Statement: 6 December 2016 |

Statement of the Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court, Fatou Bensouda, at the opening of Trial in the case against Dominic Ongwen

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© ICC-CPI

Honourable Judges,

This trial is about violence and misery that blighted the lives of millions of people living in Northern Uganda. Ordinary civilians, who simply wanted to be allowed to live their lives in peace, could no longer live in the villages in which they had been born and raised. Violent attacks on civilian targets by an armed group calling itself the "Lord's Resistance Army",  or "LRA", had resulted in those ordinary people being forced into camps for internally displaced persons ("IDPs"), and often reduced to dependency on international food aid. These camps were themselves subject to regular and terrifying attacks.

According to the United Nations, by the middle of 2005, well over a million people in the Gulu, Kitgum and Pader districts of the Acholi sub-region were registered as living in IDP camps.  Meanwhile in the Apac and Lira districts of the Lango sub-region, there were camps holding almost half a million registered inhabitants.  And in the Katakwi, Soroti, Kumi and Kaberamaido districts of the Teso sub-region, over 150,000 people were similarly displaced.

When these camps were attacked by the LRA, the attackers murdered residents, burned their homes, and  enslaved survivors who were made to carry away  domestic animals, food, clothes, money and other basic necessities which the inhabitants needed to survive. Children were abducted on a more permanent basis to be conscripted into the ranks of the attackers as child soldiers and forced to act as sex slaves.

In the course of this trial, the Court will hear about four particular attacks, which took place between October 2003 and June 2004.  These attacks took place at Pajule, Odek, Lukodi and Abok. A conservative estimate of their combined population at the time of the attacks was about 35,000 people. Approximately 4,000 individuals have made applications to be registered in these proceedings as victims of these four attacks.

These locations form a rough triangle. Pajule is in Pader district. Odek and Lukodi in Gulu district. Abok is just over the boundary, in Oyam district of Lango. They have been selected because they are attacks about which the Prosecution has been able to find a significant and coherent body of evidence which demonstrates what happened in detail and which links them to Mr Dominic Ongwen, the accused in this case.

That evidence comes, for the most part, in three varieties. Firstly, the Prosecution relies upon accounts given by the victims of these attacks. Secondly, the Prosecution will call former LRA fighters to give evidence about what they did and who ordered them to do it. Lastly, and perhaps most revealingly of all, the Prosecution will be able to put before the Court sound recordings and other reliable records of the radio communications passing between LRA commanders at the time these attacks took place. That evidence will clearly demonstrate that these four attacks at Pajule, Odek, Lukodi and Abok were terrifying.

The images now on the screen show the physical effects of one of these attacks, on the camp at Lukodi. I must warn that some of these images are extremely disturbing.

Large numbers of the civilian inhabitants of these camps were killed and wounded; these were innocent people who had no interest in the violent conflict which was taking place in Northern Uganda.  Some were brutally tortured in various cruel ways. Hundreds of them were abducted and forced to carry away the goods which had been pillaged. If they could not walk fast enough, they were beaten and killed. Nursing mothers, whose babies slowed their progress or who simply cried too loudly, watched as their babies were callously killed or thrown into the bush and left behind. 

Pillaging may sound a lesser crime by comparison with others committed during these attacks. But it is not. The victims of this crime were living on a knife-edge. Items such as domestic animals, cooking pots, clothing, and small amounts of food and cash were the difference between surviving and perishing. For the LRA, the arithmetic was simple: they had the guns, so they could pillage the goods, whatever the consequences were for the victims.

Your Honours,

The evidence shows that, in each case, Dominic Ongwen played a prominent role in the planning and execution of the four attacks. For all of them, save Pajule, he did so as the commander of one of the four principal operational units of the LRA, the Sinia brigade.

In addition to his responsibility for the attacks on the four camps, the Prosecution charges him with crimes related to the abduction of children and their use by the LRA as child soldiers or forced wives and sex slaves.

The purpose of these proceedings is to establish whether it can be proved beyond reasonable doubt that Dominic Ongwen bears criminal responsibility for these crimes.

In the course of the trial, light will inevitably be shed more generally on the situation in Northern Uganda a decade and a half ago. But there will be many events, many crimes, many perpetrators of crimes and many victims who will receive only limited attention or none at all.

The Prosecution has to make choices guided by the evidence readily available and to limit the scope of the cases that it brings. Our efforts will be to ensure that this trial will establish the truth and nothing but the truth with regard to the charged crimes. We cannot hope to write, in this trial, a comprehensive history of the conflict in Northern Uganda.

Your Honours,

Over the period with which this case is concerned, Dominic Ongwen became one of the most senior commanders in the LRA. Between 2002 and 2005, he was the commander, first of a battalion and then, following rapid promotion based on his unwavering loyalty and ferocity, of one of the four fighting brigades of the LRA. There is evidence to suggest that, by the second half of 2005, Mr Ongwen was the most senior LRA commander in Uganda.

So what was the nature of the LRA, the organisation in which Dominic Ongwen played such an important role, and which was causing mayhem and visiting misery on the people living in Northern Uganda?

The LRA was founded and led by a man called Joseph Kony. Kony is  one of five individuals against whom arrest warrants were issued by this Court in 2005. He remains at large.  There is good reason to believe that three of the others for whom warrants were issued by the Court, more specifically Messrs Vincent Otti, Raska Lukwiya and Okot Odhiambo, are deceased. The fifth, Dominic Ongwen is on trial today.

It is enough, for now, to say that LRA is an armed group which came into being in Northern Uganda in the late 1980s. It aimed to overthrow the government of Yoweri Museveni, the President of Uganda. At first, it was just one of a number of such groups, but by 1990, Kony's force was the only significant armed unit still fighting against the government in the Acholi homelands.  The LRA was a disciplined hierarchical armed group with a formal rank structure mirroring that of a conventional army. The headquarters unit was known as "Control Altar." Its principal active service units were four brigades named "Sinia", "Gilva", "Trinkle" and "Stockree."  Orders flowed down the chain of command. Reports on operations were transmitted back up the chain of command.  By March 2004, the Sinia brigade was commanded by Dominic Ongwen.

Discipline in the LRA was strict and punishments for infraction of the rules brutal. Attempts to escape were dealt with particularly harshly: those who were caught were either put to death or caned so severely that permanent injury was often caused. Despite this, the majority of abductees did, in the end, escape the clutches of the LRA. Many prosecution witnesses will recount to the Court how they personally were able to escape.

There were peace negotiations between the LRA and the Ugandan Government in the mid-1990s. When they failed, the Sudanese government began to provide support to the LRA. The LRA set up semi-permanent bases in Southern Sudan, from which it was able to launch its attacks on Ugandan targets.

This continued until 2002, when the Sudanese government permitted the Ugandans to enter Sudanese territory to begin a renewed military campaign against the LRA called "Iron Fist." Kony and his senior commanders evaded death or capture, but the majority of the LRA forces left Sudan and expanded their campaign in new parts of Northern Uganda, including Lira, Soroti, Apac and Katakwi districts. A series of LRA attacks and atrocities, including the four on which this trial will focus, followed with disastrous results.

