The ICC just said victims of a Ugandan war leader will receive 52 million euros, which equals about 7.4 billion Kenyan shillings. These people suffered under Dominic Ongwen, known as "White Ant," who worked for Joseph Kony's Lord's Resistance Army. Ongwen must spend 25 years in jail for horrible crimes like murder, rape, and making people into slaves.
Last year, judges ordered money for almost 50,000 victims. Each person gets 750 euros plus other help. Ongwen tried to fight this decision, but the appeals court said no. Judge Solomy Balungi Bossa from Uganda announced that everyone agreed he must pay. Ongwen watched through video wearing a dark suit with a red tie.
His life story raises hard questions because someone kidnapped him at age nine on his way to school. The LRA began thirty years ago when Joseph Kony, once a Catholic altar boy who called himself a prophet, started fighting against President Museveni. Their group killed more than 100,000 people and took 60,000 children. The violence spread to Sudan, Congo, and the Central African Republic.
Court records show Ongwen ordered his soldiers to kill more than 130 people living in refugee camps between 2002 and 2005. The court knew about his kidnapping as a "defenseless child" but said this did not excuse what he did later. Because Ongwen cannot pay himself from his Norwegian prison cell, the Trust Fund for Victims will handle giving money to those who suffered.
Ongwen gave himself up to American special forces searching for Kony in early 2015. They sent him to the ICC for trial. The court plans to bring charges against Kony himself on September 9, even though he remains missing. Kony continues to hide after decades of leading one of Africa's most brutal rebel groups.
Last year, judges ordered money for almost 50,000 victims. Each person gets 750 euros plus other help. Ongwen tried to fight this decision, but the appeals court said no. Judge Solomy Balungi Bossa from Uganda announced that everyone agreed he must pay. Ongwen watched through video wearing a dark suit with a red tie.
His life story raises hard questions because someone kidnapped him at age nine on his way to school. The LRA began thirty years ago when Joseph Kony, once a Catholic altar boy who called himself a prophet, started fighting against President Museveni. Their group killed more than 100,000 people and took 60,000 children. The violence spread to Sudan, Congo, and the Central African Republic.
Court records show Ongwen ordered his soldiers to kill more than 130 people living in refugee camps between 2002 and 2005. The court knew about his kidnapping as a "defenseless child" but said this did not excuse what he did later. Because Ongwen cannot pay himself from his Norwegian prison cell, the Trust Fund for Victims will handle giving money to those who suffered.
Ongwen gave himself up to American special forces searching for Kony in early 2015. They sent him to the ICC for trial. The court plans to bring charges against Kony himself on September 9, even though he remains missing. Kony continues to hide after decades of leading one of Africa's most brutal rebel groups.
