Mathieu Ngudjolo Chui (born 8 October 1970)International Criminal Court (6 July 2007). . Retrieved 7 February 2008. is a

colonel Colonel (abbreviated as Col., Col or COL) is a senior military officer rank used in many countries. It is also used in some police forces and paramilitary organizations. In the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries, a colonel was typically in charge ...

in the

Congolese army Congolese or Kongolese may refer to: African peoples * Congolese people (disambiguation) * Kongo people, a Bantu ethnic group who live along the Atlantic coast of Africa from Pointe-Noire (Republic of Congo) to Luanda, Angola, primarily defined b ...

and a former senior commander of the National Integrationist Front (FNI) and the Patriotic Resistance Force in Ituri (FRPI). On 6 February 2008, he was arrested by the Congolese authorities and surrendered to 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) to stand trial on six counts of war crimes and three counts of

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 ...

.International Criminal Court (7 February 2008)
''Third detainee for the International Criminal Court: Mathieu Ngudjolo Chui''
. Retrieved 7 February 2008. The charges include

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 ...

sexual slavery Sexual slavery and sexual exploitation is an attachment of any ownership right over one or more people with the intent of coercing or otherwise forcing them to engage in sexual activities. This includes forced labor, reducing a person to a ...

and using children under the age of fifteen to participate actively in hostilities. In December 2012, he was acquitted of war crimes at the Hague by a three-judge panel presided over by

Bruno Cotte Bruno Cotte (born 1945) is a French judge of the International Criminal Court. Prior to his appointment to the ICC Cotte was a member of the Cour de Cassation, France's supreme court of appeal. He had been Director for Criminal Affairs and Pardons ...

on the grounds that the prosecution had not proven beyond reasonable doubt that he was responsible for the crimes committed, a decision which led to criticism of the ICC. The verdict was appealed on 20 December 2012 and the acquittal was confirmed on 27 February 2015. He is also known as Mathieu Cui Ngudjolo or Cui Ngudjolo.

Personal life

Ngudjolo was born on 8 October 1970 in

Bunia Bunia is the capital city of Ituri Province in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). It was part of the Orientale Province until that province's dissolution. It lies at an elevation of on a plateau about west of Lake Albert in the Alb ...

Ituri Province Ituri is one of the 21 new provinces of the Democratic Republic of the Congo created in the 2015 repartitioning. Ituri, Bas-Uele, Haut-Uele, and Tshopo provinces are the result of the dismemberment of the former Orientale province. Ituri was ...

, in the north-east of 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 ...

(DRC). A "poor farmer's son", he is believed to be of

Lendu The Lendu language is a Central Sudanic language spoken by the Balendru, an ethno-linguistic agriculturalist group residing in eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo in the area west and northwest of Lake Albert, specifically the Ituri Region ...

ethnicity and speaks

Lingala Lingala (Ngala) (Lingala: ''Lingála'') is a Bantu language spoken in the northwest of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, the northern half of the Republic of the Congo, in their capitals, Kinshasa and Brazzaville, and to a lesser degree i ...

French French (french: français(e), link=no) may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France, and its various dialects and accents ** French people, a nation and ethnic group identified with Franc ...

, Swahili and Kilendu.International Criminal Court (7 February 2008). . Retrieved 7 February 2008. He is married to Semaka Lemi and has two children.

Career

Ngudjolo began his career as a

corporal Corporal is a military rank in use in some form by many militaries and by some police forces or other uniformed organizations. The word is derived from the medieval Italian phrase ("head of a body"). The rank is usually the lowest ranking non- ...

in the

(then called the ''Forces Armées Zaïroises'') under the dictator

Mobutu Sese Seko Mobutu Sese Seko Kuku Ngbendu Wa Za Banga (; born Joseph-Désiré Mobutu; 14 October 1930 – 7 September 1997) was a Congolese politician and military officer who was the president of Zaire from 1965 to 1997 (known as the Democratic Republic o ...

.Tristan McConnell (15 February 2008)
A Congo warlord – arrested for crimes against humanity – explains himself
. ''

The Christian Science Monitor ''The Christian Science Monitor'' (''CSM''), commonly known as ''The Monitor'', is a nonprofit news organization that publishes daily articles in electronic format as well as a weekly print edition. It was founded in 1908 as a daily newspaper ...

''. Retrieved 10 March 2008. He deserted when the

First Congo War The First Congo War, group=lower-alpha (1996–1997), also nicknamed Africa's First World War, was a civil war and international military conflict which took place mostly in Zaire (present-day Democratic Republic of the Congo), with major spillo ...

broke out in 1996 and, during the years that followed, he trained as a nurse and worked for the

Red Cross The International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement is a Humanitarianism, humanitarian movement with approximately 97 million Volunteering, volunteers, members and staff worldwide. It was founded to protect human life and health, to ensure re ...

in Bunia.

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, ...

