UNFAIR: Ugandan government says fine for ‘looting’ in DRC not welcome
The government of Uganda has labelled ‘unfair’ the decision by the International Court of Justice to slap a $325 (Shs1.1trillion) on it for plundering the Democratic Republic of Congo during the presence of Ugandan Forces in the Congo between 1998-2003.
According to Uganda’s Attorney General Kiryowa Kiwanuka, the decision by the court is outrageous and “did not meet the standard of fairness we expected.”
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“We challenge and reject the findings of wrongdoing on the part of 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 the good of the countries it has operated in to this day.”
Kiryowa said that the conflict from which the 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 court’s 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,” he said.
“This however shall not deter us from continuing to engage the government of DRC to resolve this matter,” he continued.
In 2005, the UN court ruled that Uganda had violated international law when it occupied parts of Ituri with its troops and also supported other armed groups during the war in the province.
The court ordered the two countries to negotiate the compensation process but in 2005 DRC reported to the tribunal that negotiations had failed to yield anything and sought a final decision on the amount.
DRC asked for over $11 billion from Uganda for the occupation of Ituri.
On Wednesday, the Hague based court ruled that Uganda should only pay only $325 million (Shs1.1) trillion and not $11 billion as had been requested by DRC.
