All posts by Oryem Nyeko

What justice means for the communities tied to Dominic Ongwen’s case

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The memorial site for the Lukodi massacre of 2004. JRP.
The memorial site for the Lukodi massacre of 2004. JRP.

In early March this year, the JRP team visited the villages of Lukodi and Coorom to find out what community members there think about former LRA commander Dominic Ongwen and his case at the International Criminal Court. Because people in Lukodi have been wrangling with the after-effects of an LRA massacre that killed between 40 and 60, people there call out openly for solutions to the challenges they face. In addition to being victims of the attack, many there lost property, family and numerous opportunities to improve their lives. For Lukodi, justice means compensation and government accountability.

People in Coorom in Amuru district were more wary about speaking with strangers. Coorom is the village from which Dominic Ongwen hails and because its most famous son is someone that was indicted by the ICC for seven counts of war crimes and crimes against humanity, people there are afraid that their association with Ongwen may lead to revenge attacks by other communities or government forces. Justice for Coorom means protection, a fair hearing for Ongwen and support for the many children that have been orphaned by the war.

Before visiting these communities we were aware of the conflicting views that people in northern Uganda, and in particular in Acholi, have towards Ongwen. Acholi religious leaders argue that Ongwen’s status as someone that was abducted as a child and ostensibly forced to commit the crimes he is accused of make him a victim of the war rather than a perpetrator. The other view that is held is that holding Ongwen accountable is an important step in addressing impunity for international crimes. These two sets of views were also reflected in the communities we spoke with. Survivors of the Lukodi massacre want Ongwen to be tried and convicted so that they can receive compensation for their losses, regardless of how young he was when he was abducted. People in Coorom, on the other hand, were adamant that Ongwen should not be the person tried at the ICC. Instead, government forces and the commanders that abducted him should be held accountable for what happened during the LRA conflict.

Despite these differences, the two communities shared a similarity in one key area: the importance of traditional justice and reconciliation. People in both communities don’t see a possible trial of Ongwen as an end to addressing the war. Rather, Acholi traditional ceremonies that emphasise reconciliation, such as mato oput and gomo tong, were spoken of as lasting solutions and as just as important as formal court processes. Both communities also spoke of the need to reconcile with other communities, with Lukodi proposing a dialogue between community leaders there and with elders from Coorom, to sort out any differences that may arise from the ICC case. Similarly, in Coorom people call for reconciliation between their community and other places that suffered during the war. Ultimately, for both these communities justice means more than the ICC.

Read JRP’s situational brief ‘Community Perceptions on Dominic Ongwen’ here.

Victoria Nyanjura, a powerful woman

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Victoria Nyanjura featured in the May 2015 edition of Marie Claire Spain.

Victoria has been at JRP since August 2013, when she began volunteering with JRP’s Gender Justice department. Her mobilisation skills, hard work and dedication eventually led to her becoming a full time staff with JRP. As a formerly-abducted person herself she says that she is specially placed to do the work JRP does.

“There is a way that I’m strong and can understand the women,” she says, “They really feel comfortable interacting with me.”

Currently, Victoria is key in implementing JRP’s livelihood project funded by Uganda Fund through planning, ensuring activities are effected and providing support for the women’s groups. As a member of the Women’s Advocacy Network, Victoria is also involved in creating awareness for the network and engaging potential partners. She has attended numerous national and international conferences where she has presented on the needs and challenges of war-affected women and their children. In the past, she has also been responsible for coordinating Gender Justice activities, facilitating community mediation and outreach and report-writing.

“What do I enjoy about working at JRP? Working with the women. The interface. All along I had wanted to work with women and children, and now I’ve achieved what I wanted.”

Victoria graduated with a Bachelors degree in Development Studies at Kyambogo University in Kampala, where she learned about conflict-resolution and ethics, community initiatives and gender studies, all of which, she says, has contributed enormously to her work at JRP.

“I want to be a great woman,,” she admits, “I would love for the experiences I went through to open doors for somebody who cannot speak for themselves. I want to use my experience to improve the lives of many people by talking to them and giving them courage. They’ll say, ‘Victoria was this and now she is able to be this. What about me?’ They can learn from that.”

