Mathieu Ngudjolo Chui

Mathieu Ngudjolo Chui
Born	8 October 1970 (1970-10-08) (age 41) Bunia, Ituri Province, DRC
Nationality	Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC)
Other names	Mathieu Cui Ngudjolo, Cui Ngudjolo
Occupation	Militia leader, nurse
Known for	Indicted by the International Criminal Court for war crimes and crimes against humanity

Mathieu Ngudjolo Chui (born 8 October 1970)^[1] is a colonel in the Congolese army and a former senior commander of the National Integrationist Front (FNI) and the Patriotic Resistance Force in Ituri (FRPI).^[1]

On 6 February 2008, he was arrested by the Congolese authorities and surrendered to the International Criminal Court (ICC) to stand trial on six counts of war crimes and three counts of crimes against humanity.^[2] The charges include murder, sexual slavery and using children under the age of fifteen to participate actively in hostilities.^[1][2]

He is also known as Mathieu Cui Ngudjolo or Cui Ngudjolo.^[1]

Personal life

Ngudjolo was born on 8 October 1970 in Bunia,^[1] Ituri Province, in the north-east of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). A "poor farmer's son",^[3] he is believed to be of Lendu ethnicity^[1] and speaks Lingala, French, Swahili and Kilendu.^[4] He is married to Semaka Lemi and has two children.^[1]

Career

Ngudjolo began his career as a corporal in the Congolese army (then called the Forces Armées Zaïroises) under the dictator Mobutu Sese Seko.^[3] He deserted when the First Congo War broke out in 1996 and, during the years that followed, he trained as a nurse and worked for the Red Cross in Bunia.^[3][5]

The Second Congo War began in 1998, but Ngudjolo did not become involved until 2002, when the Union of Congolese Patriots took control of Bunia.^[3][5] 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).^[4] 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",^[6] killing at least 200 civilians, imprisoning survivors in a room filled with corpses, and sexually enslaving women and girls.^[1] Ngudjolo allegedly ordered his fighters to "wipe out" the village.^[2]

On 23 October 2003, he was apprehended by the United Nations and surrendered to the Congolese authorities, who charged him in connection with the killing of another rebel.^[4] He was subsequently acquitted and released.^[4] On 1 November 2005, a United Nations Security Council committee imposed a travel ban and asset freeze on him for violating an arms embargo.^[7]

In August 2006, Ngudjolo signed a peace deal with the Congolese government on behalf of the MRC.^[4] In December 2006, he was appointed a colonel in the DRC army as part of the peace process.^[4]

International Criminal Court proceedings

On 6 July 2007, a Pre-Trial Chamber of the International Criminal Court (ICC) found that there were reasonable grounds to believe that Ngudjolo bore individual criminal responsibility for war crimes and crimes against humanity committed during the Bogoro attack, and issued a sealed warrant for his arrest.^[1] 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; sexual slavery; intentionally directing attacks against civilians; and pillaging) and three counts of crimes against humanity (murder, inhumane acts and sexual slavery).^[1]

On 6 February 2008, the Congolese authorities arrested him and surrendered him to the ICC.^[2] The following day, he was flown to the ICC's detention centre in The Hague.^[2] Ngudjolo was the third suspect surrendered to the ICC since its establishment in 2002.^[2] He will be tried jointly with Germain Katanga, who is also charged with directing the Bogoro attack;^[8] the hearing to confirm the charges against the two men began on 27 June 2008.^[9]

Ngudjolo's lawyer has argued that the case is inadmissible since Ngudjolo has already been tried for the crimes in question.^[10]

References

1. ^ ^{a b c d e f g h i j} International Criminal Court (6 July 2007). Warrant of arrest for Mathieu Ngudjolo ChuiPDF (208 KB). Retrieved on 7 February 2008.
2. ^ ^{a b c d e f} International Criminal Court (7 February 2008). Third detainee for the International Criminal Court: Mathieu Ngudjolo Chui. Retrieved on 7 February 2008.
3. ^ ^{a b c d} Tristan McConnell (15 February 2008). "A Congo warlord – arrested for crimes against humanity – explains himself". The Christian Science Monitor. Retrieved on 10 March 2008.
4. ^ ^{a b c d e f} International Criminal Court (7 February 2008). Combined Factsheet: Situation in the Democratic Republic of the Congo: Germain Katanga and Mathieu Ngudjolo ChuiPDF (352 KB). Retrieved on 7 February 2008.
5. ^ ^{a b} Agence France-Presse (7 February 2008). Mathieu Ngudjolo: From nurse to Ituri warlord. Retrieved on 10 March 2008.
6. ^ International Criminal Court (19 October 2007). Statement by Fatou Bensouda, Deputy Prosecutor, during the press conference regarding the arrest of Germain Katanga. Retrieved on 17 July 2008.
7. ^ Security Council Committee established pursuant to Resolution 1533 (2004) concerning the Democratic Republic of the Congo (7 November 2007). List of individuals and entities subject to the measures imposed by paragraphs 13 and 15 of Security Council Resolution 1596 (2005)PDF (52.3 KB). Retrieved on 7 February 2008.
8. ^ International Criminal Court (10 March 2008). Decision on the Joinder of the Cases against Germain Katanga and Mathieu Ngudjolo ChuiPDF (527 KB). Retrieved on 10 March 2008.
9. ^ International Criminal Court (27 June 2008). ICC Cases an opportunity for communities in Ituri to come together and move forward. Retrieved on 17 July 2008.
10. ^ Agence France-Presse (11 February 2008). ICC cannot try DR Congo war crimes suspect: defence. Retrieved on 10 March 2008.

External links

• The Prosecutor v Germain Katanga and Mathieu Ngudjolo Chui — public court records relating to the ICC trial

Persondata
Name	Ngudjolo Chui, Mathieu
Alternative names	Mathieu Cui Ngudjolo, Cui Ngudjolo
Short description	Militia leader, indicted by the International Criminal Court for war crimes and crimes against humanity
Date of birth	8 October 1970
Place of birth	Bunia, Ituri Province, Democratic Republic of the Congo
Date of death
Place of death