In January 2015, Dominic Ongwen, one of the indicted commanders of the Lord’s Resistance Army, surrendered to the Seleka rebels in the Central African Republic. He was later handed over to U.S. Special Forces, leading to his transfer to the ICC in The Hague.
Initially, Ongwen faced seven counts, three of crimes against humanity and four of war crimes, linked to the May 2004 attack on Lukodi IDP Camp in Gulu District. The charges were later expanded to 56 counts, including war crimes such as murder, torture, pillaging, and destruction of property; crimes against humanity such as enslavement, forced marriage, and persecution; and sexual and gender-based crimes, including rape and sexual slavery. The ICC also widened the case to include crimes in Pajule, Odek, and Abok IDP camps between 2003 and 2004.
Ongwen’s trial divided opinion in northern Uganda. While some saw it as long-awaited justice, others viewed it as unfair punishment for a man who was once a child abductee.
“Maybe that if it was Kony that went to ICC or was taken to ICC. But Dominic, a child of 10 years, that was abducted at that time. And then you think that is the person who has really done everything,” says Rosalba Ato Oywa, a peace advocate who worked for reconciliation during the war. She adds, “And we did not protect those children. The government that should have provided support did not help them.”
Tony Kitara, an advocate, shares the sentiment. “Ongwen’s case again caused some bit of pain, even to me, because the story, as it’s told, is that he was an abductee; he was also abducted as a child. So by Ongwen being singled out, tried, convicted and sentenced, it disturbed me a bit.”
Bishop Macleord Baker Ochola calls Ongwen’s trial a “double punishment.”
“Why? Where? Where is justice? We see that the children, the formerly abducted children, are actually victims of circumstances. So, what ICC is doing is really to punish them twice.”
Thomas Kwoyelo Trial
In 2009, Thomas Kwoyelo was captured by the Uganda People’s Defence Forces in the Democratic Republic of Congo. His trial faced delays after a Constitutional Court ruling in 2011 granted him amnesty, which was later overturned by the Supreme Court in 2015.
After a lengthy trial, on August 13, 2024, Uganda’s International Crimes Division (ICD) of the High Court convicted him on 44 counts of crimes against humanity, war crimes, and other serious offences of murder, rape, torture, and enslavement, committed during the LRA’s conflict with the Ugandan government.
The court awarded reparations to war victims affected by atrocities committed by Thomas Kwoyelo as follows: 10 million shillings for each deceased victim, 4 million shillings for those who suffered bodily injury, and 3.5 million shillings per household for property loss. 5 million shillings for direct victims of sexual and gender-based violence, and 3 million shillings for the exhumation and decent reburial of victims buried in former IDP camps in Amuru District. Attorney General is appealing the reparations ruling.
Reparation for the victims
After the conviction of Dominic Ongwen, the ICC ordered reparations totalling over €52.4 million for victims of his crimes, including community-based programs and a symbolic individual award of €750 for eligible victims.
The ICC Appeals Chamber upheld this order on April 7, 2025, confirming that approximately 49,772 survivors would receive reparations. Since Ongwen is indigent, the reparations will be funded by the ICC’s Trust Fund for Victims, which relies on voluntary contributions.
Rosalba Ato Oywa describes the reparations money as a potential source of new tension in the community because many people who were affected by the war will miss out.
“And now the participants that were supposed to be considered are so few. That is setting another time bomb in this community. The moment that money comes, that will be another beginning of the war, another war. Because so many people suffered. What is the justification for considering a few people? All of us suffered.”
Counsel Tonny Kitara describes the ICC reparation process as painful, noting that the court’s focus was limited to specific cases and areas, leaving out many victims across different sub-regions affected by the LRA.
“They killed people there. They abducted children from Teso. So now if you say the ICC statute only deals with the reparations for all areas, like here we have about five areas, I think it doesn’t really… To me, in my very humble opinion, it leaves out the major part of the wound and care.”
According to the ICC order, reparations include a symbolic cash payment of €750 to all victims (about €37.3 million in total), collective community-based rehabilitation programs such as education, vocational training, and healthcare (worth €15 million), and community symbolic measures like apologies, memorials, reconciliation ceremonies, and human rights activities (€100,000).
Kitara says reparations should not be given as individual payments but as benefits that serve entire communities.
“So ICC reparations should have benefited the region where the insurgency took place, where the atrocities, where those crimes against humanity took place, where those war crimes took place, but not where the massacre took place. Because before they came to massacre, on their way, it’s possible they got some people and killed. On their way back, it’s also possible that they got people and killed or abducted and turned them into their wives.”
Kitara further adds that many victims feel excluded from the ICC’s justice process.
“They’re not happy. They feel left out. They have, I think, about three associations in the city here. The real victims, those who were abducted, made wives, abducted, made commanders, and those real victims, the various other cases that are not included in the cases before ICC, feel that ICC has not done them justice. And I think they’re right.”
