By Hannah Stewart
Impunity Watch Reporter, Africa
KIGALI, Rwanda — Fugitive Congolese warlord Bosco Ntaganda walked into the US embassy in Kigali, Rwanda on Monday and surrendered. He asked to be transferred to the International Criminal Court (ICC) in the Hague. There, Ntaganda faces a litany of war crime charges.
Ntaganda’s surrender came as a surprise, as he effectively ended a career that saw him fight as a rebel and government soldier on both sides of the Rwanda-Congo border during two decades of conflict in Africa’s Great Lakes region.
Born in Rwanda, Ntaganda grew up in Congo; however, he fought alongside Rwandan Tutsi rebels who seized control of the small central Africa country and ended the 1994 genocide. Estimates for the death toll range from 700,000 to 1,000,000 people.
Ntaganda then returned to Congo, where he took part in a series of rebellions, but also served temporarily as a senior general. He made a name for himself by smuggling minerals.
During the 2002 and 2003 conflict in Congo’s Ituri province, it is said that Ntaganda kidnapped, enlisted and conscripted children under the age of fifteen as soldiers and used them in the hostilities. Moreover, it is said that troops under his command massacred hundreds of civilians on ethnic grounds and used rape as a weapon of war.
In 2009, Ntaganda was integrated into the Congolese army with insurgents and has acted a leader of the M23 rebellion. The M23 rebels have pursued an insurgency in a mineral-rich region of the Democratic Republic of the Congo. M23 forces embarrassed Kinshasa and UN peacekeepers in fall 2012 by briefly seizing control of the North Kivu province.
The UN has repeatedly denounced this group’s activities and has sanctioned its leaders, accusing M23 rebels of war crimes.
Known as “The Terminator,” Ntaganda was first indicted in 2006 by the ICC for conscripting and using child soldiers during a 2002-2003 Congo conflict. A second arrest warrant, issued July 2012, accused him of a range of crimes including murder, ethnic persecution and rape.
Neither Rwanda nor the United States has an obligation to hand Ntaganda over to ICC since they are not parties to the Rome Statute that established the court; however, the countries are working towards his transfer.
US State Department spokeswoman, Victoria Nuland told reporters in Washington that, “We are currently consulting with a number of governments, including the Rwandan government, in order to facilitate his request.” Likewise, ICC spokesman Fadi el-Abdullah said the Court would put in place all necessary measures to ensure a swift surrender.
It remains to be seen why this infamous war criminal suddenly surrendered himself to the authorities now.
To learn more about Ntaganda’s crimes in interviews with his victims, please watch this short video uploaded by the Washington Post: “A Powerful Video on War Criminal Ntaganda”
For more information, please see:
CNN – Suspected War Criminal Surrenders in Rwanda – 19 March 2013
NBC News (blog) – War Crimes Suspect “The Terminator” Surrenders at U.S. Embassy in Rwanda – 19 March 2013
Reuters – Rwanda Says War Crimes Suspect Surrenders at U.S. Embassy – 19 March 2013
The Washington Post – Congo Warlord Bosco Ntaganda, Wanted by the ICC Since 2006, Remains Ensconced at US Embassy – 19 March 2013
