Obo, Central African Republic | AFP | “Charlie Six, India One here… we’re going to begin the check-in,” says radio operator Joanick from his small studio in Obo, calling out to the surrounding villages in southeast Central African Republic. It’s a daily meeting at dawn, when each village informs the …
Read More »Burundi govt won’t join crisis talks unless consulted
Nairobi, Kenya | AFP | Burundi’s government on Wednesday refused to participate in stalled talks to end months of political crisis unless it was first consulted on who else was taking part. As Washington urged the authorities to defuse a year-long crisis, a presidential statement, broadcast on national radio and …
Read More »ICC opens ‘preliminary examination’ into Burundi crisis
The Hague, Netherlands | AFP | The chief prosecutor at the International Criminal Court said Monday she was opening a preliminary probe into violence in Burundi, which has been engulfed in a deep political crisis for a year. ICC prosecutor Fatou Bensouda said she had been following events closely since …
Read More »ODINGA: ICC’s failure to try Kenyan leaders spells ‘doom’
Paris, France | AFP | The ICC’s failure to try top Kenyan leaders for crimes against humanity in the country’s worst violence since independence spells “doom” for global efforts to fight impunity, former Kenyan leader Raila Odinga told AFP. Despite this setback, African countries must not quit the International Criminal …
Read More »War crimes judges drop charges in Kenya Ruto case
The Hague, Netherlands | AFP War crimes judges on Tuesday threw out charges of crimes against humanity against Kenya’s Deputy President William Ruto over his alleged role in post-election bloodshed in 2007-2008, but left the door open to a possible new trial. In a fresh blow to the prosecution, the …
Read More »RUTO: ICC to rule on bid to throw out case
The Hague, Netherlands | AFP Deputy Kenyan President William Ruto was to learn later Tuesday if war crimes judges will throw out a case against him for his role in post-election bloodshed which left some 1,300 people dead. The judges at the International Criminal Court (ICC) were to file a …
Read More »ICC urges LRA rebels to return home
The International Criminal Court (ICC) has urged members of the Lord’s Resistance Army to defect, as they will not be charged once they surrender. The ICC also clarified that only the cases of Joseph Kony or Dominic Ongwen are before the ICC. No other LRA member is subject to ICC …
Read More »ICC confirms 70 charges against LRA’s Ongwen
The Hague, Netherlands | AFP | War crimes judges Wednesday confirmed 70 charges against notorious Lord’s Resistance Army commander Dominic Ongwen for crimes committed in Uganda, including keeping sex slaves and recruiting child soldiers. Judges at the International Criminal Court “confirmed 70 charges brought by the prosecutor against Dominic Ongwen,” …
Read More »Uganda’s Museveni slams ‘partisan’ ICC
Kampala, Uganda | AFP | Uganda’s veteran ruler Yoweri Museveni, who is standing for re-election on Thursday, has said he is in favour of his country pulling out of the “partisan” International Criminal Court based in The Hague. Museveni, who came to power in 1986, made the remarks during a …
Read More »ICC in tight spot over captured LRA commander Ongwen
By Ronald Musoke Should a child who was abducted and turned into a killing machine as an adult be punished for it? Hours before Brigadier Dominic Ongwen was flown from the AU Regional Task Force base in Obo to Bangui, the Central African Republic capital, a handful of his victims—former …
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