Lenah
Follow us
Justice Hub
  • My Justice
  • News
  • Insights
  • Justice Explained
  • About Us
No Result
View All Result
Justice Hub
  • My Justice
  • News
  • Insights
  • Justice Explained
  • About Us
No Result
View All Result
Justice Hub
No Result
View All Result

Dominic Ongwen’s former bush wife: “Ongwen will be accepted too”

May 24, 2018
in My Justice
0
0
Home My Justice
FacebookTwitterLinkedInWhatsappEmail

Dominic Ongwen, a former commander in Uganda’s notorious Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA), is on trial at the ICC. Florence Ayot (35),  his former bush wife, still hopes that one day he’ll come back so they can be together and take care of their two children.

“I was only nine years old when I was abducted by the Lord’s Resistance Army in 1989.

“In 1996, after my first husband died, I was given to Dominic Ongwen, who was abducted at the age of 10.

“We never quarrelled and he never abused me. Not one single day. He even took care of my first child who wasn’t his. I don’t know what he did exactly at the frontline, but he has a good character. If he were bad hearted, Kony himself would have killed him.

Florence Ayot, one of Dominic Ongwen’s former wives

“There were some instances when Dominic wanted to flee. In 2003 he wanted to come out, but fellow LRA commander Vincent Otti halted him, just before he entered Gulu town. He was taken and imprisoned for one month.

“On the 2nd of October 2004, the Ugandan People’s Defence Force bombed us, and my first child who I did not have with Dominic died. Two weeks later a co-wife I was sharing with Dominc died by an RPG grenade. I was afraid that the same would happen to me. I was afraid for my other children. So I decided to flee. When I came out of the bush, I was first taken to Lira, which at the time was a centre for returnees and later I moved to Gulu. In April 2005, I received amnesty. Up to this day I still have my amnesty card.

Photo: Florence Ayot with amnesty card (Serginho Roosblad/Justice Hub)

“The government should have not sent Dominic to the ICC because it was the government which failed to protect him as a child. He was abducted and is a victim. Secondly, he surrendered and came out willingly and was not captured. So the government should not have sent him to the ICC. They should have pardoned him and given him amnesty.

“I believe the community would allow him to come back and fully accept him. Other rebels who returned and got amnesty were also accepted, so Dominic will be accepted too. Dominic has many children and if government would release they would give him a chance to take care of them.

“The case of those who willingly went into the LRA is different from those who were abducted like Dominic. These men and women should appear in front of a court, but not the ICC. They should be tried in Uganda so that others can come and witness the court proceedings and people can come out and testify.

“I still feel bad about the fact that I was abducted. It wasted my time, and I came back with injuries. I have a bomb splinter in my forehead and a bullet that is still nestled in my leg. I cannot do work that requires a lot of energy. The bomb splinter in my forehead causes a lot of pain, especially when it’s cold.

“But if Dominic would come back, we could join hands and take care of our two children.”

(Photo: Serginho Roosblad/Justice Hub)

My Justice highlights the stories of individuals who work in the field of international justice or who have been affected by it and asks what does justice mean to them. 

Tags: ICC (International Criminal Court)Lord's Resistance Army (LRA)Uganda
ShareTweetShareSendSend

Justice Hub

Justice Hub is an online platform connecting conversations about international justice.

Related Posts

Helen Duffy
My Justice

African women serve in international courts due to their personal agency and not tokenism

by Justice Hub
January 2, 2019
0
63

You can't fail to notice the significant contribution African women judges have been making in international courts and tribunals in...

Read more
Helen Duffy

A legal reckoning for the war on terror

December 1, 2018
199
Don’t be silent! There are so many of us

Don’t be silent! There are so many of us

October 25, 2018
237
Navi Pillay: North Korea has committed grave crimes against its own people

Navi Pillay: North Korea has committed grave crimes against its own people

October 4, 2018
49
Conversations with survivors of the 1994 Rwandan Genocide (Gloriose’s statement)

Conversations with survivors of the 1994 Rwandan Genocide (Gloriose’s statement)

October 1, 2018
74

Justice Hub

Justice Hub is an online platform connecting conversations about international justice.

Justice Hub

Justice Hub is an online platform aimed at a worldwide audience of 18-35 year olds, especially in countries where people are looking for sustainable and innovative solutions to problems of justice, peace and security. Justice can feel too abstract, too often owned by experts. We make the conversations lively and accessible.

Follow Us

Quick Links

  • Featured
  • My Justice
  • News
  • Insights
  • Justice Explained
  • About Us
  • Contact Us
  • Privacy Policy

 

  HPPJ Forum Login
Creative Commons Licence
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.
No Result
View All Result
  • My Justice
  • News
  • Insights
  • Justice Explained
  • About Us

© 2018 Justice Hub

Login to your account below

Forgotten Password?

Fill the forms bellow to register

*By registering into our website, you agree to the Terms & Conditions and Privacy Policy.
All fields are required. Log In

Retrieve your password

Please enter your username or email address to reset your password.

Log In

Login

Lost password?
This website uses cookies. By continuing to use this website you are giving consent to cookies being used. Visit our Privacy and Cookie Policy.

REPUBLISHING TERMS

You may republish this article online or in print under our Creative Commons license. You may not edit or shorten the text, you must attribute the article to Aeon and you must include the author’s name in your republication.

If you have any questions, please email nsharafa@gmail.com

License

Creative Commons License AttributionCreative Commons Attribution
Dominic Ongwen’s former bush wife: “Ongwen will be accepted too”