Your Honours,

The Prosecution's case is that civilian camps for displaced persons were targeted because the LRA, despite its leader's claim to be fighting for freedom and democracy, viewed the civilian inhabitants of the government protected IDP Camps in Northern Uganda as their enemies.

The LRA's thinking was simple: it was a case of "if you are not for us, then you are against us." Any civilian who was unwilling to support their struggle against the government was regarded as an enemy. This amounted to persecution on political grounds – a crime against humanity. It was this persecutory policy that Dominic Ongwen and the fighters that he commanded were implementing. The crimes committed at Pajule, Odek, Lukodi and Abok were simply part of a widespread and systematic attack on the civilian population.

Between July 2002 and December 2005, there were literally hundreds of attacks on civilian targets. These were not just large-scale set-piece attacks on IDP camps. People being driven in minibuses along country roads became the subject of ambushes. Commercial vehicles were stopped and looted. Children on their way to school were abducted. These attacks had a devastating effect upon the ordinary people of Northern Uganda.

The evidence in this case will establish that Dominic Ongwen was directly involved in many of these attacks by the LRA on civilians in Northern Uganda.  Part of the case which the Prosecution alleges against him is that he knew that the crimes he committed at Pajule, Odek, Lukodi and Abok were part of the widespread and systematic attack.  Allow me to provide you some examples:

  1. LRA fighters attacked civilians at Ojwii in 2002 on Dominic Ongwen's orders;
  2. A 14 year-old boy, abducted in September 2002 from Palabek Gem, recalls Mr Ongwen ordering young children to kill civilian abductees. On one notorious occasion, Dominic Ongwen ordered this boy, and others, to kill an old man by biting him and then stoning him to death;
  3. Additionally, in 2002 there were attacks on civilians at Atiak and Pader, led or planned by Dominic Ongwen;
  4. In April 2003, Joseph Kony had been complaining, in radio exchanges with his senior commanders, that the civilian inhabitants of a camp at Lagile had become a "problem." Dominic Ongwen provided Joseph Kony with the solution for that problem: he attacked the camp at Lagile, burning houses, killing 20 civilians and abducting many others;
  5. In September 2003, shortly before the Pajule attack, Dominic Ongwen reported over the radio that he had attacked a church mission in Opit;
  6. In October 2003, Dominic Ongwen played an instrumental role in the charged attack at Pajule;
  7. In November 2003, Dominic Ongwen was reported in LRA radio traffic to have led an attack at Labwor Omor where his fighters had posed as Ugandan army soldiers, before opening fire on drinkers at a bar. The report stated that civilians were killed, others abducted and houses set ablaze;
  8. In February 2004, Dominic Ongwen reported to his superiors that he had conducted an attack at Koc Ongako, in which he had burned all the houses;
  9. In April May and June of 2004, Dominic Ongwen carried out the charged attacks at Odek, Lukodi and Abok;
  10. In August of that year, Dominic Ongwen reported the success of an ambush he had carried out on the Awach road. He recounted that several people had been killed including the driver of a "boda-boda" or motorcycle taxi;
  11. At Acet in 2004, in accordance with Dominic Ongwen's orders, boys and girls between the ages of 13 and 15 were abducted.

In addition to these attacks, the Prosecution alleges that Dominic Ongwen played an essential role in two long-term activities which were crucial to the continued existence of the LRA. Both involved the abduction of children, some as young as six, from their family homes.

In order to sustain the fighting strength of the LRA, children were kidnapped and recruited to become child soldiers. One Prosecution witness, who was himself abducted by the LRA, estimates that the majority of soldiers in Dominic Ongwen's group in 2003-2004 were children younger than 18;  and that 70% to 80% of those were between 13 and 15 years old.

Child soldiers underwent rudimentary military training and endured brutal disciplinary measures. They were regularly required to participate not only in murderous attacks on civilian camps, but in individual acts of torture and murder designed to convince them that there could be no acceptance back into civilian society.

While the Rome Statute recognises the age of 15 as being the threshold for the offences of conscription and use of child soldiers, the evidence in this case makes it plain that Dominic Ongwen bears responsibility for crimes committed against children far younger than this. One of the witnesses on whom the Prosecution relies, himself only nine years old when he was abducted during the attack on Odek IDP camp by troops under Dominic Ongwen's command, described children as young as six receiving military training in Ongwen's brigade. He noticed that they were so small that the muzzles of their AK47 rifles dragged on the ground as they carried the guns on their shoulders.

Photographs of some of the Prosecution witnesses were taken soon after they escaped from Dominic Ongwen's Sinia brigade. Protection of the witnesses' identity prevent their being shown in public, but for those in the courtroom the obvious youth of these witnesses, at a time when many had already been with the LRA for a number of years, is shocking.

The LRA leader, Joseph Kony, viewed children as easily moulded into the ruthless fighters that he needed to continue his policy of murder and persecution. Thus Kony and other senior LRA commanders, Dominic Ongwen among them, created the horrific spectacle of the perpetrators of these dreadful crimes very often being children who had, a few years or even months earlier, themselves been victims.

In what may seem an astonishing display of confidence, Joseph Kony and his deputy Vincent Otti took part in a radio phone-in programme, broadcast on the Mega FM radio station based in Gulu in December 2002. Kony spoke about his policy of child abduction to feed the ranks of his fighters.  Kony knew that the abduction of children was a sensitive point: whatever his grand claims about fighting for freedom and democracy, he was plainly embarrassed. He knew that using small boys as soldiers was unjustifiable.  At first he purported to deny the abduction of children by the LRA.  But in the next breath he conceded, "[T]hat's the way we recruit."  He continued, as if it might be some excuse, "[T]his is the same way Museveni was doing it when he was in the bush, by abducting." This was the policy that Dominic Ongwen was carrying out when he conscripted children under 15 into his brigade, and when he used them to participate in hostilities.

Abductions by the LRA also served a second plan. This involved the abduction of girls and young women with the express aim of forcing them to act as the wives and sex slaves of LRA commanders and fighters.

Again, there was no secrecy about the LRA's activities in this regard. Vincent Otti's words, in the radio program broadcast in December 2002 to which I have already made reference, were clear.  He said, "I want to assure you that the girls whom we collect and send to the bush are our mothers."  He went on: "[…] We always collect the young ones who are not infected with HIV." The only reasonable interpretation of these words is that the LRA was implementing a policy of abducting young girls for sex.

These forced wives were given no choice. They were treated as spoils of war, awarded as prizes, without any more say in the matter than if they had been inanimate objects. When they hesitated or refused to accept the sexual advances of the man to whom they had been allotted, they were savagely and repeatedly beaten. If they were suspected of trying to escape, they would be caned or murdered.

They were held for months, and in many cases years, in sexual and domestic slavery, subject to repeated rape. Many of them became pregnant, without any choice in the matter, and some gave birth to numerous children who were themselves then brought  into the ranks of the LRA.

As a senior LRA commander, Dominic Ongwen benefited most from the misery of the abducted women and girls. Of his many, many forced wives, seven women have already given evidence about their personal experiences.

