ICC Opens Confirmation of Charges Hearing in Joseph Kony Case

THE HAGUE – The International Criminal Court (ICC) on 9 September 2025 opened the long-awaited confirmation of charges hearing in the case of The Prosecutor v. Joseph Kony, the alleged leader of the Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA), accused of atrocities committed in northern Uganda between 2002 and 2005.

The hearing, held before Pre-Trial Chamber III—composed of Presiding Judge Althea Violet Alexis-Windsor, Judge Iulia Motoc, and Judge Haykel Ben Mahfoudh—marks a major step in the decades-long pursuit of justice for victims of the LRA’s brutal campaign.

Joseph Kony, who remains at large since the ICC issued an arrest warrant against him on 8 July 2005 (unsealed on 13 October 2005), faces 39 counts of war crimes and crimes against humanity. The charges include murder, enslavement, sexual slavery, rape, and the conscription of child soldiers.

Originally, the case also involved Raska Lukwiya, Okot Odhiambo, and Vincent Otti, but proceedings against them were terminated following their deaths.

The ICC has made several procedural decisions over the years to allow the confirmation of charges hearing to proceed in Kony’s absence, given his continued evasion of arrest. In November 2023, Pre-Trial Chamber II first authorised the Prosecutor’s request for a hearing in absentia. Subsequent delays followed, but by 29 October 2024, Pre-Trial Chamber III confirmed that all legal requirements for proceeding without the suspect were met.

On 17 April 2025, the Office of the Prosecutor submitted an Amended Document Containing the Charges, expanding the case to 39 counts of war crimes and crimes against humanity committed between 1 July 2002 and 31 December 2005.

The current confirmation of charges hearing, which opened on 9 September 2025, will determine whether there is sufficient evidence to commit Kony to trial before the ICC’s Trial Chamber.

The LRA insurgency, led by Kony for decades, is blamed for mass abductions, killings, and the displacement of millions across northern Uganda and neighbouring countries. Despite the ICC warrant being active for 20 years, Kony remains one of the world’s most elusive fugitives.