Former rebel Dominic Ongwen’s trial to be live streamed in Northern Uganda

The inetrnational Criminal Court (ICC) in partnership with  the Danish Embassy in Uganda will provide residents of Acholi sub-region with TV sets and radios to enable them follow proceedings of the trial of the former LRA commander Dominic Ongwen at Hague in Netherlands.

Ugandans following the trial in 2016

“We are providing live video screening in 24 places in Northern Uganda as well as  Coorom, where Ongwen originates from “, said Maria  Mabinty Kamara ICC Outreach Officer for Kenya and Uganda at Kawempe Kampala. The latter along side the ICC registrar Mr Herman von Hebel, and H.E. Ambassador of Denmark to Uganda, Mr Mogens Pedersen, launched an “Access to Justice” project while commemorating the International Day of Justice.

This project is meant to effectuate information dissemination among the communities affected by the conflict in northern Uganda especially the victims and the bereaved who had complained to have received less updates regarding the perpetrator’s trials.

Hebel noted that “this Project that we are inaugurating comes as a response to an enormous amount of interests that the victims and affected communities, as well as the other stakeholders, have shown in following the proceedings of the Dominic Ongwen trial . It is our purpose, to transform these local interests into popular participation and ownership of the processes, and to strengthen local confidence in the Court’s work and in justice and accountability in general. It is our profound confidence, that this project will help us to bring the ICC courtrooms to every single member of the affected community”

The Danish International Development Agency (DANIDA) has funded the project through a grant of 210,000 euros to see through execution of Justice access ability in Northern Uganda.

Dominic Ongwen whose trial begun on December 6, 2016 before the ICC in the Hague is being charged with 70 counts of war crimes and crimes against humanity allegedly committed in northern Uganda while in the service of the Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA).  In this war lives were claimed,maimed and traumatized.

Aside from providing live screening in different places, the ICC field officer will create and maintain interactive radio programmes and listening clubs through which the affected population could follow and discuss the trial; facilitate travels for cultural and religious leaders as well as journalists to attend trial proceedings at the seat of the Court in the Hague; and facilitate sharing those leaders’ experiences related to the trial proceedings with affected communities.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published.

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.