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The Defense team of Joseph Kony, the elusive leader and founder of the notorious Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA) is seeking to expand its team to include Ugandan legal and Investigative professionals.
The International Criminal Court (ICC) in June this year appointed British lawyer Peter Haynes KC to represent the interests of Kony in the confirmation of charges process in his absence.
Kony is facing 33 counts comprising war crimes and crimes against humanity allegedly committed between July 1st, 2002, and 31 December 2005 in northern Uganda.
His defense team led by Haynes last week visited Northern Uganda for the first time since the court assigned it to represent the interests of Kony.
Reliable sources intimated that the defense team’s visit was among others to contact local legal and investigative professionals in the region to expand its membership to include a significant Ugandan presence.
The move comes against the backdrop of recent backlash from African lawyers who criticized the ICC registry of bias in selecting lawyers to represent Joseph Kony.
Kony believed to be 63 years old was indicted by the ICC in 2005 along with four other LRA commanders over charges of war crimes and crimes against humanity but remains at large to date.
