Jamil Mukulu (born David Steven) is a

Ugandan }), is a landlocked country in East Africa. The country is bordered to the east by Kenya, to the north by South Sudan, to the west by the Democratic Republic of the Congo, to the south-west by Rwanda, and to the south by Tanzania. The southe ...

militant The English word ''militant'' is both an adjective and a noun, and it is generally used to mean vigorously active, combative and/or aggressive, especially in support of a cause, as in "militant reformers". It comes from the 15th century Latin " ...

leader and suspected war criminal who was the principal founder and former leader of the

Allied Democratic Forces The Allied Democratic Forces (french: Forces démocratiques alliées; abbreviated ADF) is an Islamist rebel group in Uganda and the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), considered a terrorist organisation by the Ugandan government. It was ori ...

, an armed Islamist rebel group in

Uganda }), is a landlocked country in East Africa East Africa, Eastern Africa, or East of Africa, is the eastern subregion of the African continent. In the United Nations Statistics Division scheme of geographic regions, 10-11-(16*) territor ...

and the

Democratic Republic of the Congo The Democratic Republic of the Congo (french: République démocratique du Congo (RDC), colloquially "La RDC" ), informally Congo-Kinshasa, DR Congo, the DRC, the DROC, or the Congo, and formerly and also colloquially Zaire, is a country in ...

. Mukulu was arrested in

Tanzania Tanzania (; ), officially the United Republic of Tanzania ( sw, Jamhuri ya Muungano wa Tanzania), is a country in East Africa within the African Great Lakes region. It borders Uganda to the north; Kenya to the northeast; Comoro Islands and ...

in 2015 and is currently awaiting trial in Uganda for charges such as

murder Murder is the unlawful killing of another human without justification (jurisprudence), justification or valid excuse (legal), excuse, especially the unlawful killing of another human with malice aforethought. ("The killing of another person wit ...

and

crimes against humanity Crimes against humanity are widespread or systemic acts committed by or on behalf of a ''de facto'' authority, usually a state, that grossly violate human rights. Unlike war crimes, crimes against humanity do not have to take place within the ...

Biography

Jamil Mukulu was born David Steven in the village of Ntoke in the

Kayunga District Kayunga District is a district in Central Uganda. It is named after its chief town, Kayunga. Geography Kayunga District is bordered by Amolatar District to the north, Buyende District to the northeast, Kamuli District to the east, Jinja Distric ...

of Uganda on 17 April 1964, to Lutakome Sserwada and Aisha Nakiyemba. Little is known about his early life, except for the fact that he earned a degree in

business management Business administration, also known as business management, is the administration of a commercial enterprise. It includes all aspects of overseeing and supervising the business operations of an organization. From the point of view of management ...

Nairobi Nairobi ( ) is the capital and largest city of Kenya. The name is derived from the Maasai phrase ''Enkare Nairobi'', which translates to "place of cool waters", a reference to the Nairobi River which flows through the city. The city proper ha ...

Kenya ) , national_anthem = "Ee Mungu Nguvu Yetu"() , image_map = , map_caption = , image_map2 = , capital = Nairobi , coordinates = , largest_city = Nairobi , ...

. Although born into a

Christian Christians () are people who follow or adhere to Christianity, a monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. The words ''Christ'' and ''Christian'' derive from the Koine Greek title ''Christós'' (Χρι ...

family, Steven soon converted to

Islam Islam (; ar, ۘالِإسلَام, , ) is an Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic Monotheism#Islam, monotheistic religion centred primarily around the Quran, a religious text considered by Muslims to be the direct word of God in Islam, God (or ...

, changed his name to "Jamil Mukulu", and studied abroad in

Saudi Arabia Saudi Arabia, officially the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA), is a country in Western Asia. It covers the bulk of the Arabian Peninsula, and has a land area of about , making it the fifth-largest country in Asia, the second-largest in the A ...

, where he was introduced to fundamentalist Islamic ideologies, such as

Salafism The Salafi movement or Salafism () is a Islah, reform branch movement within Sunni Islam that originated during the nineteenth century. The name refers to advocacy of a return to the traditions of the "pious predecessors" (), the first three g ...

, and became radicalized. When he returned to Africa, Mukulu became involved in the conflict between the Ugandan Muslim Supreme Council and the Tabliq sect, the latter of which Mukulu belonged to. Mukulu soon began formulating the idea of establishing an

Islamic state An Islamic state is a State (polity), state that has a form of government based on sharia, Islamic law (sharia). As a term, it has been used to describe various historical Polity, polities and theories of governance in the Islamic world. As a t ...

in Uganda, and, in 1991, he and a group of Tabliq militants attacked the UMSC headquarters in

Old Kampala Kampala Hill, commonly referred to as Old Kampala, is a hill in the centre of Kampala, Uganda's capital and largest city. Location Kampala Hill is bordered by Makerere to the north, Nakasero to the east, Mengo to the south and Namirembe to th ...

