Over the weekend, US announced a cash reward of up to $5million (about Shs17 billion) for any individuals who provide information that leads to the arrest, transfer or conviction of Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA) rebel leader Joseph Kony.
“Joseph Kony has been wanted for more than 15 years. You can help bring him to justice and get paid up to $5 MILLION. 100% Confidentiality,” tweeted the War Crimes Rewards Program page.
In 2005, the International Criminal Court issued an arrest warrant on Joseph Kony. The LRA rebel leader is wanted on 12 counts of crimes against humanity and 21 counts of war crimes. He is accused of brutalising civilians in northern Uganda through murder, abduction, mutilation and the burning of property.
The 12 counts of crimes against humanity include murder, enslavement, sexual enslavement, rape, inhumane acts of inflicting serious bodily injury and suffering; and 21 counts of war crimes are murder, cruel treatment of civilians, intentionally directing an attack against a civilian population, pillaging, inducing rape, and forced enlistment of children, allegedly committed after 1 July 2002 in northern Uganda.
From the 1990s to early 2000’s, LRA attacks became infamous. Rebel fighters would hack off their victims’ limbs or parts of their faces. Thousands of people were forced to flee their homes, tens of thousands were killed and thousands of others were abducted.