defence team, noted that despite the absence of Kony in the hearing and the defence team’s inability to reach him, they have been able to get a substantial amount of evidence from Northern Uganda through community interaction.

Gibson also revealed that while the prosecution has applied to present five witnesses for the confirmation of charges hearing, the Pre-Trial Chamber judges ruled out the request, arguing that only evidence on paper will be discussed.

“I think some people are expecting live evidence, but that won’t be the case,” she said.

According to the defence team, the confirmation of charges hearing will determine if there is enough evidence to send Kony’s case for trial. However, Kony will only stand trial once he is physically present in court.

The defence lawyers had earlier in April this year appealed against the ICC pre-trial chamber III decision on holding the confirmation of charges hearing against Kony in his absence. Haynes had pointed out that the decision would, among other reasons, affect ongoing reconciliation and repatriation efforts in Northern Uganda.

However, the Appeals Chamber in a June ruling upheld the Pre-Trial Chamber III decision to proceed with the confirmation of charges hearing in the absence of Kony. The Appeals Chamber found that the ICC Rome Statute provides adequately robust safeguards to protect the suspect’s fair trial rights even in cases where such an initial appearance has not taken place.

Kony, the founder of the notorious LRA, remains ICC’s longest suspect on the run. The LRA, which operated under Kony’s stewardship for over two decades in Northern Uganda, left millions of people displaced, thousands killed, and thousands abducted, including children and women forced into combat and sexual slavery.

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