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{{Short description|Congolese colonel and former rebel}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=January 2021}}
{{Infobox person
|image =
|image_size =
|name = Mathieu Ngudjolo Chui
|birth_name =
|birth_date = {{birth date and age|1970|10|8|df=yes}}
|birth_place = [[Bunia]], [[Ituri Province]], [[Republic of the Congo (Léopoldville)|Republic of the Congo]]
|death_date =
|death_place =
|nationality = [[Democratic Republic of the Congo]]
|other_names = Mathieu Cui Ngudjolo,<br/>Cui Ngudjolo
|known_for = Indicted and acquitted by the [[International Criminal Court]] on [[war crime]]s and [[crimes against humanity]] charges<ref name="ICC_Ngudjolo_closed" />
|occupation = Militia leader, nurse
}}
'''Mathieu Ngudjolo Chui''' (born 8 October 1970)<ref name=warrant>International Criminal Court (6 July 2007). {{cite web|url=http://www.icc-cpi.int/library/cases/ICC-01-04-02-07-1-tENG.pdf |title=''Warrant of arrest for Mathieu Ngudjolo Chui'' |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20080625052409/http://www.icc-cpi.int/library/cases/ICC-01-04-02-07-1-tENG.pdf |archivedate=25 June 2008 }} {{small|(208 KB)}}. Retrieved 7 February 2008.</ref> is a [[colonel]] in the [[Military of the Democratic Republic of the Congo|Congolese army]] and a former senior commander of the [[Nationalist and Integrationist Front|National Integrationist Front]] (FNI) and the [[Front for Patriotic Resistance of Ituri|Patriotic Resistance Force in Ituri]] (FRPI).<ref name=warrant/>

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 crime]]s and three counts of [[crime against humanity|crimes against humanity]].<ref name=arrest>International Criminal Court (7 February 2008). [http://www.icc-cpi.int/press/pressreleases/329.html ''Third detainee for the International Criminal Court: Mathieu Ngudjolo Chui''] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070623020724/http://www.icc-cpi.int/press/pressreleases/329.html |date=23 June 2007 }}. Retrieved 7 February 2008.</ref> The charges include [[murder]], [[sexual slavery]] and using children under the age of fifteen to participate actively in hostilities.<ref name=warrant/><ref name=arrest/>

In December 2012, he was acquitted of war crimes at the Hague by a three-judge panel presided over by [[Bruno Cotte]] on the grounds that the prosecution had not proven beyond reasonable doubt that he was responsible for the crimes committed, a decision which led to criticism of the ICC.<ref name="bbc dec 2012"/><ref>{{Citation |title=The Trial of Germain Katanga and Mathieu Ngudjolo |date=2022 |url=https://www.cambridge.org/core/books/congo-trials-in-the-international-criminal-court/trial-of-germain-katanga-and-mathieu-ngudjolo/34F016EB38704A71D0BBFAC0F41D5E50 |work=The Congo Trials in the International Criminal Court |pages=291–374 |editor-last=Gaskins |editor-first=Richard |edition=2 |publisher=Cambridge University Press |doi=10.1017/9781009208772.009 |isbn=978-1-009-20877-2|url-access=subscription }}</ref> The verdict was appealed on 20 December 2012 and the acquittal was confirmed on 27 February 2015.<ref name="ICC_Ngudjolo_closed" />

He is also known as '''Mathieu Cui Ngudjolo''' or '''Cui Ngudjolo'''.<ref name=warrant/>

==Personal life==
Ngudjolo was born on 8 October 1970 in [[Bunia]],<ref name=warrant/> [[Ituri Province]], in the north-east of the [[Democratic Republic of the Congo]] (DRC). A "poor farmer's son",<ref name=csm/> he is believed to be of [[Lendu]] ethnicity<ref name=warrant/> and speaks [[Lingala language|Lingala]], [[French language|French]], [[Swahili language|Swahili]] and Kilendu.<ref name=combinedfactsheet>International Criminal Court (7 February 2008). {{cite web |url= http://www.icc-cpi.int/library/organs/otp/ICC-OTP-FS-20080207_ENG.pdf |title= ''Combined Factsheet: Situation in the Democratic Republic of the Congo: Germain Katanga and Mathieu Ngudjolo Chui'' }}{{dead link|date=January 2018 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }} {{small|(352 KB)}}. Retrieved 7 February 2008.</ref> He is married to Semaka Lemi and has two children.<ref name=warrant/>

