Okot Odhiambo (also known as Two Victor, his radio

call sign In broadcasting and radio communications, a call sign (also known as a call name or call letters—and historically as a call signal—or abbreviated as a call) is a unique identifier for a transmitter station. A call sign can be formally ass ...

) was a senior leader of the

Lord's Resistance Army The Lord's Resistance Army (LRA), also known as the Lord's Resistance Movement, is a rebel group and heterodox Christian group which operates in northern Uganda, South Sudan, the Central African Republic, and the Democratic Republic of the ...

, a

Uganda }), 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 ...

n rebel group which operates from

Garamba National Park Garamba National Park is a nearly national park in north-eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo. It is among Africa's oldest parks, and was designated a World Heritage Site by UNESCO in 1980 for its protection of critical habitat for nort ...

in 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 ...

. Odhiambo was one of five people for whom the

International Criminal Court The International Criminal Court (ICC or ICCt) is an intergovernmental organization and International court, international tribunal seated in The Hague, Netherlands. It is the first and only permanent international court with jurisdiction to pro ...

(ICC) issued its first ever arrest warrants in 2005, for alleged war crimes 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 ...

. In 2009, he announced his intention to defect from the LRA and return to Uganda if the government would agree not to surrender him to the ICC.

Lord's Resistance Army

Odhiambo was reported to be the LRA's Deputy Army Commander and a member of the "Control Altar", the core leadership group responsible for devising and implementing LRA strategy. He is believed to have become deputy leader of the LRA following the (alleged) death of

Vincent Otti Vincent Otti (''c''. 1946 – 2 October 2007) was a Ugandan rebel who served as deputy-leader of the Lord's Resistance Army (LRA), a rebel guerrilla army operating mainly in northern Uganda and southern Sudan. He was one of the five persons fo ...

in October 2007.

International Criminal Court indictment

On 8 July 2005, Odhiambo was one of five LRA commanders for whom the ICC issued its first ever arrest warrants. The court ruled that there were reasonable grounds to believe that Odhiambo had ordered the commission of war crimes and crimes against humanity.International Criminal Court (8 July 2005). . Retrieved on 3 February 2009. The prosecution alleges that Odhiambo led a number of massacres and commanded attacks against two

internally displaced person An internally displaced person (IDP) is someone who is forced to leave their home but who remains within their country's borders. They are often referred to as refugees, although they do not fall within the legal definitions of a refugee. ...

camps in 2004, during which more than 300 people were burnt, shot and hacked to death and children were abducted. Odhiambo was charged with three counts of crimes against humanity (

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

and enslavement) and seven counts of war crimes (murder, intentionally directing attacks against civilian populations,

pillaging Looting is the act of stealing, or the taking of goods by force, typically in the midst of a military, political, or other social crisis, such as war, natural disasters (where law and civil enforcement are temporarily ineffective), or rioting. ...

, and forced enlisting of children) in connection with the two attacks. According to the ICC warrant for his arrest, Odhiambo is described by former LRA commanders and members as a "ruthless killer", as "the one who killed the most", and as "a 'bitter' man who will kill anyone".Trial Watch.
Okot Odhiambo
". Retrieved on 3 February 2009.

Defection from the LRA

In April 2008, it was reported that Odhiambo and eight others had been killed by LRA leader

Joseph Kony Joseph Rao Kony (likely born 1961) is a Ugandan militant who founded the Lord's Resistance Army (LRA), a Christian fundamentalist organization, designated as a terrorist group by the United Nations Peacekeepers, the European Union and variou ...

during a dispute over a proposed peace deal.Frank Nyakairu and Grace Matsiko (14 April 2008).
Uganda: Kony Kills His Deputy
.

AllAfrica.com AllAfrica is a website that aggregates news produced primarily on the African continent about all areas of African life, politics, issues and culture. It is available in both English and French and produced by AllAfrica Global Media, which has of ...

. Retrieved on 3 February 2009.

BBC News BBC News is an operational business division of the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) responsible for the gathering and broadcasting of news and current affairs in the UK and around the world. The department is the world's largest broadc ...