By way of example, the Prosecution witness with the pseudonym P-0227 has given evidence concerning her abduction. She told the Court that a little over a month after her abduction, Ongwen summoned her to his house. She was shaking with fear. He demanded sex, and she was not able to refuse. She felt that her "whole life was in his hand." He penetrated both her vagina and her anus with his penis, by force. To quieten her, when she wept and screamed, he threatened her with his bayonet.

After the rape, Ongwen and everyone else around her, considered this witness to be his wife. She could not escape. When she was thought to have attempted to do so, she was brutally beaten.  On another occasion, Dominic Ongwen ordered that she be beaten for spending time at another LRA fighter's house.  She saw the results of Ongwen's suspicions concerning another woman whom he had taken in forced marriage. Believing her to have shown interest in another man, he ordered the child soldiers who served as his escorts to punish her with one hundred strokes of the cane.

As a result of her rape by Dominic Ongwen, the witness gave birth to a son. This was not her choice. She felt that she was not ready to bear children. 

Another Prosecution witness, P-0101, who was 14 years old at the time of the crimes, gave a devastating insight into Dominic Ongwen's behaviour towards the young girls who were placed at his mercy. She spoke both from personal experience of her rape by Ongwen and from more general observation over a period of years. She told the Court that, "…you are raped while you're still young… Dominic was the worst when it came to young … girls … [H]e … has sex with them at a very young age."

But, of course, Dominic Ongwen's responsibility is far wider than simply for the crimes that he perpetrated himself. Within the Sinia brigade, Ongwen commanded structures through which the practice of abduction, forced marriage, rape, torture, slavery and sexual slavery was institutionalised. Hundreds of girls suffered these crimes at the hands of the LRA fighters to whom Dominic Ongwen distributed them.

Not only was the physical effect upon such girls and women devastating, but there was an enduring mental effect as well. For those who survived, even after their escape or release, they had to live; they still have to live, with the stigma of having been an LRA "wife", a perversion of the true meaning of that word.

Their future hopes of re-establishing themselves in society and creating new conjugal relationships, despite the efforts of a number of organisations which work to assist and empower them, are blighted. And there is a whole category of other victims: the children born in captivity resulting from these forced marriages, who sometimes face hostility and taunts as a result of their parentage.

I want to turn lastly to Dominic Ongwen himself. One aspect of this case is the fact that not only is Ongwen alleged to be the perpetrator of these crimes, he was also a victim. He himself, so he has told the Court, was abducted from his home by an earlier generation of LRA fighters, when he was fourteen years old. He himself, therefore, must have gone through the trauma of separation from his family, brutalisation by his captors and initiation into the violence of the LRA way of life. He has been presented as a victim, rather than a perpetrator.

People following the case against Dominic Ongwen may do so with mixed emotions. They will feel horror and revulsion at what he did, but they will also feel sympathy. The evidence of many of the child victims in this case could be, in other circumstances, the story of the accused himself.

The evidence makes it plain that he could be kind. One Prosecution witness has told the Court that generally Dominic Ongwen was a good man, who would play and joke with the boys under his command and was loved by everyone. But the same witness also told the Court that at a time when she believed she was still too young to get pregnant, Ongwen had forced her to have sex with him and that she knew she would be beaten if she refused. She also told the Court that she still bore the scars on her breasts from a beating Ongwen had given her when she failed to make his bed.

The reality is that cruel men can do kind things and kind men can be cruel. A hundred percent consistency is a rare thing. And the phenomenon of the perpetrator-victim is not restricted to international courts: it is a familiar one in all criminal jurisdictions. Fatherless children in bleak inner cities face brutal and involuntary initiation ordeals into gang life, before themselves taking on a criminal lifestyle. Child abusers consistently reveal that they have been abused themselves as children.

But having suffered victimization in the past is not a justification, nor an excuse to victimise others. Each human being must be considered to be endowed with moral responsibility for their actions. And the focus of the ICC's criminal process is not on the goodness or badness of the accused person, but on the criminal acts which he or she has committed. We are not here to deny that Mr. Ongwen was a victim in his youth. We will prove what he did, what he said, and the impact of those deeds on his many victims.

This Court will not decide his goodness or badness, nor whether he deserves sympathy, but whether he is guilty of the serious crimes committed as an adult, with which he stands charged.

Dominic Ongwen became one of the highest ranking commanders of the LRA. He did so by his enthusiastic adoption of the LRA's violent methods and through demonstrations that he could be more active and more brutal in his methods against the population of Northern Uganda than other LRA officers.

He was commended by Joseph Kony for the attacks his troops carried out on civilians. He was held up as an example to other, less active, LRA commanders.

As a senior commander, Dominic Ongwen had complete operational control over the soldiers under his command. He could, at any time, simply have ordered that his troops march to the nearest Ugandan army barracks, lay down their arms and surrender. Alternatively, he could have taken the course that so many of the personnel under his control took, and made an individual bid for freedom, by simply deserting. After all, as the commander, he did not have to fear the brutal canings or peremptory execution which he himself ordered for unsuccessful escapees. He was often separated by several days' or weeks' march from any higher LRA authority. Battalion commanders in his Sinia brigade did indeed escape during this time.

Between July 2002 and December 2005, the Amnesty Commission records show that over 9,000 LRA members surrendered and received amnesty. But Dominic Ongwen did not take that course. Instead he accepted the power and authority which came with his rank and his appointment. He planned and executed operations which brought misery and death to hundreds of ordinary people, and reported the results on the radio with excitement, not regret.

One of the log books used by the UPDF to record radio contact between LRA commanders contains a description of Dominic Ongwen announcing his intention in August 2004 of - and I quote directly: "…starting to kill civilians seriously. He said right now he has already deployed squads for atrocities and very soon p[eo]ple will hear it on the radio." (end quote)

Let me play to you short portions of a sound recording of an intercepted radio conversation between Vincent Otti, the LRA Deputy Chairman and Dominic Ongwen. Otti is asking Ongwen to finish his report on Odek, which he had begun earlier.

Despite the poor sound quality, what you have just heard is important for two reasons. Firstly it is a direct, first-hand confession by Dominic Ongwen. He can be heard admitting to the mass murder of civilians. Second, it demonstrates that, while Ongwen has no inhibitions about stating that he has killed people, he is still uncomfortable with the fact that these people are civilians even when speaking to other members of the LRA. He knows that what he has done is wrong. He does not want to use the word openly. And so twice he avoids it, the first time calling his dead civilian victims "our colleagues" and the second time, using the standard LRA jargon word: "waya." The word means aunt, in Acholi, but it was LRA slang for civilians.  I will play the clips again now, pausing after each one.

Ongwen tells Otti that he has "just been shooting our colleagues."

Otti cannot hear clearly. The sound quality is bad. He says: "Just what."

Ongwen repeats: "I have just come from shooting people."

A little later in the same conversation, the subject matter comes back to these people who have been shot. Were these soldiers that Dominic Ongwen had been shooting? No.

Ongwen boasts to Otti: "Let the people wait to hear about the waya [civilians], we have shot all of them."

The evidence shows that Dominic Ongwen was a murderer and a rapist. It shows that he commanded attacks which destroyed innocent civilians' livelihoods.  He presided over a systematic use of child soldiers and sex crimes on young girls in the units he commanded.