TJ Monitor: Next Ongwen hearing at the ICC may be held in January

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TJ Monitor

 

Lukodi village, the site of a 2004 massacre by the LRA for which Dominic Ongwen is accused of leading.
Lukodi village, the site of a 2004 massacre by the LRA for which Dominic Ongwen is accused of leading.

Last month, we blogged about former Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA) Commander Dominic Ongwen’s first appearance at the International Criminal Court (ICC) for war crimes and crimes against humanity. As part of our TJ Monitor, we will be giving updates on the case and other related proceedings.

Non-redacted warrant of arrest reveals Ongwen was charged with leading Lukodi massacre

On 28 January, the ICC reclassified its warrant of arrest for Dominic Ongwen its public. Previously, the warrant indicated that Ongwen was charged with seven counts of war crimes and crimes against humanity under the Rome Statute for leading a massacre in 2004 on an unnamed internally displaced persons (IDP) camp in northern Uganda. Following Ongwen’s surrender and transfer to The Hague, the redactions on the warrant were removed, revealing that the attack Ongwen is alleged to have led was on an IDP camp in Lukodi, a village 17 kilometres from Gulu town, on 19 May 2004.

In 2011, the Justice and Reconciliation Project documented the experiences of survivors of what has come to be known as the Lukodi massacre. According to witnesses to the massacre, including formerly abducted persons with insight into the workings of the rebel group, the LRA attacked the camp as an act of revenge on Lukodi’s residents because they believed they were collaborating with the government in its fight against the rebels. Respondents also said that the massacre was led by an LRA commander called “Tulu”.

Following the massacre, hasty burials were carried out in shallow graves for the approximately 60 people that died. Exhumations of the bodies were also reported to have been conducted by government officials, apparently as a response to ongoing investigations related to Uganda’s referral of the LRA situation to the ICC in 2003.

Ongwen’s case separated from other LRA top commanders

On 6 February, Single Judge Ekatarena Trendafilova, who is presiding over the Pre-Trial Chamber, severed Ongwen’s case from the charges levelled against the other top LRA commanders indicted by the ICC, Joseph Kony, Vincent Otti and Okot Odhiambo, who are still “at large”. This means that Ongwen’s case will go ahead independently of the other commanders’.

This decision was rendered on the basis that pursuing the charges against all four would “bring about serious prejudice to Mr. Ongwen as it has the potential of prolonging the pre-trial proceedings against him”. In addition, the Judge ordered that the case be assigned a new case number, and all documents and decisions rendered in relation to it be assigned to its new case record.

Prosecution applies for the postponement of confirmation of charges

Last Thursday, the Office of the Prosecutor applied to the Pre-Trial Chamber for Dominic Ongwen’s confirmation of charges hearing to be rescheduled to 31 January 2016 for several reasons, including the need to provide time for the prosecution to renew contact with its witnesses and assess their “security situation”. The provisional date for the confirmation of charges hearing was originally set for 24 August 2015 during Ongwen’s initial appearance hearing in January.

The confirmation of charges hearing

This hearing will be held by the Pre-Trial Chamber to confirm the charges on which the Prosecutor intends to seek trial. At the hearing, the Prosecutor presents evidence to support each charge leveled against the accused in order to establish “substantial grounds to believe” that he or she committed the crimes charged. The accused may in response object to the charges, challenge the evidence presented by the Prosecutor and present evidence. The Pre-Trial Chamber will then confirm the charges in relation to which it has determined that there is sufficient evidence and commit the accused to the Trial Chamber for trial.
Currently, Dominic Ongwen’s confirmation of charges hearing is set for 24 August 2015.

In terms of Article 67 (2) of the Rome Statute, the Prosecutor is obliged to disclose evidence to the defence which may she believes will show Dominic Ongwen’s, as the accused, innocence, mitigate his guilt or affect the credibility of the prosecution evidence during the trial. In order to do this, the prosecution argued that there was a need to review up to 94,000 pages of its existing evidence given the years of dormancy the case has had. Additionally, the prosecution says it will have to renew contact with its 32 existing witnesses regarding their statements and assess their security, which it suggested would take till at least 7 April 2015. Following this, 140 additional witnesses would also possibly be interviewed, depending on whether their statements are assessed to be disclosable in terms of Article 67.

