Joseph Kony

Joseph Kony (born 1961 in Odek, a village to east of Gulu in northern Uganda) is the primary leader of a guerrilla paramilitary group, and possibly new religious movement, called the Lord's Resistance Army (LRA), that is engaged in a violent campaign to establish a theocratic government in Uganda reportedly based on the Bible and the Ten Commandments. The LRA, which has earned a terrifying reputation for its brutality against the people of northern Uganda, has abducted an estimated 20,000 children over the years.^[1] Image File history File links Joseph Kony, leader of the Ugandan rebel group the Lords Resistance Army. ... 1961 (MCMLXI) was a common year starting on Sunday (the link is to a full 1961 calendar). ... Location of Gulu within Uganda. ... Guerrilla War redirects here. ... A paramilitary organization is a group of civilians trained and organised in a military fashion. ... A new religious movement or NRM is a religious, ethical, or spiritual grouping of fairly recent origin which is not part of an established religion and has not yet become recognised as a standard denomination, church, or religious body. ... The Lords Resistance Army (LRA)[1], formed in 1987, is a rebel paramilitary group operating mainly in northern Uganda. ... The term theocracy is commonly used to describe a form of government in which a religion or faith plays the dominant role. ... The Gutenberg Bible owned by the United States Library of Congress The Bible (Hebrew: תנ״ך tanakh, Greek: η Βίβλος hē biblos, the book) (sometimes The Holy Bible, The Book, Work of God, The Word of God, The Word, The Good Book, Scripture, or The Scriptures), is the name used by Jews and Christians... The Ten Commandments on a monument on the grounds of the Texas State Capitol This 1768 parchment (612x502 mm) by Jekuthiel Sofer emulated 1675 decalogue at the Esnoga synagogue of Amsterdam The Ten Commandments, or Decalogue, are a list of religious and moral imperatives which, according to religious tradition, were...

A high-school dropout, Kony made his first appearance in January 1987, at age 26. His group was one of many millenarian groups that sprang up in Acholiland in the wake of the wildly popular Holy Spirit Movement of Alice Auma. However, the conflict in the north began in the resentment among the Acholis at their relative loss of influence after the coming to power of Yoweri Museveni in 1986 through the defeat of Acholi President Tito Okello. While the initial resistance to the National Resistance Army in 1986 was by the Uganda People's Democratic Army, the UPDA collapsed in 1988. 1987 (MCMLXXXVII) was a common year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Millenarianism or millenarism is the belief by a religious, social, or political group or movement in a coming major transformation of society after which all things will be changed in a positive (or sometimes negative or ambiguous) direction. ... Categories: Stub | Uganda ... The Holy Spirit Movement (HSM) was the Ugandan rebel group led by Alice Auma, a spirit-medium under the direction of the spirit Lakwena. ... Book cover with photo Alice Auma (b. ... Acholiland, Uganda Children in an IDP camp in Kitgum The Acholi are an ethnolinguistic group of the upper Nile valley dwelling on the east bank of the White Nile, about a hundred miles north of Lake Albert. ... Yoweri Kaguta Museveni became President of Uganda on January 29, 1986. ... 1986 (MCMLXXXVI) was a common year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Tito Okello (1914 - June 3, 1996) was the leader of Uganda from July 1985 until January 1986. ... The National Resistance Army (NRA) began as a guerilla army of Uganda in the 1980s, led by Yoweri Museveni. ... The Uganda Peoples Democratic Army (UPDA) was a rebel group operating in northern Uganda from March 1986 to June 1988. ... 1988 (MCMLXXXVIII) was a leap year starting on Friday of the Gregorian calendar. ...

Kony claims to be a spirit medium. The primary spirit said to be channeled during the early insurgency was Juma Oris, formerly a government minister under President Idi Amin who at the time was leading the rebel West Nile Bank Front in the northwestern Uganda. Another is the spirit of a Chinese general. Kony is a practising polygamist. For other meanings of medium, see medium (disambiguation). ... Juma Oris was a rebel leader in the West Nile region of Uganda in the early 1990s. ... The President of Uganda is the head of state in Uganda. ... Idi Amin on a ten-shilling note Idi Amin (May 17, 1924[1] – August 16, 2003) was an army officer and President of Uganda (1971 to 1979). ... The West Nile Bank Front (WNBF) was a rebel armed force in Uganda under the command of Juma Oris. ... To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article or section may require cleanup. ...

