War crimes trial of ‘The Terminator’ poses challenge for international court

The trial of Congolese militia leader Bosco Ntaganda – known as "The Terminator" – opened yesterday at the International Criminal Court (ICC). It is a complex case that will severely challenge the court's credibility, after it abandoned charges against Kenya's president, Uhuru Kenyatta, last year.

The Ntaganda trial will be the first test of a new investigation strategy promised by chief prosecutor Fatou Bensouda to ensure cases are prepared more rigorously and, in particular, that evidence collected by third parties is corroborated by the court's own investigators.

The case is significant too because Ntaganda is the first commander ever to face charges of rape and sexual slavery allegedly used as a means of intimidating and controlling child soldiers who were members of his own militia, under his direct command.

Although this was not confirmed yesterday, it is understood that three of the prosecution witnesses due to take the stand are former child soldiers with the militia.

At large

Ntaganda remained at large for more than seven years after ICC judges issued the first of two arrest warrants in August 2006, finally surrendering to the US embassy in the Rwandan capital,

Kigali

, in March 2013, when his M23 militia – aka the

Congolese Revolutionary Army

– called a ceasefire.

He was also named leader of another militia, the Union of Congolese Patriots (UPC), after Thomas Lubanga was arrested in 2006 on foot of an ICC warrant and transferred to The Hague – becoming in 2012 the first person convicted by the 12-year-old court.

The ICC judges, however, were scathing about how the office of the prosecutor handled the Lubanga case, especially criticising its failure to test evidence that later turned out to be false or unsustainable – a problem that also bedevilled the Kenyatta case.

Not guilty plea

So, nine years after he was first indicted, Ntaganda (41), appeared at the ICC yesterday where he pleaded not guilty to 18 charges relating to a series of attacks on villages in the mineral-rich province of Ituri, in northeast

Congo

, in 2002 and 2003.

“Bosco Ntaganda was the UPC’s highest commander, in charge of operations and organisation,” Ms Bensouda told the court, opening a case in which she will call 80 witnesses – 13 experts and the rest alleged victims – and present 8,000 pages of evidence.

“We believe he ordered his troops to attack, pillage, rape, persecute and kill civilians belonging to the Lendu, Ngiti and other ethnic groups,” she said. “We believe he recruited hundreds of children into the UPC and used them to kill and to die fighting.

“The girl soldiers were routinely raped, kept as sex slaves, ‘objects’ freely available to other soldiers in the militia. Humanity demands justice for these crimes.”

Ntaganda – who used the rank of general in his militia – spoke only briefly when he rose to say: “I plead not guilty to the charges.”

Outside, his lawyer, Stephane Bourgon, elaborated: "Mr Ntaganda maintains his innocence in respect of every charge against him. He is in good shape and looking forward to having an opportunity to present a thorough defence."