January 2008: The ICC issued its first warrant of arrest for 5 leaders of the Lord's Resistance Army on 8 July, 2005. Joseph Kony, Vincent Otti, Okot Odhiambo, Dominic Ongwen and Raska Lukwiya were charged on 33 counts including murder, rape, sexual enslavement, abduction, mutilation and the recruitment of child soldiers. In June 2006, Interpol issued warrants for the arrest and detention of the five indictees to 184 countries. The case against Raska Luwiya has since been dropped following his death in battle in August 2006. It is rumoured that Vincent Otti, Kony's second-in-command, is also dead, following an argument with Kony, but this remains unconfirmed since Kony himself claims that he is still alive but under house arrest. Odhambo has taken his place as Kony's deputy. Although the ICC was initially acting at the request of the Ugandan government, the ICC's arrest warrants have since become controversial. Following Kony's statement that he will not sign a peace treaty while the warrants are still in place, they have been viewed by many as a stumbling block to a lasting peace agreement. Some have suggested that some of the rebels could instead be tried in Uganda, especially since, according to Martin Ojul, Kony has declared that he is prepared to answer for his actions in a traditional tribal justice setting. This has sparked a great debate about peace and justice, amd the role of the ICC. The developments have also sparked renewed discussion on the use of traditional/indigenous forms of justice. See for example a piece, “Peace First, Justice Later…” by the Refugee Law Project. President Museveni has asked the ICC to maintain the charges against the LRA until a peace agreement is reached, but has stated that once an agreement has been negotiated, the government will intervene to keep the commanders out of the reach of the ICC. Meanwhile, Dr James Obita, a central figure in the LRA and involved in the negotiating team, which completed its consultation process with the Ugandan people in December 2007, has stated that the LRA will abandon Kony if he has not signed a peace deal by February 2008. Kony is currently in hiding in the Democratic Republic of Congo, but at a meeting of the Great Lake Countries in Addis Ababa in December 2007, it was decided that Kony would be given until the end of January 2008 to leave voluntarily, or he would be flushed out. | 
