Joseph Kony

Joseph Kony (pronounced ; born 1961)  is a Ugandan guerrilla group leader. He is the head of the Lord's Resistance Army (LRA). While he had a lot of support from the public, the LRA turned against its supporters. They said that they did this to "purify" the Acholi people and turn Uganda into a theocracy ruled by the Ten Commandments.

The LRA is known for the very bad things it does to civilians. Two of these things are murder and rape.

The LRA has become known for what it does against the people of several countries. Some of these countries are northern Uganda, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Central African Republic, South Sudan, and Sudan. It has stolen and forced about 66,000 children to fight for them.

In 2005, Kony was accused of war crimes by the International Criminal Court in The Hague, Netherlands. He has not yet been captured.

Early life
Kony was born in 1961 in Odek. Odek is a village which is east of Gulu in northern Uganda. He is a member of the Acholi people. His father was called Luizi Obol. He was a farmer. His mother was called Nora. Kony had a good relationship with his siblings, but if they had arguments, he would quickly fight back. Also, when challenged he would often use physical violence. Kony was an altar boy for several years. However, he stopped going to church around the age of 15 and also dropped out of school.

As a teenager, Kony was being trained to be the village witch doctor by Jamie Brow, his older brother. When Jamie died, Kony took over the position.Peter Eichstaedt, First Kill Your Family: Child Soldiers of Uganda and the Lord's Resistance Army, p. 206

War crime accusation

On October 6, 2005, the International Criminal Court (ICC) said that the arrest warrants had been given for five members of the Lord's Resistance Army. These were for crimes against humanity. On the next day Ugandan defence minister Amama Mbabazi said that the warrants include Kony, his deputy Vincent Otti, and LRA commanders Raska Lukwiya, Okot Odiambo, and Dominic Ongwen. The Ugandan military says that the Ugandan army killed Lukwiya on August 12, 2006. The BBC heard that Otti had been killed on October 2, 2007, at Kony's home. In November 2022, Al Jazera reported that the  International Criminal Court (ICC) was trying to reopen their court case against Kony.

Bibliography




 References 

 Other websites 
 "Wanted": Joseph Kony on Interpol`s list of wanted persons 

Category:1961 births
Category:Living people
Category:Terrorists
Category:Ugandan people
Category:Missing people