Other reasons cited for additional time to by the prosecution, was because they would need to apply for redactions of prosecution evidence, witness assessments and other items related to the case by at least 8 May. They would also need to conduct re-investigations and, possibly, additional investigations into the case, as well as transcribe, translate and analyse up text and audio interviews, some of which could take from four to five months. The prosecution also suggested considering adding new charges against Ongwen was also a factor which would require extra time beyond August.

Following this application, the Single Judge will render a decision after considering the request and ascertaining the views of the defense.

 

Dominic Ongwen Case Timeline

26 January 2015 Dominic Ongwen’s initial appearance hearing at held at the ICC
29 January ICC warrant of arrest for Dominic Ongwen re-classified as public.
12 February The Office of the Prosecutor submits an application for the postponement of Dominic Ongwen’s confirmation of charges hearing from 24 August 2015 to 31 January 2015.
7 April The date by which the prosecution suggests the security assessment of its witnesses would be complete
8 May The date by which the prosecution expects to complete its applications for redactions for items in its possession relating to its 32 witnesses.
24 August Provisional date set for the confirmation of charges hearing
31 January 2016 Proposed date for the confirmation of charges hearing

Bearing Witness post-participation event held in Atiak

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Limo Can Tek (of Pupwonya parish) performs a song and drama piece entitled "Kony Dwogo Lutino Gang" ("Kony return our children home"). This scene depicts an abducted person being forced to carry luggage after a rebel attack.
Limo Can Tek (of Pupwonya parish) performs a song and drama piece entitled “Kony Dwogo Lutino Gang” (“Kony return our children home”). This scene depicts an abducted person being forced to carry luggage after a rebel attack.

 

On 16 October 2014, Atiak sub-county headquarters hosted the post-participation event for the ‘Bearing Witness – Dealing with the past to create a better future’ project with the support of USAID SAFE. Through song, dance, poetry and theatre the six victims and survivors groups the Justice and Reconciliation Project worked with in 2014 showcased the post-conflict transition challenges and recommendations for the reconstruction of conflict affected communities that arose during the ten months the memory and truth-telling project was implemented.

See pictures from the event on our Facebook page here.

https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.889011661111714.1073741833.120108758002012&type=1

Song, dance and theatre to highlight the transition challenges in Atiak

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Members of Limo Can Tek victims' group in Pupwonya parish, Atiak rehearse for the Bearing Witness post-participation event on 16 October 2014. The event will be held at Atiak sub-county headquarters and will feature song, dance and theatre to highlight post-conflict transition challenges and solutions identified during the project.
Members of Limo-can Tek victims’ group in Pupwonya parish, Atiak rehearse for the Bearing Witness post-participation event on 16 October 2014. The event will be held at Atiak sub-county headquarters and will feature song, dance and theatre to highlight post-conflict transition challenges and solutions identified during the project.

Join the community of Atiak on 16 October 2014 at Atiak sub-county head-quarters when it hosts an event to showcase post-conflict transition challenges and discuss recommendations for the reconstruction of conflict affected communities brought forward during the Justice and Reconciliation Project’s memory and truth-telling project, Bearing Witness.

Since the beginning of 2014, supported by USAID-SAFE, JRP has worked with the community in Atiak, Amuru District to pilot an informal storytelling and truth-telling process called Bearing Witness – Dealing with the past to create a better future. During the project, community members have shared their experiences and perceptions during and after conflict through informal story-telling circles and truth-telling dialogues. Bearing Witness marks the first time a community-based truth-telling process, which directly involves different sectors of the community, has been implemented in the region.

To conclude this process, this event will bring together six of the victims’ groups that participated in Bearing Witness, community members as well as key invited stakeholders to interact and share conflict experiences through the use of creative arts. The event will help advocate for victim’s demands for justice, allow for a mutual understanding of common challenges and provide the means to chart a way forward. It will also feature performances of songs, dance, poetry and theatre performances prepared by the participants in the project that depict their conflict memories.

