Joseph Kony – A career killer

Who is joseph Kony

Joseph Kony, is the rebel leader of the Lords resistance Army (LRA), his rebel group is well known for killing, abducting, mutilating thousands and displacing millions in South Sudan, Uganda, DR Congo and Central African Republic since 1986.

His heinous acts have attracted alot of international condemnation from even the unusual figures like the popular US TV show queen, Oprah Winfrey. During her show in 2006, Oprah described the LRA's inhuman activities in Northern Uganda as an 'African Holocust'.

Deadlocked Joseph Kony

 The US government placed Kony in 2008 on it's list of specially designated global terrorist with dire consquencies of financial freeze and travel bans. But, does Kony care? A man with no known assets except guns and a satelite phone which he keeps a distance apart to avoid being tracked and killed the Savimbi way – a former Angola rebel leader.

The LRA's chief life rotates around the bush, where he has lived for the last 24 years. His only known friends are his brutal militants he presides over.

Born to a lay Catholic Church Apostle father and an Anglican mother in the Northern Uganda district of Gulu in 1961, Kony himself an altar boy in his teenage years and a village witchdoctor in his early 20's, claims to follow the Christian Bible Ten Commandments.

But, does the LRA chief follow the ten commandments in his military persuit for Uganda's top leadership. The sixth commandment says, 'you shall not murder,’ Kony has murdered thousands of people in his over 20 year rebellion against the government.

Kony first joined the Holy Spirit Movement of Alice Lakwena, his cousin, whose soldiers smeared their bodies with blessed oil to stop bullets and launched a successful guerrilla movement against the government forces until their defeat in the late 1980’s.

One wonders whether, the defeat of Lakwena was a result of loss of spiritual powers because; many of her soldiers lost their lives in battles with government forces from bullets they claimed to stop.

Later, Kony reorganized the defeated Holy Spirit Movement fighters to form the LRA. The LRA chief initially used the same Lakwena’s tactic of smearing his soldiers with blessed oil to stop bullets but, later abandoned it after failing to work for him.

An indicted criminal of the International Criminal Court (ICC) for war crimes and crimes against humanity, Kony remained a mystery until 2006, when he appeared to the cameras with the South Sudan Vice President Riek Marchar in the jungles of South Sudan. This was an attempt to open up for peace negotiations with the government of Uganda.

Prior to the Marchar meeting, his only known image for years was of a dreadlocked murderer, forest witch and a polygamist.

Kony's brutal and elusive rebel tactics has continues to put the lives of millions of people in the four countries of South Sudan, Uganda, DR Congo and Central African Republic in danger. Continued attempts to sign the United Nations sponsored Juba peace agreement has failed to reap any fruits. His demands for signing the Juba Peace Agreement looks impossible for anybody to fulfill for a rebel leader who rarely follows his words. During the start of peace negotiations in South Sudan, Kony would attack villages killing, abducting, stealing and destroying people's properties in South Sudan and DR Congo villages days after signing the ceasefire agreements.

To his supporters, including, a PhD holder in psychology, Dr David Nyekorach Matsanga, Kony is a freedom fighter. Matsanga who, recently declared his intentions to run for the president of Uganda in 2011, was until last year (2009) the head of the LRA Juba Peace negotiating team.

The LRA no longer operates in Uganda, but their continued presence thousands of miles away in the Jungles of DR Congo and Central African Republic remains a threat to the people of Northern Uganda, who are slowly returning to their homes after spending years in camps depending on government and donors for handouts of food, medicine and other basic necessities.

His weaknesses

He has killed, mutilated and abducted even his own people (Acholi's), although he sometimes calls himself a liberator of the Acholi people. He lacks support even among his own people to enable the success of his military struggle. He sentenced to death, the popular Acholi opposition politician and the current president of the Democratic Party Norbert Mao for criticising his atrocious acts (the death sentence has never been carried out).

Kony with his children

The LRA chief is over ambitious planning to rule the country on the christian bible ten commandments, in a country with many religious beliefs. Such a system of governance, is unaceptable and likely to cause more conflicts emanating from other religious groups like the moslems. Although, Uganda is predominatly a christian country, his belief in witchcraft and heinous crimes committed over the years haven't won him any admiration from christians.

Kony extends his murderous acts to even his own fighters, resulting into loss of morale and confidence in him. This explains big numbers of defections in the rebel ranks. He has killed all his deputies since the beggining of his rebellion. LRA's deputies Otti Lagony, James Opoka and Vincent Otti, were brutally murdered for disrespecting or disagreeing with their boss and who knows what will happen to Okot Odhiambo the current LRA deputy. On the other hand, brutal killings of his senior fighters help instill fear, and makes him (Kony) a magical being who knows and hears what everyone around him thinks and says to stop any internal revolts and escape.

His stregnths

He is elusive, mysterious and even mythical, making it hard for the Ugandan army to capture him. The latest attempt to capture him was in 2008, during the Operation Lightening thunder by the Ugandan Army in the Congo forest of Garamba, only his guitar and a few of his household belongings were found. He claims to use witchcraft to foretell danger and escape in advance. During the failed peace talks of 1994, the entrance to his base was guarded by men wearing robes sprinkling holy water.

Uganda President Museveni

Kony is a skilled guerrilla military fighter, his handful military men and women currently, numbering below 500 using improvised weapons have destabilized countries with hundreds of thousands of soldiers and sophiscated military weaponry. He has trained his militants to be fierce, walk long distances and survive on less food in food scarce forested areas.

He has a network of supporters in the Diaspora, who help give some form of legitimacy to the rebellion and maybe funding. All the nine people on his Juba Peace Negotiating Team are Ugandans living in the Diaspora. The head of the LRA peace negotiating team until 2009, Dr David Nyekorach Matsanga stays in the United Kingdom. If the Uganda government allegations against the government of Sudan for funding the LRA are true, then Kony has a lot of weapons at his disposal to cause any form of mayhem.

Joseph Kony during the start of peace negotiations

Whether, Kony will get out of the bush or not remains a risky bet, the great lakes region where the LRA operates has unoccupied forests and savannah land where the rebels can freely roam. Other countries like DR Congo and South Sudan are not stable enough to stop the rebels from establishing bases there. Maybe, an assassination or capture if the rebel chief completely fails to sign the peace agreement will put a smile on the faces of millions.

Also see a video of Joseph Kony by Invisible Children Organisation



Photos: womenontherun.se, vanityfair.com, thesituationist.wordpress.com, www.pinknews.co.uk