A court in East Africa has convicted Thomas Kwoyelo, the only leader of the infamous Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA) to face trial in Uganda, for multiple counts of committing crimes against humanity.
All 44 charges were declared by Judge Michael Elubu of the International Crimes Division (ICD) at Gulu’s High Court, formerly a stronghold of LRA on Tuesday. He pronounced that the accused was guilty as charged.
He stated that Kwoyelo was absolved of three counts of murder and an additional 31 related charges were dismissed.
The judge found him culpable for a plethora of offenses, ranging from homicide and sexual assault to inflicted physical pain on others, looting communities’ resources intended for displaced individuals through abduction and demolition.
It was not immediately clear when Kwoyelo’s sentencing occurred.
This marked the debut occurrence of a heinous crime trial conducted in a specialized division within the High Court, which focuses on international offenses.
Kwoyelo, who was abducted by the LRA at the age of 12, vehemently refuted all allegations made against him.
In March 2009, Kwoyelo, a subordinate officer of the militia group, was captured by regional forces. The operation aimed to detain LRA rebels who had fled Uganda in search of refuge in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) two years earlier.
He stood trial at the ICD in July 2011, but two months later he was set free by order of the Supreme Court. The court deemed it appropriate to release him along with other combatants who received amnesty for renouncing their weapons.
Nevertheless, the prosecution disputed the decision and instigated a subsequent trial for him that was often delayed.
Joseph Kony, a self-proclaimed prophet and former altar boy, founded the LRA in Uganda during the 1980s with aspirations of establishing a government based on strict adherence to the Ten Commandments.
In the course of his leadership, President Yoweri Museveni had to confront a violent insurrection that caused over 100,000 fatalities and led to roughly 60,000 minors being taken captive. The scale of devastation from this unrest extended beyond Uganda’s boundaries into Sudan as well as the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and Central African Republic.
Kony has been charged by the International Criminal Court with rape, enslavement, mutilation, murder and forcing children to become soldiers. A warrant for his arrest has been issued and anyone who provides information leading to his capture will be rewarded with a $5 million bounty from the US government.
Throughout time, a myriad of rebel fighters in Uganda have been granted immunity by the government; nevertheless, Kwoyelo was inaccessible to such mercy.
Ugandan officials have never provided an explanation for the delay, causing concern among rights activists that a violation of his right to fair justice had occurred due to the substantial postponement in his trial.
The intricacies of justice administration within a community still healing from the aftermaths of warfare were underscored by the highly debated trial of Kwoyelo.
Due to being forcefully taken as a young child and forced into the LRA, the defendant contended that he should not bear responsibility for any misdeeds committed by the group.
Kwoyelo denied the allegations made against him and emphasized that only Kony must be responsible for the LRA’s wrongdoing. He added that not obeying with the warlord implied a death sentence for all members of LRA.
