The International Criminal Court (ICC) has opened its first-ever in absentia confirmation of charges hearing against Ugandan rebel leader Joseph Kony, founder of the Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA).
Prosecutors began presenting evidence on September 8, nearly 20 years after the ICC issued an arrest warrant for Kony over war crimes and crimes against humanity committed in northern Uganda in 2003 and 2004.
Kony faces 39 counts, including murder, rape, sexual enslavement, and conscripting child soldiers. While he remains at large, he is being represented in court by a defence lawyer. Judges will decide whether to confirm the charges, though Kony cannot be tried unless taken into ICC custody.
The case has drawn international attention as a precedent-setting moment for the court, which may in future pursue similar in absentia proceedings against figures such as Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Russian President Vladimir Putin. Survivors in Uganda have welcomed the move but expressed frustration that Kony has not been captured despite decades of pursuit and a $5 million bounty. Critics, however, argue that trying a fugitive without securing his arrest undermines justice for victims. Kony and the LRA, which once operated across Uganda, Congo, Central African Republic, and South Sudan, are notorious for atrocities including mass abductions, mutilations, and the use of child soldiers.