Kony2012. Four months after failure to find him

How fast we forget. Despite a massive KONY2012 YouTube campaign, the rebel leader Joseph Kony of the Lords Resistance Army is still at large.



A US organisation called Invisible Children ran a controversial campaign at the start of last year, which involved a documentary on YouTube which claims over 97 million views (unverified) and 3.7 million pledges of support.

The critics of the campaign gave up at the end of last year. But then came news from Kampala.

Felix Kulayigye

Last Wednesday, a Ugandan army spokesman Felix Kulayigye said their forces has temporarily suspended the hunt "until further notice". This was followed two days later by a denial that this was the case by the UN Special representative to the Central African Republic, Abou Moussa.

"We must not give any chance to Joseph Kony and his fighters to believe that there is a reprieve and that they can continue to commit atrocities with impunity," Moussa said.

"There is no reason to consider any suspension of the participation of the UPDF (Ugandan military)," was the message at a press conference following a meeting in Kampala on Wednesday between officials from the African Union, UN and Uganda.

The change of regime in Bangui has had "no impact" on the determination of Ugandan authorities to hunt down the LRA and its leader Joseph Kony, the UN said, citing remarks by African Union point man on the LRA, Francisco Madeira.

US Ambassador to Uganda Scott DeLisi on Thursday who confirmed that US military advisors remained deployed throughout the region to help in the hunt for Kony.

Col. Joseph Balikuddembe (L), commander of UPDF troops hunting Kony in CAR, and US Navy SEALS commander Capt. Gregory speak to journalists at the Counter LRA Operations Fusion Centre in Obo on April 30th 2012. PHOTO BY TABU BUTAGIRA 

The UN statement followed remarks by a Ugandan army spokesman on Wednesday who said operations against the LRA in Central Africa had been halted after Seleka rebels took control last month.

LRA rebel leader Kony is believed by some to be hiding out in a remote area close to where the borders of CAR, Sudan and South Sudan meet.

Although Kony has not been found, Invisible Children is claiming success with its 6 FM Radio projects across central Africa that broadcast messages from family members and former LRA combatants to encourage current LRA soldiers to peacefully surrender. 

The Invisible Children project "LRA Crisis Tracker"  reported that, on March 21, 2013, four LRA soldiers escorted 28 captives to Digba, DR Congo, in order to release them. The group consisted of 28 women and children. After reaching Digba, the group traveled to Ango. One woman reportedly drowned on the journey (the LRA Crisis Tracker has not received any additional information about how the accident occurred). The remaining 27 arrived safely in Ango and "confirmed listening to the Come Home programs" that our newest supported project, UBC Radio, broadcasts from Kampala and reaches deep into central Africa.

So what's really going on?

Kony 2013 - How quickly we forget the Invisible

It's fun looking back at 2012 and reading what others found to be the highlights. But I note that events older than a couple of months rarely figure prominently. My theory is that, without the aid of media to remind us, we have a collective memory for current affairs of about 6 weeks. So I don't see the KONY 2012 project mentioned anywhere. Remember this viral video? 

I note that the counter on YouTube is currently at 95,739,821 views. But when I see articles this week indicating that YouTube is revising down the number of page views claimed by record companies (by a collective billion views) then I begin to wonder whether 95 million people really watched this documentary all the way through or whether some clever software didn't help to boost the numbers. But even if the number of pageviews is really half that being claimed, it is certainly one of the most successful videos on Youtube, especially as Gangnam Style (now on 1.08 billion views) is not a documentary with a call to action.

2 million watched the follow-up video released in April 2012

And then we had that weird report of the Kony Founder, Jason Russell, being arrested on March 15th 2012  for screaming at traffic while being naked. Since then, not a lot of positive news about KONY.

Until now, when around 8000 people have been curious enough to watch the end of the year report.

The idea for the awareness and action campaign was actually around a lot earlier when the US organisation Invisible Children set up an early warning tracking radio network in the area where Kony and the Lords Resistance Army are believed to be hiding. It uses ham radio gear operating on shortwave (around 7 MHz) to link villages. There's also a separate network of 6 FM radio stations broadcasting regular messages from ex-LRA members encouraging them to defect. Invisible Children helps to construct stations and/or otherwise fund the transmission of the "Come Home" message. They're hoping to raise a further 100,000 dollars in 2013 to fund further expansion.



They also run flyer campaigns reminiscent of the way the US military (psyops)  have run pamphlet campaigns over Iraq, Libya and Afghanistan in the past.

But what have we learned?

• Invisible Children are masters in making video campaigns. But the story remains vastly oversimplified. We're not hearing much about the side effects is this campaign, which is increased support by the US for Yoweri Museveni, the dictatorial and kleptocratic leader of Uganda.
• I don't think we're seeing anything like the full side of the story as it plays out inside Uganda. Although Invisible Children are good at starting conversations and creating awareness, I doubt the long term impact. That's because it's not clear how the victims of the LRA are being helped by the Invisible Children campaign. Indeed the reactions to the Happy Clappy video produced below were apparently rather negative in Uganda itself. All this is several months ago, since then silence.

• YouTube has become the platform of choice in many Western countries to raise public awareness for any cause. More effective than many appeals on traditional radio and TV.
• Radio, especially FM Radio, is the most effective way to connect these particular groups of people. The message to come home is mixed in with music and other local news, all in local languages. If only the same sort of funding went in to regional radio projects in Somalia.
• Invisible Children says it's helping to set up the stations - although to what extent these stations will survive if Kony is captured remains to be seen. 
• I thought the best and most constructive criticism of the KONY campaign came from Ethan Zuckerman and Visible Children. Haven't seen much in the way of specific answers from Invisible Children. So, I have to say that although their method has all the hall-marks of military precision, I believe there are other more important priorities. And where is mainstream media when it comes to investigative journalism? Too obsessed with other distractions like a Fiscal Cliff. 
• Update: Jan 15th. Views of this particular post are off the chart. I guess it's because I tagged it with KONY.