From 1 July 2002, when the ICC was established, to 2005, when the ICC indicted the five rebel commanders, the Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA) committed numerous atrocities across northern Uganda. These included the May 16, 2004, Pagak massacre, which left 46 people dead, mostly women and children; the March 8, 2005, attack on Dzaipi, where eight civilians were killed; and the October 23, 2002, Omot massacre, in which 28 people were brutally murdered. On February 21, 2004, the LRA attacked the Barlonyo IDP camp in Lira District, killing between 121 and 300 civilians.
Apart from the Pagak massacre, for which Thomas Kwoyelo was tried, no other rebel commander has been prosecuted for these attacks.
Victims and Communities Speak Out on ICC Reparations
As the International Criminal Court (ICC) begins implementing reparations for victims of Dominic Ongwen’s crimes, survivors across northern Uganda say the process has left many feeling forgotten and disillusioned. For survivors, justice is more than verdicts and reparations. It is about recognition, healing, and the chance to rebuild.
Grace Acan, one of the survivors of the Aboke Girls abduction, said victims want more than just legal justice.
“Some need medical support, some need where to stay. Some cannot even afford their basic needs. So, some are really facing a lot of stigmatisation. There’s a lot to be done to repair the lives of victims.”
She says that many people have been excluded from reparations due to technicalities, such as the period they returned home.
“Because someone has suffered, but there’s just someone… Some will miss by a day. Some returned home. They were in the Sinia brigade. They returned before July 1st. And they cannot access the reparations because of that.”
Acan says that in her interactions with other victims, she observed growing frustration with the ICC reparation process.
“So there is a gap. And I don’t want to speak about others or for others when it comes to that, but already, with my interactions, you’ll see that people are not happy about that. Those who are not getting, are not happy.”
Ochola Richard, 35, from Atiak, who was abducted in 1994 and returned in 2010, echoed similar frustrations.
“The way ICC is doing the reparation process is not good. We all suffered the same conflict. This reparation should be for the whole of northern Uganda where there was an attack,” he said. “There are people here who lost their legs or eyes, or live with bullet fragments in their bodies, yet they are not receiving reparation. This is unfair. They should compensate everyone.”
For many survivors in Barlonyo, the site of one of the LRA’s deadliest massacres, the exclusion from ICC reparations has reopened wounds.
Akullu Eunice, 34, was abducted from school and forced into marriage with a rebel commander. She survived the 2004 Barlonyo attack.
“I was hoping that they would give reparations to the Barlonyo people to ease their pain. Ongwen’s trial did not benefit us, the people of Barlonyo. We are not part of those receiving reparations, so there was no justice for us.”
She says that, as someone who suffered in the hands of the LRA and had her childhood destroyed, she is not happy that some people are benefiting while people like her from Barlonyo are left out.
“There is division because some victims are receiving compensation while others are not, yet we all suffered the same fate. People are saying they should give some percentage of the reparations to the people of Barlonyo who lost relatives.”
Awari Judith, 52, chairperson of the Kuc Odwogo Women’s Group in Barlonyo, says she was abducted and lived in captivity for three years.
“When we heard that LRA commanders were indicted, we were happy. We thought if they arrested Kony, we would be compensated, especially the people who were abducted and victims of the war,” she says. “We, the people of Barlonyo, have not received fair justice. They once came and wrote our names for compensation, but until now, we have not received anything.”
She says the ICC’s approach has caused more division.
“What ICC has done in terms of reparation has brought division because other people are receiving while others are not; it’s bad. When the atrocities were happening, we all suffered the same fate. But when it comes to reparations, some are paid while others are left out.”
Awari adds that most of the reparations are focused on the Acholi sub-region, leaving out victims in Lango.
“If there is reparation, we should all be paid equally because we all suffered. For those whose relatives were killed and children abducted, compensation would at least console us for our loss.”
Akullu Angelina, a farmer from Barlonyo, said she lost eight family members during the attack, including her co-wife and her child.
“We, the people of Lango, and in particular Barlonyo, will not be given reparation, but in Acholi they will. This hurts us because we thought all victims would be compensated. We were registered and told we would receive compensation, but now we are told we shall not.”
As victims continue to lament, many say that the ICC’s selective reparations risk deepening divisions in communities that are still healing from the war’s scars.
Limitations and Criticisms
The biggest criticism against the ICC by elders, leaders, and communities in northern Uganda is that it indicted only LRA commanders, yet the conflict involved two warring parties. Henry Kilama Komakech, a senior lawyer of the Courts of Judicature in Uganda and one of the Victims’ lawyers in the Thomas Kwoyelo trial, notes that victims wanted both the UPDF and the LRA prosecuted.
“They also wanted perhaps the two sides to be prosecuted. That would become a major issue, the two sides, UPDF and the LRA, to be prosecuted, but that didn’t work out.”
Rosalba Atoo reaffirms the victims’ concerns that the war was fought by both the LRA and UPDF and that both should have been investigated.
“We know what different groups did, what the LRA did, what the government did. And in fact, I even documented oral testimonies of people. And I know exactly what they feel, what they have gone through.”
She adds that it was unfortunate for the government to single out only one side for investigation.
“So first of all, it was very unfortunate for the government to single out only the LRA to the ICC. It should have been all those people who committed atrocities. Because both of them did it.”
