Identifier
Created
Classification
Origin
09KAMPALA347
2009-04-06 11:50:00
UNCLASSIFIED
Embassy Kampala
Cable title:  

UGANDA/DRC: KONY'S DOCTOR ESCAPES, DISCUSSES OLT

Tags:  PHUM PREL PREF MOPS MARR UG SU CG CT 
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UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 KAMPALA 000347 

SIPDIS

DEPARTMENT PASS TO USAID AND OFDA

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: PHUM PREL PREF MOPS MARR UG SU CG CT
SUBJECT: UGANDA/DRC: KONY'S DOCTOR ESCAPES, DISCUSSES OLT

KAMPALA 00000347 001.2 OF 003


UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 KAMPALA 000347

SIPDIS

DEPARTMENT PASS TO USAID AND OFDA

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: PHUM PREL PREF MOPS MARR UG SU CG CT
SUBJECT: UGANDA/DRC: KONY'S DOCTOR ESCAPES, DISCUSSES OLT

KAMPALA 00000347 001.2 OF 003



1. Summary: The following is the account of Kotto Kpenze, a
Central African Republic (CAR) abductee, who served as Lord's
Resistance Army (LRA) leader Joseph Kony's "doctor" for the past
year. Kpenze escaped from the LRA on March 30 near Sakure, a
village on the border between Sudan and the Democratic Republic of
Congo (DRC). In the interview, Kpenze describes Kony's
eccentricities and the appalling atrocities against civilians
committed by the LRA over the past year. He also describes life in
the bush as difficult after the launch of Operation Lightning
Thunder (OLT) in mid-December 2008. He recounts being "constantly
on the move" because Ugandan Peoples Defense Forces (UPDF) soldiers
"were hot on our heels." He describes the decision to withdraw
Ugandan forces as "bad news for the population" because the
Congolese army "is not doing much to fight the rebels" and the LRA
is not afraid of them. Kpenze also confirms the lack of contact
between Kony and his deputy, Okot Odhiambo. Finally, Kpwenze says
that Kony has survived through his instincts and the use of
diversionary tactics, such as sending small groups out in different
directions to divert the attention of his pursuers. End Summary.

- - - - - -
BACKGROUND
- - - - - -


2. The following is the New Vision interview of Katto Kpenze that
ran on April 6. Begin text:

Up to a year ago, Katto Kpenze was an ordinary medical assistant at
Obu Hospital in the Central African Republic. His life changed
dramatically on the night of March 6, 2008, when LRA rebels broke
into his house and abducted him. He became the personal doctor of
LRA leader Joseph Kony. The 45-year old man narrates his one-year
ordeal in the LRA camp to Els de Temmerman.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
HIS OWN AND OTHER ABDUCTIONS
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - -


3. Q: What happened when you were abducted?

A: It was around 2:00 a.m. I was sleeping in my house in the town
of Obu. Suddenly, somebody kicked open the door and armed men

entered. They were a big group, both children and adults. I was
still in my hospital uniform. When they noticed I was a medical
person, they told me they had a sick person with them and needed my
help to treat him. I later discovered it was a lie. I was taken
into the Congolese jungle and we walked for one month and two weeks.



4. Q: What did you witness on the way?

A: There was no food. The rebels would attack Congolese homesteads
and loot food-mainly maize, cassava, groundnuts, chicken and goats.
They also stole medicine from health centers. In every village we
passed, they would abduct children and kill adults. They would tie
their hands behind their backs and beat them on the head with wooden
logs.


5. Q: How many people did you witness being killed?

A: They were many. It is hard to tell. I would say hundreds.
Killing was like a routine thing for them.


6. Q: How many children were abducted during that journey?

A: About 400, mostly Congolese.


7. Q: Where did the journey end?

A: After six weeks, we reached Kony's base in Garamba. There were
three camps at the time. One was called Kiswahili, the second
Eskimoma and the third Cova. I was introduced to Kony and he told
me I would be his personal doctor. For 12 months, I was all the
time with him.


8. Q: Is he healthy?

A: He is generally in good health. He had malaria a few times.
But he regularly suffers attacks as a result of tension. That
bothers him the most. Whenever he received shocking news, he would
collapse on the floor and I had to treat him with modern and
traditional medicine.

KAMPALA 00000347 002.2 OF 003



- - - - - - - - - - - - - -
OPERATION LIGHTNING THUNDER
- - - - - - - - - - - - - -


9. Q: Where were you when Operation Lightning Thunder started?

A: I was in Kiswahili when the camp was bombed. In fact, Kony had
warned us of an imminent attack. The previous day, he called his
commanders and told them there would be an offensive and they should
be prepared. The planes came at around 9:00 a.m. the next morning.
They were four. When we heard the sound of the planes, everybody
took off. Kony ran into the thick forest. I ran along with him.
We ran almost non-stop for three days.


10. Q: How many were you?

A: At first we were around 300. After about one month, we reached
a position where another group joined us and numbers went up to

800.


