Government Repatriates Kony’s Wives, Children from Central African Republic

Entebbe, Uganda – Friday, 22 May 2026

The Ugandan government has repatriated two wives of fugitive Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA) leader Joseph Kony, along with several children, from the Central African Republic (CAR).

The two women—Ugandan national Ikol Grace, 33, and South Sudanese national Aniyessi Teregina, also 33—arrived yesterday at the UPDF Airbase in Entebbe aboard a flight from Bangui, the capital of CAR. They were received and escorted by the Chief of Defence Intelligence and Security (CDIS), Major General Richard Otto.

Ikol Grace was abducted at the age of 10 in 2003 from Amuria District in eastern Uganda. She returned with her two children: Ayuma Maria, 8, and Oryema Bosco, 2. Aniyessi Teregina, kidnapped in 2006 at age 13 from Yambio in South Sudan’s Western Equatoria state, arrived holding a two-year-old orphaned child of Kony. Ugandan authorities said Teregina will be facilitated to travel to her home in South Sudan in due course.

The two women were part of a larger group of eight Kony wives and 13 children who escaped LRA captivity in January. Their camp, located south of Darfur near the tri-border area of CAR, Sudan, and South Sudan, was attacked by an armed group, enabling their escape.

According to the UPDF, the other women in the group—who are citizens of the Democratic Republic of Congo and CAR—along with their children, have already been handed over to their respective families.

This latest repatriation continues a recent trend. In 2023 and 2024, more than 150 LRA returnees, including several of Kony’s wives and children, were brought back to Uganda from CAR after escaping captivity.

This report is based on a statement from Col. Chris Magezi, Acting Director of Defence Public Information, Ministry of Defence and Veteran Affairs (MoDVA/UPDF).