Ali Ssalongo Kony (born 1990s) is a Ugandan militant and LRA's defector. He is the son of

Joseph Kony Joseph Rao Kony (born September 1961) is a Ugandan militant and warlord who founded the Lord's Resistance Army (LRA), designated as a terrorist group by the MONUSCO, United Nations Peacekeepers, the European Union, and various other governments ...

Life

Ali Ssalongo Kony was born in Gulu in the early to mid-1990s to Joseph Kony and Medina Akulu. Akulu is Kony's third wife, who was abducted in 1989. At the age of six months, he moved from Gulu to join the LRA in the bush. As a member of the LRA, Ali was a brigadier, earning the nom de guerre "Caesar" and "Bashir". He had three bodyguards and was a merchant who trade ivory, gold, and marijuana from hunters, traders, and farmers, respectively and sold them to the big merchants in Songo. The US Treasury report stipulated that Kony was tasked with negotiating the ivory price and overseeing its distribution to Joseph Kony for selling. Through the ivory trade, the groups received weapons, food, and ammunition. Apart from that, he also served as the group's foreign affairs minister, where he was responsible for forging a non-aggression pact, intelligence exchange, and trade with other armed militias who roamed around the LRA's territory. In October 2014, Ali was reportedly to increase his involvement in LRA's operational planning. Due to his role in the LRA, the

US treasury The Department of the Treasury (USDT) is the national treasury and finance department of the federal government of the United States. It is one of 15 current U.S. government departments. The department oversees the Bureau of Engraving and ...

imposed sanctions on Kony and freeze his asset in the US on 23 August 2016 for human rights violations towards civilians in the Central African Republic. In July 2005, UPDF claimed that Ali, along with Lakati Owor, was killed by a gunshot wound during a clash in Beyogoya-Palabek. However, this claim was unfounded as he was also named as a potential leader of the LRA once his father died in 2017.

Defection

In June 2021, Ali decided to defect from the LRA due to his discord with his father, who often fought with his mother and his desire to start a new life with his children and wife. As night approached, he and his family covertly left the base in Kafia Kingi for Songo because they did not want to raise an alert. As he arrived in Songo, he started his new life. He became a businessman who owned shops and traded gold and cannabis as a middleman. In addition to becoming an entrepreneur, he worked as a farmer and a taxi driver. In April 2023, a

civil war A civil war is a war between organized groups within the same Sovereign state, state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies.J ...

broke out in Sudan. Responding to this turmoil, Ali and his family decided to move to Juba. Amidst the journey to

Juba Juba is the capital and largest city of South Sudan. The city is situated on the White Nile and also serves as the capital of the Central Equatoria, Central Equatoria State. It is the most recently declared national capital and had a populatio ...

, one of his children got malaria. After weeks of journey, they arrived in Juba with no money. Arriving in Juba, Kony went to the Ugandan Embassy and presented himself as a businessman in Sudan. The Ugandan Embassy then gave Kony a travel permit, and they travelled to Gulu. Upon arriving in Gulu on 1 July, he lived in a rented house with his family. Ali and his family met

Yoweri Museveni Yoweri Kaguta Museveni Tibuhaburwa (born 15 September 1944) is a Ugandan politician and Officer (armed forces), military officer who is the ninth and current president of Uganda since 1986. As of 2025, he is the third-List of current state lead ...

in the State House,

Entebbe Entebbe is a city in Central Region, Uganda, Central Uganda which is located on Lake Victoria peninsula, approximately southwest of the Ugandan capital city, Kampala. Entebbe was once the seat of government for the Protectorate of Uganda pri ...

on 25 August 2023. During the meeting, Museveni promised that he would provide Ali 30 acres of land, a farm, and a house. However, the president's promises had not been materialised and they still struggle to adapt to the new lifestyle by February 2025.

Personal life

Kony is married to a Congolese woman named Cecillia Akullu and the couple has four children. He is fluent in Arabic.

References

Bibliography

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Kony, Ali 1990s births Living people Lord's Resistance Army rebels