11. Q: Were many in your group killed during the joint offensive?

A: Not many died as a result of the aerial bombardments. Most were
killed in the ground offensive. In our group, about 18 were killed
and 30 wounded. Others escaped or were rescued.


12. Q: What was the impact of the operation?

A: We were constantly on the move. UPDF soldiers were hot on our
heels. They were close to us all the time. Whenever we moved, we
would run into them. As a result, we could not settle down or rest.
We would eat at midnight and rest for two to three hours before
starting to move again.


13. Q: What in your opinion is Kony fighting for?

A: In one of the meetings with his commanders, he said he wanted to
return to Uganda and overthrow the Government, but at the moment,
the roads were blocked by soldiers. That's why we were still in
Congo. He repeated time and again that he would never cease until
he is the President of Uganda.


14. Q: Did all the orders come from him?

A: Kony gives the orders, but it is Dominic Ongwen who executes
them. He is one of the cruelest commanders. Kony would say:
"whoever doesn't walk fast must be eliminated." He even ordered the
killing of babies born in captivity because they were sick and
crying at night. The baby would be hit once with a wooden log and
thrown away.


15. Q: Is it true that Okot Odhiambo wanted to surrender with his
fighters?

A: Odhiambo was no longer with us. In December 2008, after the
joint military offensive had started, Kony called his commanders for
a meeting. There were a lot of aerial bombardments and attacks by
ground troops. But Odhiambo, who was leading a smaller group,
presumed to be behind us, did not show up for the meeting. Up to
the day I escaped, Kony had not been able to establish contact with
Odhiambo and he did not know his location.


16. Q: How many other LRA groups are there?

A: Besides Odhiambo's group, there are two smaller groups believed
to be further down, near Faradje. One is led by Oket and the other
by Arop. They, too, failed to make it for the December 2008
meeting.


17. Q: Can you tell us chronologically what happened after the
offensive started?

A: From our bases in Garamba, we first took the Nabanga route,
moving northwards. Then we branched to Duru where we settled in a
small village after the rebels killed its inhabitants. We occupied
that village briefly. From Duru, we marched westwards, in the
direction of the CAR. There we established a new base in the
Congolese jungle, called Nigeria. We would move away for a couple
of nights, but always returned to Nigeria. We stayed in thick
forest and avoided homesteads since UPDF soldiers were passing
through villages day and night.

KAMPALA 00000347 003.2 OF 003




18. Q: You have a scar on your forehead. Did you get wounded?

A: During one attack, when we were running, a bullet hit me on the
head. It was on February 22 and we were hit near Bitima. Thanks to
God the bullet didn't penetrate.

- - - - - - -
LRA RE-SUPPLY
- - - - - - -


19. Q: Is Kony still receiving supplies?

A: We had a lot of food in Garamba before the attack. We had
cultivated maize, groundnuts and cassava. And we had bags of food
donated by Caritas. We received our last supplies of food and
medicines from Caritas in December 2008. The items were handed over
to us in Nabanga. I personally received the medicines.


20. Q: What about arms and ammunition? There are reports that the
Khartoum Government is still arming LRA.

A: I can't say that I saw any airdrops by the Khartoum government
or anybody else. I only know that Kony on December 25, 2008 ordered
his troops to collect arms and ammunition from Faradje. The rebels
had attacked and looted an arms depot of the Congolese army. They
stole a lot of guns - all Kalashnikovs - and three boxes of
ammunition.


21. Q: How did you escape?

A: We were staying at Sakure. One of the commanders had been hit
by a bullet in the leg. He was crying at night. Kony feared it
would alarm the enemy. He told me to hide him in the bush some
distance away. I had to treat him from there. That is when I ran
away.

- - - - - - -
OLT PHASE II
- - - - - - -


22. Q: What do you think of Kabila's decision to order the UPDF
out of Congo?

A: The withdrawal of the UPDF is bad news for the population. The
Congolese army is not doing much to fight the rebels. The LRA are
not afraid of them. They fear the UPDF and the Sudan Peoples
Liberation Army (SPLA) because they keep pursuing them and never
retreat.


23. Q: How do you explain the fact that Kony has survived in the
bush this long?

A: He knows the forest through and through. He is highly mobile.
And he senses danger from far. He also uses diversionary tactics.
He would send small groups of rebels in different directions to
divert the attention of his pursuers. These units would then be
attacked, while Kony would be in the middle and safe. He has a
unique survival instinct, like that of a hunted animal. End Text.

- - - -
COMMENT
- - - -


24. Kony's "doctor's" account of OLT tracks closely with that of
the UPDF and other Kampala-based sources. We note that his
description of life on the run from the UPDF sounds similar to
Angolan operations against Jonas Savimbi, which ultimately
succeeded. UN Special Envoy for LRA-Affected Areas Joachim Chissano
has relayed to us and President Museveni that this type of military
pressure is required to force Kony to sign the peace agreement or to
eliminate the LRA as a threat to the region.
BROWNING