The Prosecutor v. Kony et al.

• Allegations & Charges

  Factual Allegations

  The ICC Office of the Prosecutor (OTP) alleges that Vincent Otti is Vice-Chairman and Second-in-Command of the Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA) and that Mr. Otti is, along with Joseph Kony (Chairman and Commander-in-Chief of the LRA) and other senior LRA commanders, a member of the “Control Altar,” which is the leadership group that conceived of, planned, and implemented LRA strategy which included campaigns to attack civilian settlements and standing orders to attack, abduct, and loot civilians. 

  From 2002 to 2004, as alleged by the OTP, Mr. Otti, along with Mr. Kony, planned and implemented six separate attacks in which Mr. Otti and senior LRA commanders armed and ordered LRA forces to do the following: to attack Ugandan government forces and civilians in certain regions and internally displaced camps of Uganda; to murder civilians; to rape and inflict sexual violence against civilians; to abduct and enslave civilians including children as forced laborers, forced fighters, and sexual slaves; and to pillage and destroy property. From 2003 to 2004, Mr. Otti, as alleged by the OTP, acted as “Kony’s commander of the LRA for its operations in Uganda” while Mr. Kony was in southern Sudan. Mr. Otti’s ordered attacks included not only murder, rape, abduction, and enslavement, but also physical mutilations and physical beatings, forced marches and forced labor under threat of death, and mass burnings and lootings of homes. 

  In January 2008, Reuters reported that South Sudan Vice President Riek Machard said that he had been informed by Joseph Kony that Vincent Otti was dead; BBC News reported that Vincent Otti may have been executed on Joseph Kony’s orders. However, as of June 2016, the OTP has not requested termination of proceedings against Mr. Otti. 

  Please visit the Court’s website for more information on The Prosecutor v. Kony et al.

  Charges

  The Accused is alleged to have ordered, solicited, or induced the commission of the crimes listed below under Article 25(3)(b).

  Under this mode of criminal liability, the Accused is charged with the following atrocity crimes:

  Murder (Crime against Humanity): Article 7(1)(a)

  Sexual Slavery (Crime against Humanity): Article 7(1)(g)

  Inhumane Acts (Crime against Humanity): Article 7(1)(k)

  Inducing Rape (War Crime): Article 8(2)(e)(vi)-1

  Directing an Attack against Civilians (War Crime): Article 8(2)(e)(i)

  Enlisting Child Soldiers (War Crime): Article 8(2)(e)(vii)

  Cruel Treatment of Civilians (War Crime): Article 8(2)(c)(i)-3

  Pillaging (War Crime): Article 8(2)(e)(v)

  Murder (War Crime): Article 8(2)(c)(i)-1

• Key Events

  • Pre-Trial Chamber II issued a sealed arrest warrant for Vincent Otti on July 8, 2005, which was unsealed on October 13, 2005. 

    As of June 2016, Mr. Otti remains at-large, but there are reports that the Suspect is deceased (Reuters; BBC News). 

  • Arrest warrant (issued under seal on July 8, 2005; unsealed on October 13, 2005) 

    Arrest Warrant Issued : July 8, 2005