Ocampo victory in Congo warlord case

Congolese militia boss Thomas Lubanga on Wednesday became the first person to be convicted by the International Criminal Court after he was found guilty of war crimes for using children in his rebel army.

It is the first conviction in the ICC’s 10-year history.

Four Kenyans — Deputy Prime minister Uhuru Kenyatta, Eldoret North MP William Ruto, Head of Civil Service Francis Muthaura and radio presenter Joshua Sang — are awaiting trial at the same court.

Lubanga, who has been in custody for six years, now faces the prospect of life in prison, if the judges decide that his crimes were so severe as to warrant the maximum penalty.

Alternatively, the judges could hand him the lesser penalty, up to 30 years imprisonment, if his actions are not deemed to have been of extreme gravity.

The ICC system, unlike, say Kenya’s legal system, allows such variations in sentencing. Lubanga also faces the prospect of financial ruin as the court will make another ruling on compensating victims of his crimes.

Considered a wealthy man whose militia controlled land, timber and mineral resources, Lubanga’s property in Belgium and the Democratic Republic of Congo was traced by the ICC.

The ICC has powers to force suspects to pay either individual or groups of victims compensation.

The compensation can be in the form of direct payments, construction of community facilities such as a hospital or place of worship.

Perpetrators of crimes can also be made to apologise to victims during direct meetings.

Lubanga, 51, was found guilty of enlisting child soldiers to fight for his militia in a gold-rich region during the bloody four-year war in the Democratic Republic of Congo which ended in 2003.

He will now wait until late next month to know his sentence, following his request that the Chamber holds a separate sentencing hearing.

According to the Rome Statutes, the convict will be subjected to a term not exceeding 30 years, or life imprisonment.

The law also allows Lubanga to appeal Wednesday’s decision within 30 days after receiving the French translation of the ruling.

The ICC judges will also, after April 18, determine what kind of compensation will be awarded to the victims and whether it is Mr Lubanga who will pay or the ICC.

“The chamber reached its decision unanimously that the prosecution has proved Thomas Lubanga guilty of crimes of conscription and enlisting children under the age of 15 and used them to participate in hostilities,” presiding Judge Adrian Fulford said in the ruling.

The British judge also said the prosecution evidence demonstrated that children endured harsh training regimens and were subjected to hard punishment.

He added that the evidence demonstrated that the children were deployed and took part in the fighting.

Lubanga’s trial, the first at the ICC, commenced on January 26, 2009 when he pleaded not guilty to the charges and the closing oral statements took place on August 25 and 26 last year.

He was first transferred to The Hague on March 16, 2006 after the ICC issued a sealed arrest warrant against him on February 20, 2006.

Prosecutors told the court that militia under Lubanga’s control abducted and conscripted children as young as 11 from their homes, schools and football fields to serve as soldiers, and that young girls were used as sex slaves.

Judge Adrian Fulford and his colleagues, Elizabeth Odio Benito and René Blattmann, found that the evidence presented by the Prosecutor established beyond reasonable doubt that Lubanga’s contribution was essential to the common plan.

During the three-year trial which took a total of 204 days of hearings, the Chamber heard 36 witnesses, including three experts, called by the Prosecutor, 24 witnesses called by the defence and three witnesses called by the legal representatives of the victims participating in the proceedings. The Chamber also called four experts.

A total of 129 victims, represented by two teams of legal representatives and the Office of Public Counsel for Victims, were granted the right to participate in the trial.

The prosecution said that a common plan was agreed by Lubanga and his co-perpetrators to build an army for the purpose of establishing and maintaining political and military control over Ituri.

This resulted in boys and girls under the age of 15 being conscripted and enlisted, and used to participate actively in hostilities.

According to the prosecution, Lubanga was the President of the Union of Congolese Patriots (UPC), the Commander-in-Chief of its military wing, the Patriotic Force for the Liberation of the Congo, (FPLC) and its political leader.

“He exercised an overall coordinating role regarding the activities of the UPC/FPLC and he actively supported recruitment initiatives, for instance by giving speeches to the local population and the recruits. Furthermore, he personally used children below the age of 15 amongst his bodyguards,” the prosecution told the court.

At present, 14 other cases are before the ICC, three of which are at trial stage. The ICC Judges have issued 20 warrants of arrest (two withdrawn following the death of the suspects) and nine summonses to appear. Currently, five people are in ICC custody and 11 suspects remain at large.