See the programme below:

11:00 am

Participant’s arrival

11:00 – 12:00pm

Spiritual worship – Rt. Rev. Bishop Macleord Baker Ochola II

Welcome remarks – Area LCI

Presentation (song) by Atiak Massacre Survivors Association (AMSA)

Welcome remarks – Chairman LCIII

Opening remarks – Program coordinator JRP

Remarks by Board Chairman – JRP

Opening remarks by USAID SAFE team

12:00 – 1:00 pm

Presentation by Limo-can Tek (song) entitled ‘Kony dwog Lutino gang”

Presentation by Waroco Paco (Ajere dance)

Remarks by sub-county Chief – Atiak sub county

1:00 – 2:00 pm

Presentation by Lagada Yil (song) entitled “Ting ter”

Remarks by Area Councillor V

Presentation by Lacan Penino (song)

Presentation of an account of “Bearing witness” project – Community Mobilisation Team Leader, JRP

Presentation of emerged justice and reconciliation needs and recommendations – Chairman Truth Telling and Reconciliation Committee, Rt. Rev. Bishop Macleord Baker Ochola II

2: 00 – 3:00pm

Presentation by Rubanga tek (drama) entitled “Alany pa mony”

Presentation by Atiak Massacre Survivors Association (AMSA) (Poem) entitled “Lweny labalpiny”

Open discussion – how to deal with legacy of conflict in northern Uganda, how to achieve reconciliation and national unity

“What is our role in post conflict reconstruction” – Moses Odokonyero, Northern Uganda Media Club (NUMEC)

Presentation by Waroco paco (song)

3: 00 – 4:00 pm

Presentation by Limo-can tek (Drama) entitled “Pyem miny neko paco”

Presentation by Lacan pe nino (Funeral dance)

Remarks by USAID Mission

Remarks by Area MPs

4:00 – 4:30pm

Closing remarks by Guest of honour

Presentation of Otole dance by Lagada yil

MC- Obalo James –Radio Mega

For more information contact Isaac Okwir Odiya: Team Leader Community Mobilisation on Tel: +256 (0) 471433008 /+256 (0) 782509839 or E-mail: iokwir@justiceandreconciliation.com.

 

JRP documents the conflict experiences of Joseph Kony’s birthplace – Odek

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Watch out for JRP’s upcoming report on the experiences of the community of Odek, the birthplace of LRA leader Joseph Kony. ‘The Forgotten Victims’ chronicles the collective memories of violence, massacres, torture, abduction and displacement as told by community members, many of whom feel that their story has been mis-told by outsiders and obscured by the shadow of Kony.

By telling their story in this report, the community is eager to change its image which has been consistently marred as being the home of perpetrators of conflict. They also hope to actively involve themselves in transitional justice processes which they feel they have been previously side-lined from.

The Forgotten Victims, JRP’s 21st Field Note will be out November 2014.

Read more JRP documentation here.

Bearing Witness – dealing with the past to create a better future

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A dialogue is conducted in Atiak sub-county as part of the Bearing Witness project.
A dialogue is conducted in Atiak sub-county as part of the Bearing Witness project.

This year is a significant one for victims and survivors of the LRA/NRA conflict in northern Uganda. It marks the first time a community-based truth-telling process, which directly involves different sectors of the community, has been implemented in the region. Through Bearing Witness: Dealing With The Past To Create A Better Future, the Justice and Reconciliation Project, with support from USAID SAFE, works with communities in Atiak sub-county in Amuru District to foster social cohesion and reconciliation through a project that involves storytelling and truth-telling dialogues.

Atiak was chosen to be the subject of this ground-breaking truth-telling pilot because of the remnants of an infamous LRA massacre in 1995 and the two-decade long conflict in the region that the sub-county faces (Read JRP’s Field Note on the Atiak Massacre here). While active conflict has ceased, the wounds of the massacre and the experiences are far from healed. Since the end of the war, the community has been characterised by ongoing trauma, the stigmatisation of formerly abducted children, identity challenges for children born in captivity, and the issues arising from the reintegration of former combatants. Like most other conflict-affected communities, Atiak also seeks reparations as well as answers about the fate of those that went missing during the war. The question is how national transitional justice processes can be translated into community-centred approaches that are both relevant to the victims and survivors of the conflict and which address the challenges that they face.

Through Bearing Witness, we aim to promote the preservation of conflict memories, healing and reconciliation by creating forums through which communities can share and document their experiences through story-telling and facilitating informal truth-telling processes and dialogues. Because of these sessions, key issues which require interventions to ensure reconciliation and peace in both the community and region have been identified. Victims of conflict and alleged perpetrators have also been able to speak out about their experiences side-by-side.