This is what one of the abductees that escaped from Kony observed:

"It was a strange religion Kony adhered to. He prayed to the God of the Christians on Sundays reciting the Rosary and quoting the bible; but he also did the Al-Jummah prayer on Fridays, like the Muslims. He celebrated Christmas, but he also fasted for 30 days during Ramadan and prohibited the consumption of pork." However, similar syncretic religious practices are not unknown elsewhere in the world, e.g. Druze.

There have been many observations of Kony traveling to Sudan and receiving supplies from Khartoum (currently an Islamic government). The apparent belief in two different religions may be to serve two purposes. They claim to believe in Christianity in order to gain acceptability in the conservative dedicated rural Christian community in which they operate, although it appears Christians and other non-Muslims are their primary targets, as in Sudan. It is reasoned their attempt is to be a proxy disconnecting itself in all appearance from its main backers in Sudan. It must be noted Uganda's proximity to the similarly troubled regions of Sudan where the Non-Muslim and black populations are killed and displaced by the Janjaweed militia. The Druze (Arabic: darazī درزي, pl. ...

The LRA is based in northern Uganda. At the end of 2003, the LRA made an incursion outside of their traditional areas of operation in Acholiland into the Teso regions. The Ugandan government has declared that the LRA has been defeated three times since 1986. LRA lieutenants have sporadically engaged in negotiations with the government since 2003, though Kony's negotiating position is ambiguous. 2003 (MMIII) was a common year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Categories: Stub | Uganda ... TESO was a famous hacker group, which originated in Austria and quickly became international. ...

Indictment

On October 6, 2005 it was announced by the International Criminal Court (ICC) that arrest warrants had been issued for five members of the Lord's Resistance Army for crimes against humanity following a sealed indictment. On the next day Ugandan defense minister Amama Mbabazi revealed that the warrants include Joseph Kony, his deputy Vincent Otti, and LRA commanders Raska Lukwiya, Okot Odiambo and Dominic Ongwen. Room of child night commuters This is the bibliography and reference section for the Lords Resistance Army series. ... October 6 is the 279th day of the year (280th in leap years). ... 2005 (MMV) was a common year starting on Saturday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Official logo of the ICC. The International Criminal Court (ICC) was established in 2002 as a permanent tribunal to prosecute individuals for genocide, crimes against humanity, and war crimes, as defined by several international agreements, most prominently the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court. ... The Lords Resistance Army (LRA)[1], formed in 1987, is a rebel paramilitary group operating mainly in northern Uganda. ... A crime against humanity is a term in international law that refers to acts of murderous persecution against a body of people, as being the criminal offence above all others. ... A defence minister (Commonwealth English) or defense minister (American English) is a cabinet portfolio (position) which regulates the armed forces in a sovereign nation. ... Amama Mbabazi and Paul Wolfowitz in November 2003 Amama Mbabazi (born January 16, 1949) is the Ugandan Minister of Security. ... Vincent Otti (born ca. ... Raska Lukwiya is the third highest ranking leader of the Lords Resistance Army rebel group founded in northern Uganda. ... Okot Odhiambo is a senior leader of the Lords Resistance Army rebel group founded in northern Uganda in 1987. ... Dominic Ongwen (d. ...

A week later, on October 13, ICC Chief Prosecutor Luis Moreno Ocampo released details on Kony's indictment. There are 33 charges, 12 counts are crimes against humanity, which include murder, enslavement, sexual enslavement and rape. There are another 21 counts of war crimes which include murder, cruel treatment of civilians, intentionally directing an attack against a civilian population, pillaging, inducing rape, and forced enlisting of children into the rebel ranks. Ocampo said that "Kony was abducting girls to offer them as rewards to his commanders." [2] October 13 is the 286th day of the year (287th in leap years). ... Luis Moreno Ocampo is the Chief Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court (ICC). ...

The Ugandan military has attempted to kill Kony for most of the insurgency.

References

1. ^ p.73 Aboke Girls by Els De Temmerman [1]

External links

• I want peace, but Museveni is the problem, says Kony , transcript of Joseph Kony's call in to a political talk show on the Mega FM radio station broadcasting from Gulu on 28 December 2002
• J. Carter Johnson, Deliver Us from Kony, Christianity Today, January 2006
• Portrait of Uganda's rebel prophet, painted by wives, Mail & Guardian, 10 February 2006
• Sam Farmar, Uganda rebel leader breaks silence (interview with downloadable audio in MP3 format), BBC Newsnight, 28 June 2006
• Ochola John, LRA victim: 'I cannot forget and forgive', BBC, 29 June 2006
• Profile: Ugandan rebel Joseph Kony, BBC News profile from 2005