(14 April 2008).
Ugandan LRA rebel deputy 'killed'
. Retrieved on 3 February 2009. However, on 29 January 2009, Odhiambo said he had suffered a serious gunshot wound during a clash with Ugandan forces and was defecting from the LRA. He told

Agence France-Presse Agence France-Presse (AFP) is a French international news agency headquartered in Paris, France. Founded in 1835 as Havas, it is the world's oldest news agency. AFP has regional headquarters in Nicosia, Montevideo, Hong Kong and Washington, ...

, "We have requested a safe corridor. I want to come out. I am tired of going up and down all the time."

(28 January 2009).
Lord's Resistance Army number two plans to turn himself in
. Retrieved on 3 February 2009. He contacted the

International Organization for Migration The International Organization for Migration (IOM) is a United Nations agency that provides services and advice concerning migration to governments and migrants, including internally displaced persons, refugees, and migrant workers. The IOM wa ...

seeking safe passage to Uganda,Xan Rice (29 January 2009).
Ugandan rebel deputy leader defects
. ''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers '' The Observer'' and '' The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the ...

''. Retrieved on 3 February 2009. along with 45 other rebels and 10 abductees,

Reuters Reuters ( ) is a news agency owned by Thomson Reuters Corporation. It employs around 2,500 journalists and 600 photojournalists in about 200 locations worldwide. Reuters is one of the largest news agencies in the world. The agency was est ...

(29 January 2009).
Uganda rebel deputy wants to surrender -world body
Retrieved on 3 February 2009. but said he would not surrender unless he was given a guarantee that he would not be turned over to the ICC. The

government of Uganda Uganda is a presidential republic in which the President of Uganda is the head of state and the prime minister is the head of government business. There is a multi-party system. Executive power is exercised by the government. Legislative power is ...

has indicated that it would try Odhiambo in a national court rather than surrender him to the ICC.Bill Oketch, Patrick Okino and Samuel Okiror Egadu (29 January 2009).
Kampala Faces Odhiambo Dilemma
.

Institute for War and Peace Reporting The Institute for War & Peace Reporting (IWPR) is an independent nonprofit organization that claims to train and provide publishing opportunities for professional and citizen journalists. History IWPR was founded in 1991 under the name Yugofax. ...

. Retrieved on 3 February 2009. The Catholic Archbishop of Gulu, John Baptist Odama, said the defection could revive hopes of a peaceful end to the conflict.

IRIN News The New Humanitarian (formerly IRIN News, or Integrated Regional Information Networks News) is an independent, non-profit news agency focusing on humanitarian stories in regions that are often forgotten, under-reported, misunderstood or ignored. ...

(30 January 2009).
UGANDA: Rebel commander's defection 'a boon' to peace
. Retrieved on 3 February 2009. However,

Amnesty International Amnesty International (also referred to as Amnesty or AI) is an international non-governmental organization focused on human rights, with its headquarters in the United Kingdom. The organization says it has more than ten million members and s ...

criticized the International Organization for Migration for agreeing to facilitate Odhiambo's transfer to Uganda instead of to the ICC.

(30 January 2009).
Uganda: International organization must not help fugitive evade justice
". Retrieved on 3 February 2009. An LRA spokesman dismissed the reports of Odhiambo's planned defection, claiming the story was invented by the Ugandan army "to create disharmony and danger to LRA fighters".Godffrey Olali (1 February 2009).
Surrender? Not our deputy, says LRA
. The ''

Daily Nation The ''Daily Nation'' is the highest circulation Kenyan independent newspaper with 170,000 copies. History The ''Daily Nation'' was started in the year 1958 as a Swahili weekly called ''Taifa'' by the Englishman Charles Hayes. It was bought ...

''. Retrieved on 3 February 2009. In February 2014, it was reported that Odhiambo had been killed 27 October 2013. Odhiambo's body was found based on GPS coordinates provided by the man who buried him after his death and afterward defected to UPDF forces. His body was exhumed on 20 March 2015, and flown to Entebbe, Uganda for identity confirmation. The death of Odhiambo was confirmed, and the ICC dropped its proceedings against him in September of that year.

References

External links

The Prosecutor v. Joseph Kony, Vincent Otti, Okot Odhiambo and Dominic Ongwen
— International Criminal Court documents

— Trial Watch website
Okot Odhiambo on Interpol`s List of Wanted Persons
{{DEFAULTSORT:Odhiambo, Okot People indicted by the International Criminal Court Lord's Resistance Army rebels 2013 deaths Year of birth missing