The circumstances in which he himself was abducted and conscripted into the LRA many years before may perhaps amount to some mitigation of sentence in the event that he is convicted of these crimes. They cannot begin to amount to a defence, or a reason not to hold him to account for the choice that he made; the choice to embrace the murderous violence used by the LRA and to make it the hallmark of operations carried out by his soldiers.

Your Honours,

The victims of Mr Ongwen's brutal crimes have waited too long to see justice done. It is past time we deliver to them what they are owed.  On the strength of the Prosecution's case and the evidence that will be presented during the course of this trial, we hope to do just that. I thank you for your attention.

​© ICC-CPI

Ludito me Awora,

Pido man tye ikom gero ki peko malit ma obalo kwoo pa dano milyon mapol ma gibedo i but Uganda ma kumalo. Reya kit ma jwii, ma onongo gimito mere keken ni kiyee it gi me kwoo i kuc, pe onongo dong giromo bedo i caro ma kinywallo ki kijulu gin iye. Tim gero me monynyo kabedo pa reya ma dul adwii ma lwonge ni “Lord’s Resistance Army”, nyo “LRA” obedo katimo ne, adwogi ne oweko dano magi kidiyo gi me bedo i kamp pa luring ayela (“IDPs”), dok pol kare gubedo kajenge ikom kony me cam ma wilobo miyo. Kamp magi bene kare ki kare kibedo kamonynyo gi marac.

Malube ki lok pa United Nations, me oo i dye mwaka 2005, dano ma kato milyon i district me Gulu, Kitgum ki Pader ma i Acholi sub-region onongo kicoyo gi calo jo matye kabedo i kamp (IDP camps). Ki tung cel i district me Apac ki Lira i Lango sub-region, kamp onongo tye ma gitye ki dano cok nucu milyon kulu ma gucone me bedo iye. Ka i district me Katakwi, Soroti, Kumi ki Kaberamaido i Teso sub-region, dano ma kato 150,000 bene kiweko guringo guweko kabedo gi.

Ma kamp magi LRA omonynyo gi, lumonynyo gi ni guneko jo ma gibedo iye, guwango gangi gi, ka guweko jo ma oloyo gudoko opii me tingo lee ma kigwoko paco, cam, bongi, cente ki jami mukene ma pi gi tegu ma jo magi gimito pi kwoo. Litino kimako gi pe me tutuno ento wek kicoo gi i kin lumony ni calo lumony ma litino, ki kidiyo gi me bedo calo opii me butu kwed gi.

I kare me pido man, Kot biwinynyo tutwalle lok ma kwako monynyo kabedo angwen, ma otime ikine me dwe me apar 2003 ki dwe me abicel 2004. Mony magi otime i Pajule, Odek, Lukodi ki Abok. Byek ikom wel dano gi weng ka kiribbo ikare me mony ni onongo tye kine ka 35,000. Dano maromo kine ka 4,000 gupenynyo wek kicoo gi me bedo i pido man calo jo ma kitimo bal ikom gi i mony angwen ni.

Kabedo man ka kikubbu kin gi twok gi bedo adek. Pajule tye i Pader district. Odek ki Lukodi i Gulu district. Abok tye mere inget wang-cor pa kabedo magi, i Oyam district i Lango. Kiyero gi pien gubedo poto mony ma Lukel Adot otwero nongo lanyut mapol dok ma pe giroce aroca ento ginyutu kore ki kore ngo ma otime dok weng kicimo Dominic Ongwen, macalo ngat ma koko tye ikome i lok magi.

Lanyut meno aa, i polle, i kwai ne ma pat pat adek. Ma okwongo, Lapilida jenge ikom ngo ma jo ma kitimo bal ikom gi i mony magi guwaco. Me aryo, Lukel Adot bilwongo lulweny macon pa LRA me miyo lanyut ikom ngo ma gutimo ki anga ma ogolo bot gi oda me timo ne. Me agiki, dok gwok bene ma dong binyutu maber loyo mukene ni weng, Lukel Adot biketo kiwinyo i nyim Kot dwan ma kimako ki jami mukene ma kigwoko ma aa ki i gwenye ki lok i radio i kin komanda pa LRA ikare ma mony magi gubedo katime. Lanyut meno binyutu kamaleng ni mony angwen magi i Pajule, Odek, Lukodi ki Abok gubedo rac adada.

Cal ma kombedi gitye kanen ni ginyutu adwogi poto mony acel i kin poto mony magi ikom dano, i kamp Lukodi. Myero acik wu ni cal magi mogo twero balo tam wic.

Reya ma wel gi pol ma gibedo i kamp magi kineko gi, ki kiwano gi; man obedo jo ma bal gi pee ma gi pee onongo ki miti i lweny gero ma onongo tye katimme i but Uganda ma kumalo ni. Mukene ki-unu gi marac i yoo gero ma pat pat. Miya mapol kimako gi ka kidiyo gi me tingo jami ma kiyako. Ka onongo pe giromo wot oyot, onongo kigoyo ka kineko gi. Mege ma onongo gitye ki litino i kor gi, ma litino gi weko pe giwoto oyot nyo ma gikok mere ma longo tutwal, gineno kit ma kineko litino gi labongo cwiny me kica nyo kibolo gi i lum kiweko gidong angec.

Yak romo winynye calo bal matidi ka kiporo ki mukene ma kitimo ikare me mony magi. Ento ku. Jo ma bal man kitimo ikom gi kwoo gi onongo ojenge ikom gin manok. Jami calo lee agwoka paco, agulu-tedo, bongi, ki cam manok ki cente obedo apoka poka i kin kwoo ki too. Bot LRA, cura ne onongo yot: gin onongo gitye ki muduku, pi meno onongo giromo yako jami, labongo tamo pi adwogi ne bot jo ma kitimo bal ikom gi.

Ludito me Awora,

Lanyut ni nyutu ni, i lok acel acel, Dominic Ongwen otimo tic matek i yubo ki keto i tic poto mony angwen ni. Pi gin weng, nikwanynyo Pajule, otimo man macalo komanda pa dul acel me tic pa LRA, buruged me Sinia.

Medo ikom ticce me monynyo kamp angwen ni, Lukel Adot dotto en pi bal malube ki mako litino ki tic pa LRA kwed gi calo lumony ma litino nyo diyo gi i bedo mon ot ki opii me butu kwed gi.

Tyen lok magi obedo me mokko labongo akalakala ni Dominic Ongwen bal magi gitye i wiye.

I kare me pido ni, pe bigenge me menynyo dero ikom kit ma but Uganda ma kumalo obedo kwede mwaka apar ki nucu ma okato angec. Ento jami bibedo mapol ma otime, jo mapol ma gutimo bal ki dano mapol ma kitimo bal ikom gi ma tam manok bibedo ikom gi onyo tam mo bene kulu pe bibedo ikom gi.

Lukel Adot omyero omok tam ne ikom koko ma oyero malube ki lanyut ma onongo dong tye atera ki diyo kwai koko ma en kello. Tute wa bibedo me neno ni pido man bimokko lok ma ada dok pe gin mo mukene ma pat ki ada ikom bal ma kikello iye adot ni. I kare me pido man, pe watwero geno me coyo kore ki kore lok ikom gin ma otime i lweny ma obedo i but Uganda ma kumalo ni.