Bishop Ochola recalls that during Operation North, “the biggest atrocities were done by the government. People were burnt alive in huts, children were pushed into huts and burnt.”
This, they argue, made victims question why the ICC focused only on the LRA while ignoring crimes allegedly committed by government forces.
As a result of the ICC’s failure to investigate both parties, Atoo says she lost faith in the court.
“So I lost, I did not see it as anything that would ever deliver justice. And in fact, I just didn’t even believe in what it was, what it aimed to do.”
While many view the ICC as biased, Counsel Kilama explains that the limitation lies in the availability of evidence and the timing of the crimes.
“Because the court keeps on saying, where’s the evidence? And also, the challenge has been the time frame. When the alleged crimes, like maybe the Buchoro massacre, happened before the court existed, before 1st of July. How do you prosecute? That’s the first point of law raised.”
He notes that crimes allegedly committed by UPDF/NRA soldiers, such as sexual violence against civilians, took place before the ICC’s jurisdiction began on July 1, 2002.
“So the court is tied by that. Then that’s why the issues like the International Crimes Division should be able to come in. The challenge is, they don’t have the capacity, to do that, or the courage to do that, or the will to do that.”
Success of the ICC
No matter the criticism from the communities in northern Uganda, the victims wanted a speedy trial. Henry Kilama Komakech, a senior lawyer of the Courts of Judicature in Uganda and one of the Victims’ lawyers in the Thomas Kwoyelo says that during his interaction with victims,
He adds, “If you look at the ICC’s record, you realise that the Dominic Ongwen case was completed very fast compared to other cases, like the Thomas Lubanga and others. The Dominic Ongwen case was very fast. But, you know, a court being an institution which uses procedure, it’s important for you to ensure all the steps take place.”
Tonny Kitara attributes the eventual peace in northern Uganda partly to the ICC indictment of the LRA commanders.
“I have a very humble opinion that it contributed a lot to the eventual insurgency getting subsided and now people returning from the IDP camps to their homes because the moment the real commanders got to know that the entire world is looking for them, naturally you get to fear something because before that the LRA thought they were the Alpha and Omega.”
Tonny Kitara adds that the fear forced the rebels to retreat from Uganda and go into hiding in the Garamba forest.
‘So it was easy for UPDF now to sweep the place, and people returned home. To me, that is the major success, the greatest.”
He adds that the peace talks that followed, such as the Juba and Garamba negotiations, were largely influenced by the ICC indictments.
“The Garamba peace talks came after the arrest warrants were issued,” Kitara notes.
Counsel Henry Kilama Komakech believes the ICC also helped to strengthen Uganda’s own justice system.
“I think it enhanced it a bit because Uganda was asking whether they could challenge the case before the Ongwen case, but they said they could not,” he says.
Kilama says that although the ICC did not directly assist Uganda’s judicial institutions with manpower or resources, it provided valuable lessons.
“They didn’t help us so much in terms of bringing manpower, but at least we have learned some lessons from ICC. I think we’ve strengthened some more. We’ve tried to improve it as well.”
Legacy of the ICC in Northern Uganda
The legacy of the International Criminal Court (ICC) in northern Uganda remains deeply contested; it will be remembered both for ending fear and war and for leaving behind a sense of incompleteness.
Sheikh Khalil believes that what people will remember most about the ICC is the fear of arrest it instilled in LRA leaders.
“What people will remember the ICC for is the fear of arrest that made Joseph Kony move far away. The fear of arrest made the people breathe from the fear, atrocities, and suffering.”
According to him, this fear created room for peace efforts to succeed.
“The end result was that the Juba peace talks yielded fruits because Kony accepted the peace talks in Juba; he was expecting the stay of arrest,” Sheikh Khalil explains.
However, he also feels that “the ICC has not done enough for the people of northern Uganda.”
For Ochola Baker and Rosalba, the ICC’s legacy is overshadowed by mistrust. Many victims feel that justice was selective.
“People up to now do not trust the ICC. It affected it very much. People know what happened to them, who did what to them,” Ochola said.
Counsel Kilama Komakech offers a more measured reflection, viewing the ICC’s work as symbolic but significant.
“I think it delivered justice because they got a conviction and now work on reparations. It’s symbolic, really,” he said.
Although only one person was prosecuted out of five indicted, Kilama notes that the ICC fulfilled its limited mandate.
“The ICC’s duty was to prosecute and hear the case, not to arrest. That’s not their mandate. So the ones they brought before them, they tried. Uganda had one case, and it was completed.”
He adds that the reparations process, though limited, represents a step toward accountability and closure.
Looking ahead, Kilama believes justice in future conflicts should combine international and national mechanisms.
“Justice must be inclusive. The ICC’s experience in Uganda shows that lasting peace requires combining international justice with local reconciliation,” he said. He also emphasises “the need for reparations and healing programs” and “the importance of local ownership, justice efforts must involve victims’ voices and community understanding.”
This story on the legacy of the ICC is a two-part series produced with support from the African Centre for Media Excellence (ACME). You can read Part 1 HERE.
