Uganda responds to UN court ruling on DR Congo case

COURT

Kampala has responded to a decision by the International Court of Justice (ICJ) ordering Uganda to pay eastern neighbour DR Congo ;$325m (about sh1.1b) over a conflict that lasted from 1998 until 2003.

Hague-based ICJ, which is the UN's top court, delivered the ruling on Wednesday (February 9, 2022).

DR Congo had sought $11b (about 38.8 trillion) in reparations over the devastating two-decade conflict.

Judges at ICJ said Kinshasa had failed to prove that Uganda was directly responsible for any more than 15,000 of the hundreds of thousands of people believed to have died in the conflict.

"The court sets out the total amount of compensation awarded to the DRC, which is 325 million US dollars," said Joan Donoghue, the chief judge of the UN court.

Responding to the ICJ judgement, Kampala Government said:

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We have noted the decision of the court and while the award is not as outrageous as the claims made, we are of the opinion that the decision did not meet the standard of fairness we expected.

We challenge and reject the findings of wrongdoing on the part of the UPDF which was singled out notwithstanding the acknowledgement by the court of the existence of so many belligerents in the conflict. The UPDF was and remains a disciplined force and a force for good in all the countries it has operated in to this day.

The conflict from which this dispute arose was resolved in a peace accord in Lusaka which confirmed the existence of the problems faced by the countries neighbouring the DRC.

As it turns out, the courts decision is yet another failure to understand or appreciate African matters and makes no contribution to current efforts at resolving, on our own, the security issues that persist.

This, however, shall not deter us from continuing to engage the government of the DRC to resolve this matter.