The court in The Hague also rejected Thursday’s appeal against the 25-year sentence to which Ongwen was sentenced in a first trial.
Ongwen was convicted in May 2021 of war crimes and crimes against humanity in Uganda, including murder, mutilation, sexual violence and the use of child soldiers. For many years, Ongwen was the commander of the infamous Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA) militia.
The presiding judge argued that the sentence should be renegotiated because Ongwen herself was a child soldier and had traumatic experiences. However, the majority of the House voted in favor of maintaining the sentence imposed. The 47-year-old was kidnapped at the age of nine and turned into a soldier.
The presiding judge had pointed out that as an innocent child, Ongwen had been kidnapped, indoctrinated, enslaved and forced into acts of violence. As a further reason for a reduced sentence, she stated that the defense had complained that the high number of victims had been taken into account several times. However, the majority of the House disagreed.
For decades, the Lord’s Resistance Army was one of the most murderous militia groups in Uganda and neighboring countries. Ongwen was one of the deputies of notorious LRA chief Joseph Kony, who is still a fugitive. He surrendered in early 2015, but dismissed the allegations against him as untrue.
(SDA)