Analysis | Why the US and Uganda were willing to give up the hunt for African warlord Joseph Kony
The United States has spent more than $780 million on an anti-Kony operation since 2008 and nothing to show for it
Last week, the international manhunt for Joseph Kony came to an undistinguished end. Both Uganda and the United States said they were withdrawing forces dedicated to catching the warlord, who remains on the run despite a multi-year, multimillion-dollar chase.
Just five years ago, Kony became one of the world’s most-feared monsters. More than 100 million people watched the viral 30-minute “Kony 2012” video, which detailed Kony’s brutality during the two-decade insurgency he and his Lord’s Resistance Army waged against the Ugandan government.
But it’s been a long time since Kony was the menace the video made him out to be.
The Lord’s Resistance Army is now a shadow of its former self, having dwindled from a force of roughly 2,000 to fewer than 100 men. The group hit its peak more than a decade ago, when it terrorised northern Uganda, killing more than 100,000 people and forcing another 2 million out of their homes.
Watch: ‘Kony 2012’ video