Frank Nyakairu
15 May 2008
LRA leader Joseph Kony kept chief mediator and South Sudan's Vice President Riek Machar, religious and cultural leaders from northern Uganda waiting for five days at Nabanga at the Congo-Sudan border but failed to show up.
Dr Machar and the cultural leaders were in Nabanga for a meeting with the elusive rebel leader aimed at reviving talks with the government.
"Kony made everybody wait for him at Nabanga in vain that is not a sign of peace," said the government spokesman on the peace negotiating team, Captain Chris Magezi.
A delegation of leaders from northern Uganda had gone to Sudan to meet Kony to explain to him how the traditional justice mechanisms would work in place of an ICC prosecution.
Kony, who is wanted by the International Criminal Court (ICC) for war crimes and crimes against humanity refused to sign a final peace agreement on April 10 claiming he had not understood the relationship between traditional justice and the ICC.
During the two-year Juba peace process mediated by South Sudan, Kony insisted he would not sign the final peace deal with ICC warrants still in place.
After waiting for five days at a UN camp in Nabanga, Mr Machar and the Ugandan leaders were airlifted to Juba dashing hopes of reviving the peace process.
Attempts to reach the delegation and Mr Machar were futile yesterday.
"The government is waiting for communication from the mediator and the way forward will be based on that," Captain Magezi added.
However, a top government official, who did not want to be named, told Daily Monitor yesterday that Kampala was "losing interest in the talks and that may mean other options."
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