Ugandan Anglican bishop defends rebel commander accused of war crimes

In its heyday, the Ugandan rebel force known as the Lord’s Resistance Army was accused of killing more than 100,000 people, abducting 60,000 to 100,000 children, and displacing more than 2.5 million civilians.

Yet a retired Anglican bishop in northern Uganda says he is ready to defend a top LRA commander who was accused of war crimes and crimes against humanity by the International Criminal Court in The Hague.

Nelson Onono-Onweng said rebel commander Dom­inic Ongwen was a victim of circumstance, having been abducted at the age of ten and transformed into a ma­raud­ing killer.