==Career==
Ngudjolo began his career as a [[corporal]] in the [[Military of the Democratic Republic of the Congo|Congolese army]] (then called the ''Forces Armées Zaïroises'') under the dictator [[Mobutu Sese Seko]].<ref name=csm>Tristan McConnell (15 February 2008)."[http://www.csmonitor.com/2008/0215/p20s01-woaf.html A Congo warlord – arrested for crimes against humanity – explains himself]". ''[[The Christian Science Monitor]]''. Retrieved 10 March 2008.</ref> 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 [[International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement|Red Cross]] in Bunia.<ref name=csm/><ref name=afp1>[[Agence France-Presse]] (7 February 2008). ''[https://web.archive.org/web/20111002185945/http://www.haaba.com/news/2008/02/07/7-87834/mathieu-ngudjolo-from-nurse-to-ituri-warlord.html Mathieu Ngudjolo: From nurse to Ituri warlord]''. Retrieved 10 March 2008.</ref>

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.<ref name=csm/><ref name=afp1/> Between August 2002 and August 2006, Ngudjolo held senior positions in a number of rebel groups involved in the [[Ituri conflict|conflict in Ituri]], including the [[Nationalist and Integrationist Front|National Integrationist Front]] (FNI), the [[Front for Patriotic Resistance of Ituri|Patriotic Resistance Force in Ituri]] (FRPI) and the [[Congolese Revolutionary Movement]] (MRC).<ref name=combinedfactsheet/> On 24 February 2003, he allegedly led an [[Bogoro attack|attack on the village of Bogoro]] in which rebels under his command went on an "indiscriminate killing spree",<ref name=Bensouda>International Criminal Court (19 October 2007). ''[http://www.icc-cpi.int/press/pressreleases/291.html Statement by Fatou Bensouda, Deputy Prosecutor, during the press conference regarding the arrest of Germain Katanga] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071028101530/http://www.icc-cpi.int/press/pressreleases/291.html |date=28 October 2007 }}''. Retrieved 17 July 2008.</ref> killing at least 200 [[civilian]]s, imprisoning survivors in a room filled with corpses, and [[sexually enslaving]] women and girls.<ref name=warrant/> Ngudjolo allegedly ordered his fighters to "wipe out" the village.<ref name=arrest/>

On 23 October 2003, he was apprehended by the [[MONUC|United Nations]] and surrendered to the Congolese authorities, who charged him in connection with the killing of another rebel.<ref name=combinedfactsheet/> He was subsequently acquitted and released.<ref name=combinedfactsheet/> On 1 November 2005, a [[United Nations Security Council]] committee imposed a travel ban and asset freeze on him for violating an [[arms embargo]].<ref>Security Council Committee established pursuant to Resolution 1533 (2004) concerning the Democratic Republic of the Congo (7 November 2007). {{cite web|url= https://www.un.org/sc/committees/1533/pdf/1533_list.pdf |title=''List of individuals and entities subject to the measures imposed by paragraphs 13 and 15 of Security Council Resolution 1596 (2005)'' }} {{small|(52.3 KB)}}. Retrieved 7 February 2008.</ref>

In August 2008, Ngudjolo signed a peace deal with the Congolese government on behalf of the MRC.<ref name=combinedfactsheet/> In December 2008, he was appointed a [[colonel]] in the [[Military of the Democratic Republic of the Congo|DRC army]] as part of the peace process.<ref name=combinedfactsheet/>

==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 crime]]s and [[crime against humanity|crimes against humanity]] committed during the Bogoro attack, and issued a sealed warrant for his arrest.<ref name=warrant/> He was charged with six counts of war crimes (willful killing; inhuman treatment or cruel treatment; [[Military use of children|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).<ref name=warrant/>

On 6 February 2008, the Congolese authorities arrested him and surrendered him to the ICC.<ref name=arrest/> The following day, he was flown to the ICC's detention centre in [[The Hague]].<ref name=arrest/> Ngudjolo was the third suspect surrendered to the ICC since its establishment in 2002.<ref name=arrest/> He was tried jointly with [[Germain Katanga]], who is also charged with directing the Bogoro attack;<ref name=joinder>International Criminal Court (10 March 2008). {{cite web|url=http://www.icc-cpi.int/library/cases/ICC-01-04-01-07-257-ENG.pdf |title=''Decision on the Joinder of the Cases against Germain Katanga and Mathieu Ngudjolo Chui'' }}{{dead link|date=June 2017 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }} {{small|(527 KB)}}. Retrieved 10 March 2008.</ref> the hearing to confirm the charges against the two men began on 27 June 2008.<ref>International Criminal Court (27 June 2008). [http://www.icc-cpi.int/pressrelease_details&id=392.html ''ICC Cases an opportunity for communities in Ituri to come together and move forward''] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150924052026/http://www.icc-cpi.int/pressrelease_details%26id%3D392.html |date=24 September 2015 }}. Retrieved 17 July 2008.</ref> Ngudjolo's lawyer has argued that the case should have been inadmissible since Ngudjolo has already been tried for the crimes in question.<ref>[[Agence France-Presse]] (11 February 2008). ''[http://afp.google.com/article/ALeqM5h7xzeNifzI_xPPt6oGI-0-VIh4HA ICC cannot try DR Congo war crimes suspect: defence] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110520123249/http://afp.google.com/article/ALeqM5h7xzeNifzI_xPPt6oGI-0-VIh4HA |date=20 May 2011 }}''. Retrieved 10 March 2008.</ref> The trial began on 24 November 2009, and concluded on 23 May 2012.<ref name="cp"/> On 21 November, the charges against Katanga were separated.<ref name="cp">{{cite web | url=http://congoplanet.com/2012/12/18/news/2017/international-criminal-court-acquits-mathieu-ngudjolo-chui.jsp | title=International Criminal Court Acquits Mathieu Ngudjolo Chui | publisher=Congo Planet | date=18 December 2012 | accessdate=20 December 2012}}</ref>

