The presidential advisor on Northern Uganda, Richard Todwong has appealed to the International Criminal Court (ICC) to consider reconciliation as the only way of punishing members of the Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA) rebels to avoid further conflicts in future.
Moreno Ocampo
He says reconciliation mostly practiced in Africa helps reconcile the victim with the culprit and therefore, allowing the former rebels to live peacefully with the community.
Todwodong says, the LRA leader Joseph Kony and his rebel commanders prefer the traditional approach to justice than the formal approach because it promotes reconciliation.
Kony and his commanders Dominic Ogwen and Odiambo are indicted by the ICC for war crimes and crimes against humanity committed during their over 20 year old Northern Uganda insurgency.
The Uganda presidential advisor appealed to the ICC to consider integrating the traditional African justice systems in international justice systems so that Kony can be lured into signing the Juba Peace Agreement and hence the end of the suffering to the people of Northen Uganda, South Sudan, DR Congo and the Central African Republic.
Kony refused to sign the 2008 Juba peace agreement citing the ICC indictments and delay by the Uganda government to constitutionalise the special section of the high court to try Kony and his commanders for war crimes.