The Hague, Kampala, 9 September 2025. Joseph Kony has been wanted by the ICC since 2005. As the alleged LRA Commander-in-Chief, he is accused of 39 counts of war crimes and crimes against humanity, committed at least between 1 July 2002 and 31 December 2005 in Northern Uganda. The allegations include attacks against civilians, murder, attempted murder, torture, enslavement, pillaging, destruction of property and persecution on political, age and gender grounds. They also cover gender-based crimes including rape, sexual slavery, forced pregnancy and forced marriage, as well as crimes against children, such as their abduction, enslavement, conscription, and use in hostilities.
"Joseph Kony and the LRA orchestrated heinous crimes, including against women and children, from which communities still suffer to this day. The hearing has the potential to bring these atrocities into the public and policy limelight once again, and galvanise efforts to finally arrest Kony", said Dr Livingstone Sewanyana, Executive Director of FHRI.
Of the 39 counts, 29 are brought against Kony as an indirect co-perpetrator and 10 as a direct perpetrator. The 10 direct perpetration counts concern gender-based crimes against one young woman and a 10-year-old girl: he allegedly forced them into marriage, and sexually enslaved, raped, tortured, and subjected them to forced pregnancies.
The charges relate to a series of brutal assaults against the civilian population, including the attack on the Lwala Girls’ School in June 2003 to abduct students and on seven internally displaced persons’ camps in Northern Uganda between 2003 and 2004.
Victims call for justice in the Kony case
The LRA’s campaign of violence in Northern Uganda since the 1980s left more than 100,000 people dead. Additionally, the LRA abducted between 60,000 and 100,000 children and displaced some 2.5 million people.
A total of 5,795 victims have been authorised to participate in these proceedings. In their filing to the Court, victims have stressed through their legal representatives: "This hearing represents the first opportunity in years to acknowledge what happened to us together with the extent of our victimisation… Justice must be done in the Kony case to achieve lasting peace and reconciliation in Uganda."
Danya Chaikel, FIDH’s Representative to the ICC, further stated: "Proceeding with this hearing, even in Kony’s absence, matters deeply to survivors. For many women, girls, and boys who endured abduction, rape, enslavement and forced marriage and pregnancy, it is not only about recognising their suffering but about ensuring these crimes are taken seriously as core international crimes, confronted without stigma, and addressed through accountability processes."
A historic hearing in absentia
Despite unprecedented national and international efforts, including an Interpol–UN Security Council notice and a former US reward of up to 5 million dollars, Joseph Kony has not been arrested.
The hearing was initially scheduled for October 2024 but was postponed to ensure the Defence had adequate time and facilities to prepare. The Defence subsequently filed several challenges: in November 2024 on procedural grounds and again in April 2025 requesting reconsideration, arguing that Kony could still be apprehended, that an in absentia hearing would undermine reconciliation efforts in Uganda, and that national (including traditional) mechanisms should be prioritised.
On 3 June 2025, the Appeals Chamber rejected the Defence’s arguments, noting that all reasonable steps were taken to notify Kony and that his fair-trial rights are safeguarded through appointed defence, access to case materials, and sufficient time to prepare. While the confirmation hearing can proceed in absentia, the Rome Statute requires the accused to be present during trials. Unless Kony is arrested, the case cannot move to trial.
The confirmation of charges hearing is taking place before Pre-Trial Chamber III and is scheduled from 9 to 11 September 2025. Judges must issue their decision within 60 days of the hearing’s conclusion.
For more information, see the Q&A: Understanding Joseph Kony’s ICC Confirmation of Charges Hearing