Wednesday, 5 May 2010 - Two identities and just one name
The pieces start fitting together as the trial goes on. The Defence confirms why Dieudonne Tonyfwa Urochi (Witness 32) testified via video link from Bunia on 27 April - the Congolese authorities informed them that a passport had been issued for another individual with the same name. Dieudonne Tonyfwa Urochi was already in The Hague.
In previous hearings, the Defence's evidence showed that the identity of two former UPC child soldiers - Defence Witnesses 32 and 33 - was stolen by an individual, presumably the head teacher of their school in Mahagi and the first participating victim to take the stand in early January. According to the two school friends, the documents concerning their participation as victims were all signed by an individual - referred to as "Mr. P" - on behalf of the witnesses. "[The documents were signed by] the people who replaced us," said Witness 33.
Today, the next Defence witness testifies in open court. He is Mr. Ukugna Ngogna Bertin (Witness 34). There are no protective measures in place; the witness box is fully visible.
Defence Counsel Mr. Desalliers asks the witness about his date and place of birth, his marital status and the names of some members of his family. "Could you tell us the names of your children?" asks Mr. Desalliers. There have been spelling problems before and Presiding Judge Fulford suggests asking the witness to write down those names. Mr. Desalliers, confident, wants to listen to the witness first. The name Witness 34 is about to say should be familiar to everyone. "My eldest son is Tonyfwa Urochi Dieudonne," says the witness.
The core examination by the Defence team is held in private session.
The Legal representative of the victims, Mr. Joseph Keta, asks to question Mr. Ukugna. The allegations are against one of their clients, so the Chamber decides that the lawyer is entitled to do so. The lawyer shows Mr. Ukugna a picture. "Do you recognise this person?" asks Mr. Keta. The witness hesitates. "[What if] I were to suggest that this person says he is Tonyfwa Urochi?" continues the lawyer. "In any event, that is false. I wouldn´t doubt [it]," says Mr. Ukugna.
Throughout his testimony, the witness confirms that his son was within the UPC´s ranks in 2003. Prosecution and Legal Representatives of victims stress this point. What still remains unclear is whether the youngster belonged to Lubanga´s group during the indictment period - Thomas Lubanga is accused of enlisting and conscripting children under the age of 15 years and using them to participate actively in hostilities from September 2002 to August 2003.
"In 2003, my son came back home from Dele. He was [a] member of the troops, the UPC," says Mr. Ukugna. His son, Tonyfwa Urochi Dieudonne, told the Court he had been kidnapped by UPC soldiers while he was selling cigarettes. "I was forcibly taken away when I was selling tobacco [...] I followed them to the [military training] camp. When we reached the camp, they started beating me," said the youngster on 27 April. He also stated his date of birth, 1988; so in 2003, Tonyfwa Urochi was 15 years old. This young age, although shocking, in itself does not indicate a war crime under international law - Articles 8(2)(e)(vii) and 25(3)(a) of The Statute indicate quite explicitly that 'children under the age of fifteen years' may be considered illegal child combatants, but not those 15 or above.
However, Mr. Ukugna adds a new ingredient. Asked by the Prosecution, he says that his son Tonyfwa was born in 1989, and therefore his son aged 14 years when he left Thomas Lubanga´s armed group. Additionally, Trial Attorney Manoj Sachdeva reveals that the fighting in 2002-2003 between the UPC and the Lendu militia, the Front des Nationalistes et Intégrationnistes (FNI), occurred very close to the Beiju Institute, the school where Tonyfwa studied. According to the Prosecution, the area surrounding the school was used by the UPC to store and deliver ammunition.
As Tonyfwa Urochi explained in court, both father and son met the Defence investigator, Mr. Dieudonné Mbuna. "He told me there was another Tonyfwa Urochi here," says Mr. Ukugna, referring to The Hague, "but there was another Tonyfwa Urochi living with me at home. He told me I shouldn´t be worried and asked me not to say this. I accepted it." That was the first time Mr. Ukugna heard that the identity of his son had been usurped by an individual - "Mr. P."
That individual worked with him in the voting office.
The next Defence witness, Witness 35, will testify on Friday.
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