Latest news with #NorthernUganda
Zawya
3 days ago
- Politics
- Zawya
Hon. Minister Odongo Jeje Abubakar receives credentials from the new United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) Country Director
Hon. Odongo Jeje Abubakar, Minister of Foreign Affairs, has received copies of Letters of Credence from Ms. Landis Lauren, the incoming Country Director of the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP). The ceremony took place in the Minister's office, at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Ms. Lauren has been working as WFP Country Director for Kenya and has also previously served in various positions within the United Nations system. Hon. Odongo commended the efforts of WFP in providing relief assistance to communities especially in Northern Uganda during times of scarcity. The Minister reiterated Government's commitment to work with WFP to deliver on its mandate in Uganda. Ms. Lauren expressed appreciation to the Government of Uganda for the commitment to the welfare of refugees. She commended the Ugandan Government for having an exemplary refugee policy, where refugees are given land and other basic services to improve their welfare and maintain family bonds. She pledged to further strengthen cooperation between WFP and the Ugandan Government during her tour of duty. Distributed by APO Group on behalf of The Republic of Uganda - Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
BBC News
23-06-2025
- Politics
- BBC News
Lives Less Ordinary Meeting the monster: My 14 days with Joseph Kony
In Judith Obina Okumu's imagination, Joseph Kony was a monster. As leader of the Lord's Resistance Army he'd fought a decades-long war against the government of Yoweri Museveni – displacing and destroying hundreds of thousands of lives across Northern Uganda in the process. But one day, a visit from a stranger would challenge Judith to face her fears. In her role as assistant private secretary to President Museveni, Judith was introduced to Joseph Kony's mother, Nora Anek. After three years of gaining her trust, Judith asked Nora if she would go to meet her son at his forest hideout and persuade him to engage with peace talks. What Judith didn't know was that the President wanted her to go too. She was convinced it was the last journey she'd ever make. But after 14 days of talks, Judith and Nora helped broker peace in Northern Uganda. Lives Less Ordinary is a weekly podcast from the BBC World Service that seeks out the most incredible true stories from around the world. Step into someone else's life and expect the unexpected. Each episode, a guest shares their most intimate and defining personal story. Listen for real-life accounts, unbelievable twists, and inspiring journeys, which prove just how extraordinary the human experience can be. Lives Less Ordinary is brought to you by the team behind Outlook, the home of human storytelling on the BBC World Service for nearly 60 years. Got a story to tell? Send an email to liveslessordinary@ or message us via WhatsApp: 0044 330 678 2784 Presenter: Jo Fidgen Producer: Anna Lacey
Al Arabiya
03-06-2025
- General
- Al Arabiya
ICC to hear war crime charges against fugitive warlord Kony
International Criminal Court judges will hear the war crimes charges against fugitive Ugandan warlord Joseph Kony in September after the court Tuesday slapped down an appeal from his defense team. For the first time in ICC history, the so-called 'confirmation of charges' hearing on September 9 will be held in absentia, with Kony still on the run. He is suspected of 39 counts of war crimes and crimes against humanity, allegedly committed between July 2002 and December 2005 in northern Uganda. Former altar boy and self-styled prophet Kony founded and led Uganda's most brutal rebel group, the Lord's Resistance Army (LRA), in the 1980s. The LRA rebellion against President Yoweri Museveni saw more than 100,000 people killed and 60,000 children abducted in a reign of terror that spread to several neighbouring countries. Kony faces charges including murder, torture, enslavement, pillaging, sexual slavery, rape and forced pregnancy. During the confirmation of charges hearings, judges will decide whether there is sufficient evidence behind the accusations to proceed to trial. However, ICC rules do not allow for a trial to be held in absentia. ICC prosecutors hope that going ahead with the case will expedite any future trial if Kony were to be arrested and handed over to the Hague. Kony's defense team argued the court should not have set a hearing without the accused being present. But a separate appeals court dismissed this argument. 'The appeals chamber finds that the holding of confirmation of hearings in absentia, even without an initial appearance, is consistent with the object and purpose of the statute,' the court ruled. In 2021, the ICC sentenced Dominic Ongwen, a Ugandan child soldier who became a top LRA commander, to 25 years in prison for war crimes and crimes against humanity. Earlier this year, the court confirmed the award of 52 million euros ($59 million) to victims of Ongwen, whose nom de guerre was 'White Ant.'
