A UGANDAN court on Tuesday found Thomas Kwoyelo, a former commander in the notorious Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA), guilty of numerous crimes against humanity, marking the conclusion of the first war crimes trial held in Uganda. This landmark case has been closely watched as a significant step in addressing the atrocities committed during the LRA’s brutal two-decade rebellion in northern Uganda.
Kwoyelo, who had been detained for years awaiting this verdict, faced charges for crimes committed during the LRA’s insurgency. The rebellion, which sought to establish a regime based on the Ten Commandments, resulted in the deaths of over 100,000 people and the abduction of 60,000 children across several African nations.
Presiding over the case at the International Crimes Division (ICD) of the high court in Gulu, lead judge Michael Elubu declared Kwoyelo guilty of 44 offences, including murder, rape, torture, pillaging, abduction, and the destruction of settlements for internally displaced persons.
‘He is found guilty of the 44 offences and hereby convicted,’ Judge Elubu announced. However, Kwoyelo was acquitted of three counts of murder, and 31 alternative charges were dismissed. Throughout the trial, Kwoyelo, who was abducted by the LRA at the age of 12 and later became a low-level commander, maintained his innocence.
Kwoyelo was captured in March 2009 in the Democratic Republic of Congo during a regional military operation targeting LRA rebels who had fled Uganda. His trial began in July 2011, but he was briefly released on the orders of Uganda’s Supreme Court, which argued that he should be granted amnesty like thousands of other former LRA fighters who had surrendered. However, this decision was overturned on appeal, leading to the resumption of his trial, which faced numerous delays.
The LRA, founded by Joseph Kony in the 1980s, is infamous for its campaign of terror, which extended beyond Uganda to Sudan, the DRC, and the Central African Republic. Kony, who remains at large, is wanted by the International Criminal Court (ICC) for crimes including rape, slavery, mutilation, murder, and the forced recruitment of child soldiers.
Human Rights Watch has previously highlighted the challenges in securing justice for LRA victims, describing accountability efforts as ‘painfully inadequate.’ The conviction of Kwoyelo is seen as a crucial step in addressing these grievances, especially in light of the atrocities committed in areas like Kilak County, Amuru District, where Kwoyelo was either directly involved or fully aware of the attacks.
Kwoyelo’s conviction follows the sentencing of another former LRA commander, Dominic Ongwen, who was sentenced to 25 years in prison by the ICC in 2021 for similar war crimes and crimes against humanity.
The civil war in northern Uganda effectively ended in 2006 with the launch of a peace process, but the LRA’s leader, Joseph Kony, has so far evaded capture. The ICD, established in 2009 as part of peace agreements between the Ugandan government and the LRA, continues to play a vital role in prosecuting those responsible for the conflict’s heinous crimes.