At the end of this year, a ten member locally elected Truth-Telling and Reconciliation Committee will provide recommendations to local peace structures, local leaders and the community to respond the issues that emerged during the truth-telling dialogues. A joint community theatre carnival event will also be held in Atiak on the 16th of October 2014. This will involve drama, music, dance, poem performances by the participants in the storytelling circles to kick-start the process of addressing injustices and rebuilding relationships between victims and perpetrators, as well as inspire the audience with visions for the future.

Stay tuned to the JRP blog for more updates from Bearing Witness.

Thank you for bringing our son back to the soil from where he was abducted from

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“Thank you for bringing our son back to the soil where he was abducted from.” - Richard's uncle
“Thank you for bringing our son back to the soil where he was abducted from.” – Richard’s uncle

There was an air of excitement in Pagoro Kal village on Wednesday. On this sunny afternoon in Lamogi sub-county, Amuru District, community members were rushing to put final touches to welcome one of their sons home. Richard was abducted by the LRA in September 1996 when he was about 10 years old his uncle, Mr Latim, told us. Since then, his had parents died and his remaining relatives had heard no news about him.

It was a big surprise, then, when his uncle received a phone call telling him that his nephew had returned from captivity in the Central African Republic. After meeting his uncle at at the Army Barracks in Gulu, it was decided that an Acholi traditional ceremony known as nyono tong gweno (‘stepping on the egg’) would be performed at Richard’s ancestral home to cleanse him of any evil spirits that he may have encountered during his time away from home.

On the day of the ceremony, the atmosphere was one of a celebration. About 200 people were in attendance, including Richard’s relatives, community members, as well as representatives of the Ugandan army and a few NGOs. People danced to music blaring from a speaker system and a popular local musician, Tam Noffy, performed songs about the value of human rights, forgiveness and the beginning a new life.

Richard’s arrival, though, was an event in of itself. Around 2pm, the excitement reached tipping point when a convoy of vehicles was spotted heading towards the home of his family. There was a flurry of ululation and cries of “latin wa!” (“our child”) as everyone rushed to see Richard. As people gathered around the vehicle, community elders placed a symbolic stick and egg at the entrance to the home, and when Richard exited the vehicle he was given guidance on what procedure he should follow in order to comply with Acholi tradition. After this he was lifted onto the shoulders of the eager crowd and taken to the front of a tent where his hand was shaken by people excited to meet him. Watching Richard’s heroic welcome home was an incredible experience for the three members of the JRP team that attended, as this was the first time to witness this particular ceremony for them.

JRP has done numerous studies examining such rituals and the impact they have. In Roco Wat I Acoli, the adaptation of traditional cleansing rituals for returnees were examined. In Denis’s story, we documented the experience of a young man who went through a ceremony to appease the spirits of the 27 people he killed while in captivity. Also, in Gender and Generation in Acholi Traditional Justice Mechanisms, we documented attitudes of women and youth towards traditional ceremonies. Each of these studies suggest the therapeutic value of them and the marked improvements in the behaviour and attitudes of the people that participate in them. But while the ceremonies have value, these reports also found that their success is not always straightforward. For instance, where participants understand the significance of the ceremonies, a positive change was generally seen, but where they didn’t there was significantly less likelihood of positive change. So while Richard’s community was very welcoming at this initial stage in his return, the complexity of reintegration of the formerly-abducted, former combatants and others like him remains an integral issue.

Namokora survivors’ group commemorates massacre, plan way forward

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Namokora Massacre Memorial 2014-08-19 (37)
Retired Anglican Bishop of Kitgum Archdioces Bishop Macleord Baker Ochola leads the Namokora massacre memorial prayers in Namokora sub-county, Kitgum District, 19 August 2014.

Last week, JRP’s Documentation team met with the Namokora LCIII and chairperson of the Namokora United Relatives of the Massacred and Survivors Association, Charles Onen, to discuss the second annual memorial for the 1986 Namokora massacre. This year was only the second time since 1986 that the massacre has been commemorated but Mr. Onen was enthusiastic as he told us about the progress the community is making in advocating for reparations and acknowledgment for the victims and their families.

