Directed by Caroline Pare
Dominic Ongwen is both a victim and alleged perpetrator of LRA war crimes. Should he face an international court?
In northern Uganda, Esther Acan's husband and five year old child were hacked to death by LRA rebels and she was forced to kill her infant. She wants justice-at least punishment for the one who commanded the rebels. But the rest of the village who suffered similar atrocities say revenge will not solve their problems. It is better, they say, to forgive the perpetrators and let them come in from the bush in order to gain peace.
But Esther still wants justice, and she has high level support. The International Criminal Court has issued a warrant for Dominic Ongwen, the commander of the rebels who killed her husband and baby. He is to be tried for crimes against humanity. But he was also a victim of a crime, himself abducted by the LRA at the age of 10 and forced to fight for them.
Traditional justice has always allowed murderers to return to the community having compensated, shown remorse and appeased the spirits. Ugandan law accepted this concept through the Amnesty Act, and many LRA rebels are now back in the community having paid no price for the 20 years of killings, abductions and mass displacement of the population. But Ongwen will have to go to The Hague, so he is not coming out of the wilderness.
It leaves a dilemma for justice, but also for Esther. Despite wanting to testify and bring the perpetrators to account, she is scared. The war is not over. Ongwen and the others are still at large. She fears terrible retribution if she is seen with the ICC.
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