Congo warlords pass buck to Uganda at Hague trial
by TABU BUTAGIRA & AGENCIES on 26 Nov 2009 | Comments
Kampala/The Hague
Uganda was an architect and beneficiary of tribalised bloodshed in eastern DRC in 2003, the International Criminal Court heard on Tuesday at the trial of two Congolese war crimes’ suspects.
The allegations, immediately denied by the Ugandan military, if proven, would potentially set up some of the country’s generals who participated in the Congo war for possible future prosecution.
DRC’s Germain Katanga, 31, the former commander of Patriotic Resistance Force (FRPI) and his National Integrationist Front (FNI) counterpart, Mr Mathieu Ngudjolo, are being prosecuted in The Hague, The Netherlands on 10 counts of war crimes and crimes against humanity.
Defence counsels David Hooper and Jean-Pierre Kilenda raised the alleged complicity of Uganda and Rwandan armies while arguing the innocence of their clients indicted for the massacre of up to 200 people, mainly in Bogoro village.
ICC Chief Prosecutor Luis Moreno-Ocampo said hundreds of attackers raided Bogoro village in Ituri province one morning, shooting and raping residents, including those found sleeping.
The highest Uganda authorities “hammered out a plan” to force the then Thomas Lubanga-led Union of Patriotic Congolese (UPC) militia group out of the region to gain direct control of the strategic military site, lawyer Kalende said.
UPDF denies
Mr Lubanga, in custody at the same court for allegedly enlisting minors as fighters, was a military protégée of Uganda before other militia groups won the country’s providence.
Yesterday, Lt. Col. Felix Kulayigye, the army spokesman, said the accused should carry their cross because Uganda’s uniformed officers “have no blood on their hands.”
“The purpose of our involvement was to save lives. We only trained Congolese to defend themselves,” he said.
Those who died, he said, were killed by militias, FRPI and FNI inclusive. International NGOs estimate some four million Congolese died during the six-year war.
“These [killings] had nothing to do with Uganda’s involvement in the DRC. If anything, our presence returned sanity and indeed prepared the ground for the process to pacify Ituri (province) agreed upon (by regional leaders) in the Lusaka Peace Accord,” Lt. Col. Kulayigye said.
Sour marriage
Uganda and Rwanda, in 1997, invaded DRC as allies to annihilate the Allied Democratic Forces (ADF) and Intarahamwe (comprising mainly runaway 1994 genocide masterminds) belligerent forces.
However, once inside and largely propelled by the allure of DRC’s invaluable gems, the UPDF and Rwandan army overthrew President Laurent Kabila and later turned the barrel on one another in the ruinous Kisangani clashes.
A UN panel of experts indicted senior Ugandan military officers and associated businessmen for plundering Congolese minerals and forest resources. Uganda was later ordered to pay a compensation of $10 billion (Shs18 trillion) for theft of DRC’s treasures.
from The Daily Monitor
U.P.D.F