Theatre of Violence

Ugandan Dominic Ongwen is the first former child soldier ever to be indicted by the International Criminal Court (ICC) for war crimes. When he was nine years old, his parents were murdered and he was tortured, brainwashed, and forced to join the Lord's Resistance Army (LRA). Chief counsel on his case is Krispus Ayena, a top-notch lawyer and former parliamentarian who had four brothers of his own fall victim to the LRA. Theatre of War follows Ayena as he prepares Ongwen’s defence and asks murky, irreconcilable questions about international law, colonialism and perspective. The burning bush is a potent recurring motif throughout, containing both religious and agrarian meanings, while symbolizing the conflict as well as slippery oppositions of victim/perpetrator, innocence/guilt, right/wrong. How does a community recover from sustained trauma, reintegrate returning child soldiers, and assign culpability? What gives the ICC jurisdiction or the cultural context to pass judgment on Ugandans whose culture demands restorative not punitive justice, and whose Christian religion promises divine not earthly judgment? Angie Driscoll