Dominic Ongwen, once a feared commander of the Lord’s Resistance Army, appeared last month before the court to plead not guilty, saying that as a child soldier taken by force from his home by the organisation he was a victim of its atrocities, not a perpetrator.
The trial of is one of the most momentous in the ICC’s 14-year history, and raises difficult questions of responsibility and blame.
Little did we know that besides being good at giving orders, Dominic Ongwen was also very defiant in following orders issued to him by his superiors including rebel leader Joseph Kony.
Also read: LRA commander Dominic Ongwen war crimes trail at ICC resumes
A third prosecution witness in the ongoing trial of Dominic Ongwen at the International Criminal Court (ICC) told Judges that the LRA rebel commander was once caned 200 times for defying leader Joseph Kony’s orders.
Witness P-016 was narrating what happened to Ongwen as an example of one of the kinds of various punishments a member of the Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA) rebels received if they disobeyed an order given by Kony.
The witness was answering questions from Ongwen’s lead defence lawyer, Krispus Ayena Odongo, during cross-examination.
Also Read: ONGWEN TRIAL: Defense lawyer to cross-examine prosecution witness
Ongwen, faces 70 counts of war crimes and crimes against humanity which he allegedly committed on people displaced by LRA conflict in Pajule, Odek, Abok, and Lukodi camps. Prosecution says the crimes were committed between 2003 and 2004 when Ongwen was a battalion commander and then a brigade commander in the LRA.
