One of the most senior commanders in the feared militia of fugitive Ugandan warlord Joseph Kony is going on trial at the International Criminal Court.
Dominic Ongwen, an alleged commander in the Lord’s Resistance Army, faces 70 charges Tuesday, including murder, pillage, rape and using child soldiers during the group’s long-running insurgency.
Ongwen was himself abducted as a 14-year-old and forced to fight with Kony’s forces before rising through the ranks to allegedly become commander of the LRA’s Sinia brigade.
Ongwen, first indicted in 2005 and sent to the court early last year after surrendering to US forces in Central African Republic, is the only member of Kony’s army in the court’s custody. Kony remains free despite years of efforts in Northern Uganda and neighbouring countries to capture him.
