Since 1986, the LRA has been forcibly abducting people to join its ranks. But as support for the rebels quickly faded and the ranks of the LRA diminished, Kony started giving orders for his combatants to abduct children. But why did he decide that child soldiers were the best way to wage his war against the Ugandan government?
We believe the main reason is that children are considered to be more susceptible to indoctrination, which makes them easy prey for armed groups. Dragged into a violent conflict before their own moral compasses have developed, they become unable to discern right from wrong – ideal targets for Kony to then manipulate and control.
Jeannie Annan, a Yale University psychologist who headed the Survey for War-Affected Youth, said that it is easy for a child’s captors to subvert his/her normal desire to please (by getting good grades, for example) into an urge to do well at killing and abducting. Furthermore, the belief that Kony can control minds and is possessed by spirits instills fear in LRA-affected communities and abductees.
The LRA uses a variety of methods to control abducted children
After children are abducted, they are forced to go through rituals designed to break them down and disconnect them from their past lives. Some are forced to watch their parents being killed. Others are told to kill their parents themselves. Young girls are sexually enslaved as “wives” to LRA commanders, becoming subjected to rape, unwanted pregnancies and the risk of sexually transmitted diseases.
Throughout it all, they are made to believe that escape is impossible – they are told that their families, if still alive, would never take them back, and that the government would kill them if they tried to return home. Moreover, Kony tells these abductees that he has the ability to know everything they think. The price of disobedience is clear; they are forced to kill other children who attempt escape by beating them with a log or branch while the rest watch.
Kony prevents children from wanting to escape by giving them important roles at a young age
After going through brutal indoctrination, a child’s goal is often to please his/her leader and to do “good” in that person’s eyes. A good example of this is is Dominic Ongwen, one of the commanders indicted alongside Joseph Kony. Abducted at the age of 10, he rose through the LRA ranks quickly, becoming a major at 18 and a brigadier in his late 20s. Kony himself promoted Ongwen, who became known for his courage on the battlefield and for carrying out brutal attacks against civilians.
A picture of Dominic Ongwen taken during the Juba Peace Talks in 2008.
In 2005, the International Criminal Court indicted Ongwen on seven counts, including enslavement, making him the first person to be charged by the court for committing the same crime committed against him. He is thought to be the most courageous, loyal and brutal of men who serve Kony.
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