A controversial verdict of not guilty was announced on 17 December.<ref name="reuters dec 2012"/> According to Judge Bruno Cotte, prosecutors had "not proved beyond reasonable doubt [that] Ngudjolo was responsible" for war crimes, and evidence presented had been "too contradictory and too hazy."<ref name="bbc dec 2012"/> Cotte ordered Ngudjolo to be released, denying the prosecution's request that he remain in ICC custody, though it was not immediately clear where he would go, as he is still subject to a United Nations travel ban.<ref name="bbc dec 2012"/><ref name="reuters dec 2012"/> Prosecutors said that they would appeal the decision. Anonymous legal experts interviewed by [[Thomson Reuters]] judged it unlikely that the ICC's verdict would be overruled, as appeals do not permit new evidence to be submitted.<ref name="reuters dec 2012"/>

According to Ngudjolo's lawyer, Jean-Pierre Kilenda Kakengi Basila, "[a]ny other verdict would have astonished us. Judges have shown that this is a court that applies the law."<ref>{{cite web | url=http://www.abc.net.au/news/2012-12-18/icc-acquits-congolese-warlord/4434914 | title=ICC acquits Congolese warlord | publisher=ABC News | date=18 December 2012 | accessdate=20 December 2012}}</ref> The ICC's verdict was met with dismay from various observatory groups; [[Human Rights Watch]] said that it "leaves the victims of Bogoro and other massacres by his forces without justice for their suffering."<ref name="bbc dec 2012">{{cite web | url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-20766597 | title=DR Congo: Mathieu Ngudjolo Chui acquitted of war crimes by ICC | publisher=BBC News Online | date=18 December 2012 | accessdate=20 December 2012}}</ref> The Ituri human rights group Equitas said via a spokesperson that "[t]he people trusted the International Criminal Court more than our national courts. After this decision, for those who were victims of this, there is a feeling of disappointment. The victims feel forgotten, abandoned by international justice."<ref name="reuters dec 2012">{{cite web | url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-icc-congo-ngudjolo-idUSBRE8BH0AG20121218 | title=In second verdict, war crimes court acquits Congolese | publisher=Reuters | date=18 December 2012 | accessdate=20 December 2012}}</ref>

The prosecution appealed the verdict on 20 December 2012. The repeal was rejected, confirming the acquittal and closing the case, on 27 February 2015.<ref name="ICC_Ngudjolo_closed" />

==References==

{{reflist|refs=

<ref name="ICC_Ngudjolo_closed">{{cite web | title= The Prosecutor v. Mathieu Ngudjolo Chui |trans-title =  | website= [[International Criminal Court]] |date =4 November 2019 | url = https://www.icc-cpi.int/drc/ngudjolo | id= ICC-01/04-02/12 | accessdate = 4 November 2019 |archiveurl= https://web.archive.org/web/20191103235559/https://www.icc-cpi.int/drc/ngudjolo |archivedate= 3 November 2019 |url-status=live }}</ref>

}}

==External links==
{{Portal|Democratic Republic of the Congo|Biography}}
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20080513123815/http://www.icc-cpi.int/cases/RDC/c0107/c0107_doc.html The Prosecutor v Germain Katanga and Mathieu Ngudjolo Chui] — public court records relating to the ICC trial

{{ICC indictees (NavBox)}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ngudjolo Chui, Mathieu}}
[[Category:1970 births]]
[[Category:Living people]]
[[Category:People from Ituri Province]]
[[Category:Bunia]]
[[Category:Democratic Republic of the Congo military personnel]]
[[Category:Democratic Republic of the Congo people imprisoned abroad]]
[[Category:Democratic Republic of the Congo prisoners and detainees]]
[[Category:People of the Ituri conflict]]
[[Category:People acquitted by the International Criminal Court]]
[[Category:People indicted for crimes against humanity]]
[[Category:People indicted for war crimes]]
[[Category:People extradited from the Democratic Republic of the Congo]]
[[Category:Democratic Republic of the Congo rebels]]
[[Category:21st-century Democratic Republic of the Congo people]]

Mathieu Ngudjolo Chui - Revision history

imported>OAbot: Open access bot: url-access updated in citation with #oabot.