(7 February 2008).
Mathieu Ngudjolo: From nurse to Ituri warlord
'. Retrieved 10 March 2008. The

Second Congo War The Second Congo War,, group=lower-alpha also known as the Great War of Africa or the Great African War and sometimes referred to as the African World War, began in the Democratic Republic of the Congo in August 1998, little more than a year a ...

began in 1998, but Ngudjolo did not become involved until 2002, when the

Union of Congolese Patriots The Union of Congolese Patriots (french: Union des Patriotes congolais, or UPC) is a political and militia group in Ituri, northeastern Democratic Republic of the Congo, formed towards the end of the Second Congo War. It was founded by Thomas Lub ...

took control of Bunia. Between August 2002 and August 2006, Ngudjolo held senior positions in a number of rebel groups involved in the conflict in Ituri, including the National Integrationist Front (FNI), the Patriotic Resistance Force in Ituri (FRPI) and the Congolese Revolutionary Movement (MRC). On 24 February 2003, he allegedly led an attack on the village of Bogoro in which rebels under his command went on an "indiscriminate killing spree",International Criminal Court (19 October 2007).
Statement by Fatou Bensouda, Deputy Prosecutor, during the press conference regarding the arrest of Germain Katanga
''. Retrieved 17 July 2008. killing at least 200

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 ...

s, imprisoning survivors in a room filled with corpses, and sexually enslaving women and girls. Ngudjolo allegedly ordered his fighters to "wipe out" the village. On 23 October 2003, he was apprehended by the

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

and surrendered to the Congolese authorities, who charged him in connection with the killing of another rebel. He was subsequently acquitted and released. On 1 November 2005, a

United Nations Security Council The United Nations Security Council (UNSC) is one of the six principal organs of the United Nations (UN) and is charged with ensuring international peace and security, recommending the admission of new UN members to the General Assembly, ...

committee imposed a travel ban and asset freeze on him for violating an

arms embargo An arms embargo is a restriction or a set of sanctions that applies either solely to weaponry or also to " dual-use technology." An arms embargo may serve one or more purposes: * to signal disapproval of the behavior of a certain actor * to maintai ...

. In August 2008, Ngudjolo signed a peace deal with the Congolese government on behalf of the MRC. In December 2008, he was appointed a

in the DRC army as part of the peace process.

International Criminal Court proceedings

On 6 July 2007, a Pre-Trial Chamber of the

(ICC) found that there were reasonable grounds to believe that Ngudjolo bore individual criminal responsibility for war crimes and

committed during the Bogoro attack, and issued a sealed warrant for his arrest. He was charged with six counts of war crimes (willful killing; inhuman treatment or cruel treatment; using children under the age of fifteen years to participate actively in hostilities;

; intentionally directing attacks against civilians; and pillaging) and three counts of crimes against humanity (

, inhumane acts and sexual slavery). On 6 February 2008, the Congolese authorities arrested him and surrendered him to the ICC. The following day, he was flown to the ICC's detention centre in

The Hague The Hague ( ; nl, Den Haag or ) is a city and municipality of the Netherlands, situated on the west coast facing the North Sea. The Hague is the country's administrative centre and its seat of government, and while the official capital o ...

. Ngudjolo was the third suspect surrendered to the ICC since its establishment in 2002. He was tried jointly with Germain Katanga, who is also charged with directing the Bogoro attack;International Criminal Court (10 March 2008). . Retrieved 10 March 2008. the hearing to confirm the charges against the two men began on 27 June 2008. Ngudjolo's lawyer has argued that the case should have been inadmissible since Ngudjolo has already been tried for the crimes in question. The trial began on 24 November 2009, and concluded on 23 May 2012. On 21 November, the charges against Katanga were separated. A controversial verdict of not guilty was announced on 17 December. According to Judge Bruno Cotte, prosecutors had "not proved beyond reasonable doubt

hat A hat is a head covering which is worn for various reasons, including protection against weather conditions, ceremonial reasons such as university graduation, religious reasons, safety, or as a fashion accessory. Hats which incorporate mecha ...

Ngudjolo was responsible" for war crimes, and evidence presented had been "too contradictory and too hazy." Cotte ordered Ngudjolo to be released, denying the prosecution's request that he remain in ICC custody, though it was not immediately clear where he would go, as he is still subject to a United Nations travel ban. Prosecutors said that they would appeal the decision. Anonymous legal experts interviewed by

Thomson Reuters Thomson Reuters Corporation ( ) is a Canadian multinational media conglomerate. The company was founded in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, where it is headquartered at the Bay Adelaide Centre. Thomson Reuters was created by the Thomson Corp ...

judged it unlikely that the ICC's verdict would be overruled, as appeals do not permit new evidence to be submitted. According to Ngudjolo's lawyer, Jean-Pierre Kilenda Kakengi Basila, " y other verdict would have astonished us. Judges have shown that this is a court that applies the law." The ICC's verdict was met with dismay from various observatory groups;

Human Rights Watch Human Rights Watch (HRW) is an international non-governmental organization, headquartered in New York City, that conducts research and advocacy on human rights. The group pressures governments, policy makers, companies, and individual human ...

said that it "leaves the victims of Bogoro and other massacres by his forces without justice for their suffering." The Ituri human rights group Equitas said via a spokesperson that " e people trusted the International Criminal Court more than our national courts. After this decision, for those who were victims of this, there is a feeling of disappointment. The victims feel forgotten, abandoned by international justice." The prosecution appealed the verdict on 20 December 2012. The repeal was rejected, confirming the acquittal and closing the case, on 27 February 2015.

References

External links

The Prosecutor v Germain Katanga and Mathieu Ngudjolo Chui
— public court records relating to the ICC trial {{DEFAULTSORT:Ngudjolo Chui, Mathieu 1970 births Living people People from Ituri Province Bunia Democratic Republic of the Congo military personnel Democratic Republic of the Congo people imprisoned abroad Democratic Republic of the Congo prisoners and detainees People of the Ituri conflict People acquitted by the International Criminal Court People indicted for crimes against humanity People indicted for war crimes People extradited from the Democratic Republic of the Congo Democratic Republic of the Congo rebels 21st-century Democratic Republic of the Congo people