Who is joseph kony

These are the core obsessions that drive our newsroom—defining topics of seismic importance to the global economy. Our emails are made to shine in your inbox, with something fresh every morning, afternoon, and weekend. Under their commander, Joseph Kony, the group became notorious for its brutal violence and use of child soldiers. But few images of the group are available. My newly published book Rebel Lives. It gives an unprecedented view into the lives of those involved in the rebel movement.

But the group turned against the people they claimed to protect, particularly during the s and s. They abducted civilians—mostly children—on a large scale. The photographs were mainly taken in and , when the Ugandan army chased the rebels from their bases in southern Sudan. The photos are testimony to this period. Most were taken by two of the highest commanders—Charles Tabuley and Vincent Otti—who were in charge of this mission. The photos have a profound ambiguity.

They illustrate the tension between extreme violence and the everyday lives of the rebels. They show abducted young men and women who have been exposed to large degrees of violence — and who have been committing these acts themselves.

At the same time, they also show how, within this context of extreme violence, life continues to be surprisingly ordinary. I collected the photographs during many years of research in the region. They came from various people including former rebels, traditional and religious leaders and journalists. For the past three years, I have worked with a local research team led by a former rebel to trace the former soldiers in the photographs: to ask for their permission to use the photographs and understand their meanings.

We found a great deal of information from female ex-LRA members, who usually stayed longer in the rebel group. Many of the photographs are of a striking normality: they depict scenes of families posing during celebrations, young men trying to look cool, young women showing off their nicest dresses and couples in love.

They make for uncomfortable viewing. These ordinary scenes were being photographed against a backdrop of great violence. They slaughtered , looted, abducted, burned, raped and disfigured people. Moreover, the rebels themselves had been exposed to extreme violence within the LRA, as most of them were abducted. War reporting and analysis often focuses on the spectacular: on violence, suffering, and horror. Conflicts also constitute a time of intense bonding between members of armed groups, as dangers and sorrows are shared, protection is sought, and friendships are made.

When discussing the photographs with the former rebels, I would often get surprising reactions: some of the former rebels spoke of their time in the army with a certain melancholy. They spoke about friendships they nourished, spiritual miracles they witnessed and the power they felt. They would speak of the nice clothes they had, and the celebrations they organized. At first sight, the photographs mirror practices in wider Ugandan society, and are not very different from ordinary family photos.

They show people posing as friends, in pairs, suggesting a familial bond. He became a traditional healer after leaving primary school, but in the s was drawn to the Holy Spirit Movement led by charismatic figure Alice Auma, better known as Alice Lakwena. She said she was fighting for the rights of the Acholi people who were feeling marginalised in the turbulent politics of s Uganda. They felt excluded from power after President Milton Obote, who was from the north, was overthrown in a military rebellion, and eventually replaced by current President Yoweri Museveni in Despite promising her followers protection from bullets, Ms Auma's movement was defeated in and she fled to Kenya.

The LRA was founded in the aftermath of that defeat saying it continued to support the people of the north and wanted to install a government based on the biblical 10 commandments. At one time the LRA was popular in the north, but that waned as the group's brutality increased.

Mr Kony has used religion and traditional beliefs to inspire his followers but some question his sincere commitment to those ideas.

They say, 'You, Mr Joseph, tell your people that the enemy is planning to come and attack,'" he has explained. In a film broadcast on the BBC, one of his close allies, Captain Sunday, said that through the help of spirits the LRA leader could see the future. He was also immortal, the captain added. He has created an aura of mysticism around himself and his rebels follow strict rules and rituals.

They say that the oil is the power of the Holy Spirit. He has also used terror to maintain control, beating and killing followers who were caught trying to flee. Some former fighters have said they complied with the leader's orders out of fear. Ex-commander Kenneth Banya told the BBC in that he had sex with a minor because he was threatened with death if he left her alone.

Mr Kony has described himself as a "freedom fighter" but has been accused of being responsible for the deaths of thousands of people in the north of Uganda.

He has used biblical references to explain why it was necessary to kill his own people, since they had, in his view, failed to support his cause. In his first interview in , filmed at his jungle base at the time in DR Congo , he insisted he was not the monster he was portrayed to be. I cannot cut the ear of my brother; I cannot kill the eye of my brother.

Mr Kony's fighters continued to spread terror targeting and killing local people for provisions. They later moved to CAR where they acted more like a criminal outfit engaging in poaching and illegal mining. There have been attempts to make peace, but talks fell apart in because the LRA leader wanted assurances that he and his allies would not be prosecuted.

But some LRA fighters are being prosecuted. Other key figures have either been killed, captured, or have given themselves up. Mr Kony's global notoriety increased in because of the social media campaign that used the hashtag Kony A video posted online by the US advocacy group Invisible Children was watched tens of millions of times.

It inspired a public outcry, which included celebrities such as Oprah Winfrey, to boost the hunt for Mr Kony. About US troops had already been deployed to central Africa in to support an African Union-led mission against the LRA, but Kony increased the pressure to get results. The film proved controversial, especially in Uganda, where critics said it oversimplified a complex subject, but Invisible Children said it succeeded in extending the US mission.

However, Mr Kony has not been found and in the US and Ugandan armies ended their efforts to track him down. They argued that his ability to cause trouble had been degraded and he was no longer a threat. Has Joseph Kony been defeated? Taking on Uganda's LRA rebels. Africa Today podcasts.