Ludito me Awora,

Ikare ma koko matye i nyim Kot kwako, Dominic Ongwen odoko ngat acel ikin komanda ma rwom gi lamal loyo ki i LRA. Ikin mwaka 2002 ki 2005, en obedo komanda, kong me batalyan ka dong, inge medo rwom mere oyot oyot malube ki gen ikome pi lubbo lok weng ki tic gero ne, odoko me buruged me lweny acel ikom angwen pa LRA. Lanyut tye ma nyutu ni, i nucu me aryo i but mwaka 2005, ladit Ongwen onongo en aye komanda me LRA ma lamal maloyo weng ki i Uganda.

Ci kit LRA ni onongo obedo nining, dul ma Dominic Ongwen otimo iye tic ma pire tek kit man ni, dok ma onongo tye kaketo piny ki miyo peko ikom dano ma i but Uganda ma kumalo ni?

Lacak ki latel LRA ni obedo lacoo ma kilwongo ni Joseph Kony. Kony obedo ngat acel ikin jo abic ma waraga me amak Kot ni omiyo pi gi i mwaka 2005. En pwod pe kimakke. Lok tye ma weko kiyee ni dano adek ikin jo ma Kot ni omiyo waraga amak pi gi, tutwalle Vincent Otti, Raska Lukwiya ki Okot Odhiambo, dong gutoo woko. Me abic ne, Dominic Ongwen kitye kapido ikome tin.

Romo, pi kombedi, me waco ni LRA obedo dul pa lulweny ma ocake i but Uganda ma kumalo i mwaka 1980 ki wiye. Dul ne obedo ki miti me turo gamente pa Yoweri Museveni, Preciden me lobo Uganda. I acaki ne, kong obedo dul acel ikin dul mapol ma kit meno, ento ma oo i mwaka 1990, dul mony pa Kony onongo dong odong dul lweny acel keken ma pire tek ma onongo pwod tye kalweny ikom gamente ki i ngom Acoli. LRA obedo dul pa lulweny ma gitye ki rwom me doro ne ma cal ki dul mony kikome ni i kit me cik. Dul me gang-kal ne onongo kilwongo ni “Control Altar.” Dul ne me lweny ma pi gi tego gubedo buruged angwen ma kicako nying gi ni “Sinia”, “Gilva”, “Trinkle” ki “Stockree.” Oda aa ki malo cito piny i rwom tela. Dwoko lok ikom tic kidwoko cen malo i rwom tela. Ma oo i dwe me adek 2004, buruged me Sinia komanda ne onongo obedo Dominic Ongwen.

Woro i LRA onongo kigwoko matek ki pwod pi turo cik kadi matidi onongo bedo rac adada. Temme me lwii onongo kitiyo iye marac adada: jo ma onongo kimako gi onongo kineko gi nyo kigoyo gi matek ma awano ma bedo naka pol kare onongo kiketo ikom gi. Kadi bed kit meno, pol pa jo ma kimako, i agiki ne, gulwii ki i amak pa LRA. Lucaden mapol pa Lukel Adot gibitito bot Kot man kit ma gin kikom gi gitwero lwii kwede.

Poro lok me kello kuc obedo tye i kin LRA ki gamente me Uganda i dye mwaka 1990 ki wiye. Ma gutuur, gamente me Sudan ocako konyo LRA. LRA oketo gony ma pe bale oyot i but Sudan ma kupiny, kama onongo gitwero poto mony i kabedo ma pat pat i Uganda.

Man omede nio wa i mwaka 2002, ma gamente me Sudan oyee ki anywali Uganda me donyo i ngom pa Sudan kacako dok mony ma kilwongo ni “Iron Fist” ikom LRA. Kony ki lukomanda ne ma rwom gi lamal guweyo too ki amak, ento pol pa lumony pa LRA guweko Sudan ka guryeyo tic gi i kabedo manyen i but Uganda ma kumalo, okwako district me Lira, Soroti, Apac ki Katakwi. Mony tere tere pa LRA ki tim aranyi mapol, ma ikine obedo angwen ni ma pido man bibedo ikom gi, olubbo gi ki adwogi maracu.

Ludito me Awora,

Lok pa Lukel Adot obedo ni kamp pi dano ma guringo ayella kikemo pien LRA, kadi bed lutella ne giwaco ni gitye kalweny pi loc ken ki loc ma lwak aye giyero lutela gi, onongo gineno reya ma gibedo i IDP kamp ma gamente ogwoko i but lobo Uganda ma kumalo macalo lumone gi.

Tam pa LRA onongo yot me niang: onongo obedo ni “ka pe itye kwedwa, ci pe icwako wan.” Reya mo ma onongo pe mito cwako lweny gi ikom gamente onongo kineno macalo lamone. Man rom ki uno dano pien onongo tam gi pe rwate ki megi i lok me cung i wii byer - ma obedo bal ikom dano. Onongo aun ma kit man obedo yoo tic ma Dominic Ongwen ki lulweny ma en otello gubedo kaketo ne i tic. Bal ma pat pat ma kitimo i Pajule, Odek, Lukodi ki Abok gubedo ikin poto mony ikom reya ma oket kabedo malac dok ma kiyubo kore ki kore.

Ikin dwe me abiro 2002 ki dwe me apar wiye aryo 2005, poto mony ikom reya obedo miya ki miya mapol. Magi pe gubedo poto mony madito ikom IDP kamp keken. Dano ma gitye kawot ki minibus i gudu kiketo ambuc ikom gi. Motoka me cat onongo kijuko ki kiyako gi. Kimako litino ma gicito i gang kwan. Poto mony magi okello peko mapol ikom dano ata ma i but Uganda ma kumalo.

Lanyut ma i lok man binyuto ni Dominic Ongwen en kikome obedo i poto mony magi pa LRA ikom reya ma i but Uganda ma kumalo. Ikin lok ma Lukel Adot giwaco ikom en obedo ni en onongo ngeyo ni bal ma etimo i Pajule, Odek, Lukodi ki Abok ni onongo gubedo ikin poto mony i kabedo mapol dok ma kiyubo kore ki kore. Wek ami labol ne mogo:

