Wife and children of Ugandan warlord Joseph Kony return to Uganda from Central African Republic

KAMPALA, Uganda — One of the wives and three children of Ugandan warlord Joseph Kony have been repatriated from Central African Republic while he remains at large, Ugandan authorities said Wednesday.

Kony is wanted by the International Criminal Court on 36 counts of war crimes and crimes against humanity allegedly committed between July 2002 until December 2005 in northern Uganda.

A hearing at the Hague to confirm the charges has been scheduled for Sept. 9. The U.S. has offered a $5 million reward for information leading to his arrest.

Kony's wife and the children who were airlifted to Uganda on Wednesday are the latest members of his family to be returned to Uganda, said Maj. Gen. Felix Kulayigye, a military spokesman.

Kony is the leader of the Lord’s Resistance Army, or LRA, a rebel group opposed to Uganda’s government that became notorious for kidnapping children who then were forced to fight.

Kony is believed to be hiding somewhere in Central African Republic, said Kulayigye.

The LRA began in the 1980s and at the peak of its powers gained notoriety for cruelty against civilians in Uganda, Congo, Central African Republic and what is now South Sudan.

In 2012 the U.S.-based advocacy group Invisible Children made a highly successful online video highlighting the LRA’s crimes, including the abduction of children for use as sex slaves or fighters. The LRA has been in decline for years, with many of its top commanders killed or captured.