Men Who Lived All Their Lives Fighting Wars

Jonas Savimbi

His principle was “Kill by the Bullet and die by the bullet” Jonas Savimbi was a truly menacing man. He was stout, heavily bearded and a very talented orator. He led his UNITA rebel movement into many pitched battles with the establishment of Angola for many years. His struggle bled the economy of the oil rich country to a near collapse. He was tracked by hired Super French detectives via satellite before getting killed. It is believed that had he not been killed that fateful day, he probably would have taken over the Angolan government the very next day.

Joseph Kony

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He has fought one of the longest wars in history. He was part of the group that declared war on the National Resistance Movement government in 1987. To date, Kony is still a soldier of war, fighting in the jungles of Garamba for his survival. He is known for his atrocities on civilians from his very home area. His tactics involved use of landmines, ambushes, cutting off the lips, breasts, legs and arms of civilians opposed to his war. Infact, many times he would padlock the mouths of government informers and throw away the keys, leaving the victims in real pain. Today he fights his wars in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, where the heavily forested land cover helps to conceal him from his enemies. He has been involved in many peace talks with the Ugandan government but he realizes that he would never be safe if he gave in to peace talks because, the International Criminal Court has already indicted him and the government of Uganda is not prepared to waive the indictment to his chagrin! So Kony is still out there fighting for the restoration of governance according to the 10 commandments. A combined force of four nations of Uganda, DRC, Southern Sudan and the Central African Republic have tried to kill Kony, but the rebel leader is ever illusive. 

Pierre Bemba

 Son of a Former Prime Minister of the Democratic Republic of Congo, Bemba, a business tycoon wanted power so badly that he did everything possible to have it. He fought in the 1990s and helped fan the turmoil in that country during he Post Mubutu era. He had a personal militia that controlled Eastern and North –Eastern DRC. He tried to seek political power via elections but was defeated, a defeat he never conceded. On one such election, he was so riled by the defeat that he decided to fight it out at the Capital Kinshasa with the Kabila government soon after the election results were announced. That war was so brutal that he and his men had to negotiate their way out of the Capital Kinshasa.  Unfortunately for Bemba, on one of his trips to Belgium, he landed into the waiting Hands of International Criminal Court agents and was promptly arrested and detained in The Hague. Today he faces trial at the International Criminal Court of Justice at The Hague on charges of war crimes against Humanity.