War Brothers

The future warlord and rebel Joseph Kony was born around 1961 in the village of Odek in northern Uganda. An ethnic Acholi, Kony served as an altar boy in a local church and had a relatively normal childhood. In 1986, Yoweri Museveni seized power in Uganda, leading to a revolt by some Acholi people. In particular, Kony’s relative, Alice Lakwena, led a group called the Holy Spirit Movement in rebellion, which was eventually defeated by government forces as its army neared the capital of Kampala. In 1987, Kony took charge of the remnants of the Holy Spirit Movement, renaming it the Lord’s Resistance Army, which—while claiming to represent the poorer communities of Uganda—instead kidnapped children as soldiers and plundered villages for resources. In 1994, the Lord’s Resistance Army gained a powerful ally in Sudan, which was trying to retaliate against the Ugandan government for its support of Sudanese rebels.

Kony’s leadership of the group was marked by brutality and strange beliefs. Kony claimed to receive prophecies from spirits in his dreams and convinced his followers that holy water made them bulletproof. The Lord’s Resistance Army also quickly became known for its violent methods, which included burning villages, murdering local residents, and incidents of rape and mutilation. The army’s campaign led to the displacement of nearly two million people within Uganda. The Lord’s Resistance Army also conducted kidnappings, as depicted in War Brothers, frequently forcing schoolchildren to kill their peers who resisted.

The Lord’s Resistance Army’s goals were vague, usually calling for the overthrow of Museveni and the establishment of an authoritarian, theocratic Christian regime in Uganda. In 2005, the International Criminal Court issued an arrest warrant for Kony, accusing him of widespread human rights violations, including the abduction of over 24,000 children. Despite international efforts, Kony has never been captured, and as of 2022, is reported to be hiding in the region of Darfur, Sudan.