. Mukulu went to prison for the attack, but was released around 1995. When Mukulu was released, he joined the

National Army for the Liberation of Uganda The National Army for the Liberation of Uganda (abbreviated NALU) was a rebel group opposed to the Ugandan government. It was formed in 1988 in western Uganda and moved into eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo, where it merged with the Allie ...

, a rebel group opposed to the Ugandan government. When the NALU's leader,

Amon Bazira Amon Bazira (sometimes referred to as Amon Kabunga Bazira; 1944–1993) was a Pan-Africanist leader and organiser who created an extensive intelligence network that was a clandestine component of the struggle to end the regime of Ugandan military d ...

, was killed in 1995, Mukulu helped unify numerous separate militant groups into one unit and formed the

, appointing himself as the group's supreme commander. Unable to hold ground in Uganda, Mukulu led his group to the

, and set up camp in

North Kivu North Kivu (french: link=no, Nord-Kivu) is a province bordering Lake Kivu in the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo. Its capital is Goma. North Kivu borders the provinces of Ituri to the north, Tshopo to the northwest, Maniema to the so ...

. Between 1996 and 2001, Mukulu's forces carried out numerous bombings,

massacre A massacre is the killing of a large number of people or animals, especially those who are not involved in any fighting or have no way of defending themselves. A massacre is generally considered to be morally unacceptable, especially when per ...

s, and other terror attacks in the Congo, killing an estimated 1,000

civilian Civilians under international humanitarian law are "persons who are not members of the armed forces" and they are not "combatants if they carry arms openly and respect the laws and customs of war". It is slightly different from a non-combatant, b ...

s and displacing over 150,000 others, according to a UN study published in 2002. Mukulu also gained notoriety for ordering his forces to abduct hundreds of children to train as

child soldiers Children (defined by the Convention on the Rights of the Child as people under the age of 18) have been recruited for participation in military operations and campaigns throughout history and in many cultures. Children in the military, includ ...

. Even though it is one of the longest-surviving terror groups, ADF-NALU is also the only Islamic militant entity in DRCongo. Uganda’s spy agency, the Chieftaincy of Military Intelligence (CMI) has on several occasions linked ADF-NALU to al-Shabaab. Though linked to other groups in the global jihadi firmament, ADF-NALU has not attracted as much attention as Al Qaeda in the Maghreb (AQIM), Movement for Oneness and Jihad in West Africa (MUJAO), Ansar Dine, al-Shabaab or Boko Haram. In 2011, Mukulu was placed under sanction by the

United Nations The United Nations (UN) is an intergovernmental organization whose stated purposes are to maintain international peace and international security, security, develop friendly relations among nations, achieve international cooperation, and be ...

for terrorist activities in the Congo. In 2014, a court in the Democratic Republic of the Congo convicted Mukulu of

terrorism Terrorism, in its broadest sense, is the use of criminal violence to provoke a state of terror or fear, mostly with the intention to achieve political or religious aims. The term is used in this regard primarily to refer to intentional violen ...

and

, and

sentenced Sentenced was a Finnish gothic metal band that played melodic death metal in their early years. The band formed in 1989 in the town of Muhos and broke up in 2005. History Early years (1988–1991) Sentenced started in 1988 as Deformity and c ...

him to

death Death is the irreversible cessation of all biological functions that sustain an organism. For organisms with a brain, death can also be defined as the irreversible cessation of functioning of the whole brain, including brainstem, and brain ...

in absentia is Latin for absence. , a legal term, is Latin for "in the absence" or "while absent". may also refer to: * Award in absentia * Declared death in absentia, or simply, death in absentia, legally declared death without a body * Election in absen ...

''. In 2015, Mukulu was arrested by police in

and

repatriate Repatriation is the process of returning a thing or a person to its country of origin or citizenship. The term may refer to non-human entities, such as converting a foreign currency into the currency of one's own country, as well as to the pro ...

d to the custody Uganda, where he was charged with murder, war crimes, and

. He is currently awaiting trial. Despite being under sentence of death in the Congo, Uganda has refused to turn Mukulu over to Congolese authorities. Since Mukulu's capture, the ADF has been led by one of his

lieutenant A lieutenant ( , ; abbreviated Lt., Lt, LT, Lieut and similar) is a commissioned officer rank in the armed forces of many nations. The meaning of lieutenant differs in different militaries (see comparative military ranks), but it is often sub ...

Musa Baluku Musa Seka Baluku is a Ugandan militant and the current leader of the Allied Democratic Forces, a rebel insurgent group in Uganda and the Democratic Republic of the Congo. He took over as the commander of the ADF following the 2015 arrest of its f ...

.http://congoresearchgroup.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/11/Inside-the-ADF-Rebellion-14Nov18.pdf

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Mukulu, Jamil 1964 births Living people 20th-century criminals 21st-century criminals Allied Democratic Forces Converts to Islam from Christianity People indicted for crimes against humanity People indicted for war crimes People from Kayunga District People sentenced to death in absentia Ugandan Muslims