A captured Ugandan rebel commander made his first public appearance Monday at a hearing before the International Criminal Court, where he stands accused of crimes including murder and enslavement.
Speaking calmly in his native Acholi dialect, Dominic Ongwen, a commander in the Lord’s Resistance Army, the rebel group that has terrorized parts of sub-Saharan Africa for decades, identified himself as a former child soldier born in northern Uganda in 1975. He also said “I’d like to thank God for creating Heaven and Earth, together with everyone that’s on Earth.”
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A warrant for Mr. Ongwen’s arrest was issued by the court in 2005 on three counts of crimes against humanity and four counts of war crimes, including enslavement, murder, pillaging and intentionally attacking a civilian population.