  1. Lulweny pa LRA gupoto mony ikom reya i Ojwii i mwaka 2002 malube ki oda pa Dominic Ongwen;
  2. Latin awobi mo ma mwaka ne 14, ma kimake i dwe me abongwen 2002 ki i Palabek Gem, poo ni Ladit Ongwen ogolo oda ni litino matino gunek reya ma kimako. I nino mo      ma obedo marac tutwal, Dominic Ongwen ogolo oda bot latin awobi man, ki jo mukene, me neko lacoo mo ma otegi kun gikaye akaya ka dong celle ki gweng wa i too;
  3. Medo ikom meno, i mwaka 2002 poto mony obedo tye ikom reya ma Atiak ki Pader, ma Dominic Ongwen aye otello onyo oyubo;
  4. I dwe me angwen 2003, Joseph Kony onongo obedo kakoko, ikare me gwenye ki lok ki komanda ne ma rwom gi lamal, ni reya ma i kamp ma i Lagile onongo dong gudoko “ayella yella.” Dominic Ongwen omiyo bot Joseph Kony yat ma cobo ayella yella meno: en opoto mony i kamp ma Lagile, owango odi, oneko reya 20 ki omako mapol mukene;
  5. I dwe me abongwen 2003, cok ki poto mony Pajule ni, Dominic Ongwen ocwalo ripot ki radio ni epoto mony i mission ma Opit;
  6. I dwe me apar 2003, Dominic Ongwen otimo tic ma pi gi tegu i poto mony Pajule ma tye i adot ni;
  7. I dwe me apar wiye acel 2003, kigoyo ripot i gwenye ki lok i radio pa LRA ni Dominic Ongwen otello poto mony Labwor Omor kama lulweny ne gukati ma ginen calo lumony   me Uganda, ma pwod pe gucako cello lumat ma i kamato kongo mo. Ripot ni tito ni kineko reya, mukene kimako amaka ki kicwinyo odi;
  8. I dwe me aryo 2004, Dominic Ongwen ogoyo ripot bot ludito ne ni epoto mony Koc Ongako, kama ewango odi woko weng;
  9. I dwe me angwen, abic ki abicel me 2004, Dominic Ongwen opoto mony ma tye i adot ni i Odek, Lukodi ki Abok;
  10. I dwe me aboro me mwaka meno, Dominic Ongwen ocwalo ripot ikom tic ma owoto maber i ambuc ma en etimo i gudu Awach. En owaco ni kineko dano mapol ma ikin gi obedo ladwo “boda-boda” onyo taxi pikipiki;
  11. I Acet i mwaka 2004, malube ki oda pa Dominic Ongwen, kimako awobe ki anyira ma mwaka gi ikin 13 ki 15.

Medo ikom poto mony magi, Lukel Adot giwaco ni Dominic Ongwen otimo tic aryo ma pi kare malac ma pi gi tegu pi mede ki bedo pa LRA. Aryo weng gikwako mako litino, mogo ma gitino ma mwaka gi abicel, ki i gangi gi.

Me mede kibedo ki kero pa LRA, kimako ki kicoyo gi i mony me doko lumony ma litino. Lacaden acel pa Lukel Adot, ma en bene LRA omake amaka, byeko ni pol lumony ma i dul pa Dominic Ongwen i mwaka 2003-2004 onongo gubedo litino ma mwaka gi pe romo 18;  ki ni gin 70% nio 80% onongo gubedo ikin mwaka 13 ki 15.

Lumony ma litino gunongo pwonye mony ma nok ki gunongo pwod magwar ka gutimo gin mo ma pe ber. Onongo kimito ni kare ki kare pe gubed i poto mony i kamp pa reya kama kineko nek mapol ni keken, ento bene i aun ki nek acel acel ma nongo kiyubo me bito gin ni pe kibiyee ir gin me dok cen ikin dano reya.

Kadi bed Cik me Roma keto mwaka 15 macalo mwaka ma kitiyo kwede me mokko bal me coyo ki tic ki litino i mony macalo lumony ma litino, lanyut ma i lok man nyuto kamaleng ni Dominic Ongwen aye won bal ma kitimo ikom litino ma mwaka gi pe oo kany. Acel ikin lucaden ma lok pa Lukel Adot ojenge ikom gi, ma en bene mwaka ne abongwen keken ikare ma lumony ma i ter twero pa Dominic Ongwen gumake ikare ma kipoto mony i Odek IDP kamp, otito ni litino ma onongo mwaka gi abicel keken gunongo pwonye mony i buruged pa Ongwen. En oneno onongo gitino ma dog muduku AK47 gi onongo ywayo ngom ma nongo gulyero muduku i gwok gi.

Kimako cal pa lucaden mogo pa Lukel Adot ma pwod gulwii alwiya ki i buruged me Sinia pa Dominic Ongwen. Miti me gwoko i mung ngec ikom lucaden pa Lukel Adot gengo nyuto gi kamaleng bot lwak, ento bot jo ma gitye i Kot, toco pa lucaden magi, ikare ma dong pole ikin gi onongo dong gubedo bot LRA pi mwaka mapol, kello koyo ikom dano.

Ladit ma loyo LRA, Joseph Kony, onongo neno litino macalo jo ma kitwero lokko gin doko lulweny ma pe gitye ki cwiny me timo kica ma mitte me mede ki nek ki aun. Ci Kony ki lukomanda pa LRA mukene ma rwom gi lamal, ma ikin gi obedo Dominic Ongwen, gucako tic ma nen rac ma lutim bal magi maracu ni, kare ki kare, gubedo litino ma gubedo jo ma kitimo bal ikom gi, mwaka mo manok onyo dwe manok ma okato.

I gin ma twero nen calo gin ma nyuto gene kene, Joseph Kony ki lalub kore Vincent Otti ma gubedo i gwenye ki lok ma kigoyo iye cim i yub me station radio me Mega FM ma tye Gulu ma okati woko i yamo i dwe me apar wiye aryo 2002. Kony oloko ikom miti ticce me mako litino me medo wel lumony ne. Kony onongo ngeyo ni lok me mako litino ni pe winye maber: kadi bed lok ma pire tek ma en waco ni elwenyo pi loc ken ki pi loc ma lwak yero lutella gi, onen kamaleng ni lewic omako en. En onongo ngeyo ni tic ki litino macalo lumony onongo pe cwakke. En kong otime me kwero lok man ni LRA mako litino. Ento i lok ne malubo en oyee ni, “Meno aye kit ma wacoyo dano i mony.” En omede, macalo meno gwok bed macalo lok ma tito gin ma otime, “Man rom ki mako dano ki kit pa Museveni ikare ma en tye i lum.” Man aye obedo kit ma onongo mitte ni kitim tic ma Dominic Ongwen obedo kaketo ne i tic ikare ma en ocoyo i buruged ne litino ma mwaka gi pe oo 15, ki me tic kwed gi i mony.

Mak pa LRA bene obedo pi yub me aryo. Ikin man obedo mako anyira ki mon matino ki tam me diyo gi me bedo mon ot ki opii me buto pa lukomanda ki lulweny pa LRA.

Dok, tic man pa LRA i lok man pe obedo i mung. Lok pa Vincent Otti, i yub me radio ma okati woko i yamo i dwe me apar wiye aryo 2002 ma dong aloko pire ni, man nen kamaleng. En owaco ni, “amito weko wuniang ni anyira ma wacoko wacwalo i lum ni gubedo mego wa.“ En omede: “[…] Wan kare ki kare wacoko anyira matino ne ni ma pwod gipeke ki two jonyo.” Lok man gonye i yoo acel keken ma niange dok rwate ni LRA onongo gitye kaketo i tic kit ma mitte me mako anyira me buto kwed gi.

