Fifth defense witness testifies in the case of Dominic Ongwen at the ICC

On Monday 22^nd October, the fifth defense witness in the case of Dominic Ongwen testified at the ICC after a two week’s break. Mr. Nathan Emory Iron a former officer in the Uganda People Front/Army (UPF/UPA) who also worked with both the Ugandan government and in rebel activities recalled his previous experiences with the current president of Uganda and close associates before and after he came into power, and how he met the LRA leader Joseph Kony. He described Mr. Museveni (President of Uganda) as “a man who wants to do things on his own.”

Mr. Emory was taken through his testimony by Thomas Obhof- one of the defense lawyers on Monday 22^nd October and part of Tuesday 23^rd October. Nathan Emory said he was “a guest commander” with the LRA while the group was based in Aru, in the present-day South Sudan. The witness explained that he was with the LRA from around 1996 till 2000.

Among other things Mr. Nathan Emory talked about was the abducted Aboke Secondary School girls who were in the custody of the LRA and the pressures exerted on Joseph Kony by Sudanese government to have the girls released. As a ‘guest commander’, Nathan Emory said he took part in activities aimed at persuading the LRA to stop malicious acts. “I engaged with various agencies in Sudan including the French Embassy in Sudan to compel them to negotiate the release of the Aboke Secondary School girls” Nathan told court.

Nathan further mentioned that he chose to relate with the LRA and negotiate with Kony because President Museveni of Uganda “does things on his own” although his main intention was to resolve the Northern Uganda conflict including the release of abducted girls and disbanding forced recruitment in the LRA.

He further explained some of the rules in the LRA and among them was the rule that demanded everyone to pray at least once a day “however if spirits send a message to the leader Jospeh Kony, we could pray even ten times a day.” Emory said. He revealed to court that in the LRA every new born baby had to be baptized with water and that, mothers were protected and kept away from danger. He said there were a number of such rituals conducted in the LRA camp [Aru camp] where he lived for some time such as“respecting water sources” among others.

Mr. Emory also recalled how at one point they escaped attack by the UPDF on the Karuma-Pakwach road which prompted Joseph Kony to order performance of rituals but he did not recall the exact rituals performed that day.

In addition to that, the witness informed the court that the camp [Aru camp] had good facilities and properly trained health specialist to provide health care to people. And that, at the time Dominic Ongwen was still a young man who one time was in-charge of his [Nathan] security.“He (Ongwen) protected me, his soldiers and the other people very well until Kony came back.” Emory said in part during cross-examination by prosecution lawyer-Gumpert on the second day of his testimony. Prosecution lawyer- Gumpert also asked the witness to clarify some of his submissions, Gumpert went on to read documents authored by the witness on behalf of the LRA, and in response he said “the documents were authored under instructions of Kony.” 

The Legal representatives of victims declined to cross-examine the witness. The last part of his cross-examination was held in private session, and testimonies by defense witnesses are still on-going

Ongwen is being charged with 70 counts of war crimes and crimes against humanity allegedly committed in the former internally displaced persons (IDP) camps of Lukodi, Pajule, Odek, and Abok in northern Uganda. Among the 70 counts are charges of sexual and gender-based violence and the use of child soldiers. His trial started in December 2016 and both the prosecution and legal representatives of victims have finished presenting their cases.