Dominic Ongwen was abducted by Joseph Kony's Lord's Resistance Army while walking to school at the age of nine. He later rose through its ranks committing, and ultimately being convicted by the International Criminal Court (ICC) of, many of the same crimes of which he was once a victim. The Dilemma of Dominic Ongwen tells this extraordinary story through the voices of those who knew him best: family members, fighters, commanders, “wives,” victims, and trial participants. Their testimonies, gathered in Uganda and The Hague, form the backbone of a narrative that interlaces survivor accounts with legal analysis and vivid excerpts from the ICC trial. The book offers a rare, human-centered lens on international justice, illuminating the dilemmas of prosecuting a former child soldier for mass atrocities. It provides indispensable insights for scholars of international criminal law, transitional justice, political violence, trauma, and human rights. 

Kjell Anderson is an associate professor of law at the University of Manitoba, and the author of Perpetrating Genocide: A Criminological Account and co‑editor of Researching Perpetrators of Genocide.

Part I   The Life of Dominic Ongwen  

1          Introduction                 

2          The Lord’s Resistance Army   

3          Growing Up Fast        

4          Abduction        

5          Boy to Soldier 

6          Life in the LRA                                  

7          Commander                
8          Escape              

9          After the LRA 

Part II  The Trial of Dominic Ongwen            

10        Luis Gets a Case 

11        The Case Against Dominic Ongwen  

12        The Trial

13        Mental Illness and Duress

14        The Victims Speak

15        Judging Dominic Ongwen

16         Prison

17        Sentence

18        Endings

19        Coda: The Appeal

Epilogue: Ongwen Alone                    

Acknowledgments 

Notes

Bibliography    

Index