As part of the commemorative initiatives, the Namokora suvivors association arranged a two day vigil on the 17th and 18th of August to pay respect to the 71 people that died during the operation led by the National Resistance Army’s 35th Battalion in Namokora sub-county, Kitgum District. On the 19th, a memorial event was held at the Namokora massacre memorial site where JRP’s Field Note ‘Occupation and Carnage: Recounting Atrocities Committed by the NRA’s 35th Battalion in Namokora Sub-County in August 1986’ was officially launched to the community. Retired Anglican Bishop of Kitgum Archdioces Bishop Macleord Baker Ochola, Kitgum District officials, other councilors, civil society, as well as Namokora massacre survivors from other sub-counties incl Orom, Kitgum Matidi and Lagoro were all in attendance.

During the memorial, representatives of orphans, elders and widows of the massacre were all given an opportunity to speak. In their speeches, many expressed their frustration in the lack of response from the their local leaders. One representative specifically said that because the victims and survivors felt that their leaders would not forward their concerns to the government, they would themselves trek to Kampala themselves to seek redress. Many saw the launch of the JRP report Occupation and Carnage as an important tool to redress their challenges.

Representatives of relatives of victims and survivors of the massacre also held a press conference at the Northern Uganda Media Club (NUMEC) in Gulu on Thursday 22 August 2014 to brief the media on the Namokora massacre, discuss a position paper developed by the survivors group, and detail the action the group intends to take.

 Read JRP’s Field Note Occupation and Carnage here: http://justiceandreconciliation.com/2014/04/occupation-and-carnage-recounting-atrocities-committed-by-the-nras-35th-battalion-in-namokora-sub-county-in-august-1986-fn-xix-march-2014/

TJ Monitor: Nigerian abductions reinforce the value of collective advocacy

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Women march in Abuja following the abduction of over 200 school girls by Boko Haram rebels. Picture courtesy of AFP.

Last week, I had the opportunity to interview Lina Zedriga Waru for the next issue of Voices. Lina is a passionate advocate for the greater involvement of women in building and sustaining peace. We talked at length about how during the 2006-2007 Juba peace talks between the Government of Uganda and the LRA she and others rallied to have the then neglected voices of women heard during the negotiations. Eventually hundreds of women of different ethnicity and backgrounds, from different parts of Uganda and other countries were mobilised to travel to Juba and join the talks.

“It was so powerful that when we reached Gulu, the President himself, who had refused to see us, decided to fly to Gulu to meet us,” she said, “The fact that we came from beyond [Acholi] demanding that this war must end and demanding that peace must be given a chance was very powerful.”

The women’s “march to Juba” was an incredible success and eventually culminated with the handing over of a symbolic “peace torch” from the contingent of women to Riek Machar, who was then the mediator of the peace talks. Most significantly, elements of the calls their group made in the “Women’s Protocol for Peace” that they delivered in Juba were included in the final written agreement.

While discussing the value of collective advocacy by women, we also discussed the recent abduction of over 200 Nigerian school girls in the north of the country by Boko Haram rebels as well as the efforts by groups of women, including the mothers of the missing, to draw attention to it. Sympathy has poured out from all around the world and many have observed that it harkens back to the dark times during the LRA conflict when students were abducted from their schools in northern Uganda. The abductions from in St. Mary’s College, Aboke in 1996, Sacred Heart Secondary School in 1993, and Lacor Seminary in 2003, and Sir Samuel Baker Secondary School in 1996, like the Nigerian situation, raised the profile of the conflict and drew scrutiny to the role of governments and other humanitarian actors.

The Nigerian government has been criticised for its lack of action in retrieving the girls, as well as the mixed messages it has given about their being rescued.  Lina Zedriga Waru observed that situations like this reflect the importance of utilising collective advocacy to draw the public’s attention to issues and to get governments and other actors to act. A series of activities that can sustainably and continuously draw attention to what is going on is vital, she says. A crucial element, though, is that advocates should make sure that they provide alternative solutions to the problems they are advocating to address, and to ensure that they work to recruit allies with a common vision. Most importantly they should relate the issue to the public as much as possible. Women advocates, she says, act as a support to the government by representing the concerns of communities.

The next issue of Voices (on gender justice and sexual and gender-based violence) will be out at the end of May.