Thomas Lubanga
Thomas Lubanga is the first person to ever be convicted by the International Criminal Court (ICC) as a war criminal. Lubanga was the founding leader of the Union des Patriotes Congolais (UPC) and the commander-in-chief of its military wing, the Forces patriotiques pour la libération du Congo.
The militia under Lubanga’s control, composed mainly of the Hema ethnic group, was suspected of committing grave abuses against civilians in the course of the conflict over land and resources in Ituri against militias of the Lendu eithnic group in the Ituri region of eastern DRC from 2002 to 2003.
After Lubanga’s arrest and transfer to the ICC in 2006, his deputy Bosco Ntaganda, and fellow ICC suspect took over as UPC commander.