Mon magi ma kidiyo gi adiya me doko mon ot ni pe gubedo ki dwon i lok ne. Kitiyo kwed gi macalo jami ma kinongo i dog lweny, kimiyo gin macalo mot ma kimiyo bot ngat ma oloyo, pe gubedo ki dwon ma kato pa jami ma pe kwoo. Ka gugale manok ki mokko tam onyo gukwero lok me buto ki ngat ma kipoko gin bot gi, onongo kigoyo ter gi tere tere i yoo marac atika atika. Ka kitamo ni gwok gutemo lwii, ci kipwodo onyo kineko gi.

Kigwoko gi pi dwe mapol, dok tyen mapol pi mwaka mapol, macalo opii me buto ki me tic i gang, ki kibuto kwed gi tek tek kare ki kare. Pol ne ikin gi guyac, labongo dwon i lok ne, ki mogo gunywal litino mapol ma gin bene kicoyo gin i mony pa LRA.

Macalo komanda me LRA ma rwom ne lamal, Dominic Ongwen onongo magoba maloyo ki i peko pa mon ki anyira ma kimako. Ikin mon ne mapol ma kidiyo adiya ni, abiro ikin gi dong gumiyo lanyut ma kwako kwoo gi.

Macalo labol, lacaden pa Lukel Adot ma kiketo kiloko nyinge ni P-0227 omiyo lanyut ma kwako kit ma kimake kwede. En owaco ki Kot ni inge kare manok inge dwe acel ma kimake, Ongwen olwonge i ot ne. Kome obedo ka myel ki lworo. En owacce ni emito buto kwede, ci en onongo pe twero kwero ne. En olworo ni “kwoo ne weng onongo tye i cinge.” En odiyo oroyo cune i tune ki i ngwiny cet ne. Me weko en oling, ma en obedo kadange, en obure ki pala ma i wii muduku ne.

Inge butu kwede tektek, Ongwen ki jo ducu ma inget en dako ni, onongo dong gineno lacaden meno macalo dako ne. En dong onongo pe twero lwii. Ma onongo kitamo ni en otemo timo meno, kigoyo en marac. Ikare mukene, Dominic Ongwen ogolo oda ni kigoo en pi tero kare i gang pa lalweny mo me LRA. Lacaden ni oneno adwogi me byeko tam pa Ongwen madok i kom dako mo ma onongo en odiyo me bedo dako ne. En ogolo oda bot lumony ma litino ma gitiyo macalo eskot ne, me pwodo dako ni odoo miya acel pien onongo en tamo ni dako meno onyutu cwiny ikom lacoo mukene.

Macalo adwogi pa Dominic Ongwen butu kwede tek tek, lacaden ni onywallo wode. Man pe gin ma en aye oyero. En onongo tamo ni pwod pe etye atera me nyodo.

Lacaden mukene pa Lukel Adot, ma kiketo nyinge ni P-0101, ma onongo mwaka 14 ikare ma bal ni kitimo, omiyo nenu ma balo wic woko i kit Dominic Ongwen ikom anyira matino ma kiketo i ter kica ne. En oloko malube ki gin ma otime ikome ma Ongwen obutu kwede tek tek ki malube ki gin ma eneno obedo katime pi kare me mwaka ma pol. En otito bot Kot ni, “… kibutu kwedi tek tek ma nongo pwod itidi … Dominic onongo dong rac kato ducu ka odok i kom litino ... anyira … En ... butu kwed gi ma nongo pwod mwaka gi tino tutwal.”

Ento, labongo akalakala, bal pa Dominic Ongwen pe gik ikom bal ma en otimo en kikome keken. Ki i buruged me Sinia, Ongwen onongo tello dul ma tiyo tic me mak, diyo anyira me bedo mon ot, butu ki anyira tek tek, miyo arem ikom dano, tic opii ki diyo dano me bedo opii me butu kwedgi. Anyira ma wel gi tye miya mapol gudeno peko i kom bal magi i cing lulweny me LRA kama Dominic Ongwen opoko gin iye.

Adwogi me kit tic magi ikom anyira ki mon ma kit magi pe obalo kom gi keken, ento bene obalo wii gi pi kare malac. Ka jo ma guloyo, kadi wa inge lwii gi onyo ma dong kigonyo gi, omyero pwod gukwoo; omyero gukwoo ki cac pi yang bedo dako pa LRA, ma nongo lok ni dako ni dong kidwanyo terre odoko rac.

Gen gi ni i anyim gitwero cako kwoo gi odoco i kin lwak dok me bedo ki coo, dong kibalo woko kadi bedi kony tye ki bot dul mapol ma gitiyo me konyo gi wek gunong kero. Dok bene tye dul mukene mapat pa jo ma kitimo bal ikom gi, ma magi litino ma kinywalo gi ikare me twec macalo adwogi me nyom adiya, ma ikare mogo dano pe mito gin dok kinywaro gin pi lunyodo gi.

Me agiki, amito dok i kom Dominic Ongwen kikome. Lok man ma dong tye i Kot ni, bute acel en aye ni Ongwen pe kiwaco ni en obedo latim bal magi keken, en bene onongo obedo ngat ma kitimo bal ikome. En kikome, kit ma en otito bot Kot, kimake ki igang gi, ma lumak en obedo yaa lwak macon pa lulweny me LRA, ma en onongo pwod mwaka apar wiye angwen. Ma nyute ni en kikome bene omyero obed ni okato ki i peko me poke ki i kom jo gang gi, tic gero ma miyo arem ma lumak en gutimo ikome ki pwonyo en ki tic aranyi ma obedo yoo me kwoo pa LRA. Kinyutu en macalo ngat ma kitimo bal i kome ento pe calo ngat ma obedo katimo bal.

Jo ma gitye kalubu lok i kom Dominic Ongwen gitwero lubu ne ki cwiny aryo. Gitwero bedo ki lworo madit ki kwero tic magi maracu ma en otimo ni, ento bene giparo en. Lanyut pa litino mapol ma kitimo bal i kom gi ni i lok  man, ikare mukene, bene romo bedo gin ma otime ikom ngat ma kidoto ni.

Lanyut nyutu kamaleng ni ikare mogo en twero bedo lakica. Lacaden acel pa Lukel Adot otito bot Kot ni pol kare Dominic Ongwen dano maber, ma tuku ki awobe ma tye i ter locce dok dano ducu maro en. Ento en lacaden acel ni bene owaco bot Kot ni ikare ma etamo ni onongo pwod etidi tutwal me bedo ki ic, Ongwen odiyo en me butu kwede, dok ni onongo engeyo ni ka ekwero kibigoye. Otito bene bot Kot ni pwod bene etye ki poyo  i cak kore kama Ongwen ogoyo en pien pe eyubu kabutu ne.

Ikom lok ada jo ma ger giromo tiyo tic me kica doki jo ma lukica giromo timo tic gero. Tek me nongo ngat mo ma kite bedo acel ma pe lokke. Dok lok man ma nongo latim bal bene obedo ngat ma kitimo bal ikome ni pe tye i Kot me wilobo keken, man obedo gin ma ngene i tic ducu me ngolo kop i kom bal. Litino ma wegi gi peke ma gibedo i dye boma madongo kama kwoo rac iye gikeme ki peko ma lit ma diyo gi me donyo i kwoo me gang ma nongo pwod pe gudonyo i kwoo me timo bal. Jo ma gitimo bal ikom litino, kare ki kare ginyutu ni yang con kitimo bal ikom gin ma gin litino.

