Uganda sets up war crimes tribunal for rebels
By Frank Nyakairu
KAMPALA, May 27 (Reuters) - Uganda has appointed judges to preside over a special war crimes tribunal to try leaders of the rebel Lord's Resistance Army (LRA), which the rebels hope will help them avoid prosecution by an international court.
LRA's head Joseph Kony faces 33 counts at the International Criminal Court (ICC) for crimes committed during a 21-year-old insurgency that has killed tens of thousands of people and displaced 2 million.
The tribunal was agreed upon during on and off peace talks between the government and the rebels but the two have failed to sign a final peace agreement.
"We have come up with ... the people who will be behind this special court, which will be mandated to handle serious crimes and human rights abuses that amount to war crimes," Principal Judge James Ogoola told Reuters.
"We still have a lot of work to do. We have to come up with a special law which has to be enacted by government to make sure that these prosecutions suit international standards," said Ogoola, who will head the three-judge tribunal.
Though the Ugandan constitution allows for a death penalty, Ogoola said the proposed law would exclude the sentence to suit international standards.
During two year-long peace talks mediated by southern Sudan, Kony agreed to be tried in Uganda and said he would not leave the bush until the Hague-based ICC dropped its arrest warrants.
The last four meetings scheduled for the signing of a peace deal have ended in failure when he failed to show up.
"The government will continue pursuing the peaceful options until Kony or the chief mediator tells us that the peace talks have been called off," said Captain Chris Magezi, Uganda's negotiation team spokesman.
Kony and his two deputies are wanted by the ICC for abducting children for sex slaves or to use as porters, massacres and mutilations. (Editing by Helen Nyambura-Mwaura) (For full Reuters Africa coverage and to have your say on the top issues, visit: africa.reuters.com/)
