Witnessing Ongwen: a betrayal of expectations?

The trial of Dominic Ongwen before the International Criminal Court (ICC) has been hailed as a milestone, especially because of his conviction for gender-based crimes, including forced marriage and forced pregnancy. Ongwen’s conviction for those crimes was linked to harrowing testimonies of a group of women who were given to him as so-called ‘wives’ during his time as a commander in the Lord’s Resistance Army rebel group. After a successful Article 56 application by the Office of the Prosecutor (OTP), special arrangements were made for these women to act as witnesses in advance of the trial in the Hague, and various assurances were provided to them. Based on ethnographic engagement and in-depth interviews with these witnesses, this article contributes to the literature on witnesses in international criminal trials, and the complexities of victimhood, describing their experiences of testifying, their views about justice, and their current lives. It notes the lack of adequate protection and benefits that have accrued to them. Interviews also occurred with ‘wives’ who testified for the Defence, whose accounts of their experiences are relatively more positive. Concerns are raised about the ICC’s capacity to fulfil basic expectations of victims of the sexual crimes it successfully prosecutes.