Ento peko ma ideno ikare ma okato pe miyo boti twero onyo tyen lok me timo bal i kom jo mukene. Dano acel acel omyero kinen macalo ngat ma tye ki ngec me gin maber ki gin marac ki me cung ikom jami ma otimo. Tic pa ICC me ngolo kop i kom bal, pe dok i kom ber onyo rac pa ngat ma kidoto, ento i kom bal ma en otimo. Pe watye kany pi kwero ni ladit Ongwen kitimo bal i kome i kare ma onongo en tidi. Wabinyutu gin ma en otimo, gin ma en owaco, ki adwogi pa gin ma en otimo ikom jo mapol ma en otimo bal ikom gi ni.

Kot pe obetweyo lok ikom ber ne onyo racce, onyo ka omyero kipar pire, ento ka ce balle obedo tye i kom bal maracu ma kitimo ni ikare ma dong en dit, ma man aye gin ma kidoto en pire.

Dominic Ongwen odoko ngat acel ikin lukomanda me LRA ma rwom gi lamal tutwal. En otimo man pi gamo ki mit kom, yoo me tic aranyi pa LRA, dok ni aa i nyutu ni etwero bedo ka tic aranyi ki mit kom i kit me ticce i kom lwak ma i but Uganda ma kumalo, ma eloyo opica mukene me LRA ni.

Kony opako en pi poto mony ma lumony ne gutimo i kom reya. Kinyutu en macalo labol bot lukomanda mukene, me LRA, ma pe gitiyo tutwal ni.

Macalo lakomanda ma rwom ne lamal, Dominic Ongwen onongo tye ki twero weng me tic, i kom lumony ma tye i ter twero ne. En onongo i cawa mo keken kono otwero golo oda ni dul mony ne gucit i barak mony me Uganda ma cok, guket jami lweny gi piny ka guil cing gi malo. Onyo onongo en kono otwero kwanyo yoo ma jo mapol ma i tere gukwanyo, me aa en kene me weko bedo kunu. Man onongo twerre bote labongo ayella, pien kit macalo en onongo komanda ni, onongo en pe twero bedo ki lworo ni kitimo pwod marac onyo nek labongo peny mapol ma en kikome aye ogolo oda ne ni kitim i kom jo ma gutemo lwii ci kimako gin woko ni. Pol kare nongo opoke woko ki ikom latela ma loyo en i LRA, pi nino onyo cabit mapol. Komanda me batalyan ki i buruged ne me Sinia ni gulwii en i kare meno.

Ikin dwe me abiro 2002 ki dwe me apar wiye aryo 2005, rekod me Amnesty Commission nyutu ni lumemba me LRA ma wel gi kato 9,000 guilo cing gi malo dok kitimo bot gi kica. Ento Dominic Ongwen pe okwanyo yoo meno. Ento en oyero teko ki twero ma bino ki rwom ne ma obedo kanongo ne dok ma kibedo kamedo ne. En obedo kayubu yub ki kaketo ne i tic ma man adwogi ne okello can ki too bot lwak lutedero miya mapol, ci obedo kagoyo ripot ne i radio ki yom cwiny, pe ki cwer cwiny i kom bal.

Log buk mo ma UPDF obedo katic kwede me gwoko rekod me gwenye ki lok ikin kulomanda pa LRA i radio, tito kit ma Dominic Ongwen otito gin ma en mito timo ne i dwe me aboro 2004 me – atito kit ma kicoyo kwede: “… cako neko reya marac. En owaco ni kombedi dong eketo dul me timo aranyi ci cok cok ni dano gubewinyo i radio.” (Lokke ogik kany)

Wek aket wuwiny manok, but dwan ma kimako i mung, lok ikin Vincent Otti, ma obedo lalub kor won kom me LRA, gin ki Dominic Ongwen. Otti onongo tye ka penyo Ongwen me tyeko ripot ne i kom Odek, ma onongo kicako tito ne con.

Kadi bedi dwan ne pe omake winye maleng, gin ma wuwinyo kombedi ni pire tek pi tyen lok aryo. Ma okwongo obedo tucu bal atir ma aa ki i dog Dominic Ongwen. Iwinyo ka en yee ni eneko reya lomuku. Me aryo, nyutu ni kadi bedi Ongwen pe tye ki gin mo ma juku en me waco ni eneko dano, en pwod pe tye agonya ni jo ne onongo reya kadi bedi onongo en tye ka lok ki lamemba me LRA. En ngeyo ni gin ma etimo ni rac. Pe mito waco ne atir. Man oweko en weyo tic ki lok meno pi tyen aryo, i tyen ma okwongo lwongo reya ma guneko ni, ni “luwot wa” ki i tyen me aryo en tiyo ki leb me LRA ma ngene ni, “waya”. Lok meno ki leb Acoli terre ni lamin woru, ento ki i leb me LRA terre ni reya. Abiketo but dwan ma kimako ni odoco wek wuwiny ento kombedi aweko cung manok inge lok pa ngat acel acel.

Ongwen waco bot Otti ni en eaa “pwod kacello luwot wa.”

Otti pe owinyo maber. Dwan ne pe leng. En waco ni: “Ni ngo.”

Ongwen nwoyo ni: “Pwod aa kacello dano.”

Lacen ingeye manok i lok meno, lokke dok dwogo cen i kom dano ma kicello gi ni. Dominic Ongwen onongo obedo kacello lumony? Ku.

Ongwen wake bot Otti: “Wek dano okur winyo waya [reya] ni, wacello gin woko weng.”

Lanyut nyutu ni Dominic Ongwen onongo obedo lanek ki ngat ma butu ki mon tek tek. Dok nyutu ni en otello tella i poto mony ma oballo kwoo pa reya. En obedo ki twero i kit me tic ki lumony ma litino ki bal me butu ki anyira matino i dul ma en loyo.

Kit ma kimake ka kicoye kwede i LRA i mwaka mapol ma okato, gwok twero weko kidwoko pwod ne lapiny manok ka kingolo kop ni lok oloye i kom bal ma kiwaco ni en otimo ni. Ento meno pe twero bedo macalo lok me pyem adot, onyo tyen lok ma weko jami ma en otimo ni pe kikello lokke iwiye, pien en oyero me jollo aranyi me nek ma LRA otiyo kwede ma obedo macalo kit tic gi ma lumony ne gutiyo kwede.

Ludito me Awora,

Jo ma ladit Ongwen otimo bal i kom gin dong gukuru pi kare malac tutwal me neno ni kingolo kop ma atir. Kare dong oromo, wa con, me weko wakel bot gin gin ma opore pi gin. I tek lok pa Lukel Adot, ki pa lanyut ma kibenyutu ikare me pido man, wageno ni wabitimo man kikome. Apwoyo wun pi winya.

Lok dog Lapilida Lakel Adot i Kot me Wilobo pi Bal Maracu (ICC), Fatou Bensouda, i yabbo Pido ikom Dominic Ongwen
Source: Office of the Prosecutor | Contact: [email protected]