A Ugandan court has convicted Thomas Kwoyelo, the only commander from the Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA) to be tried in Uganda, of multiple crimes against humanity. On Tuesday, at the International Crimes Division of the High Court in Gulu, Judge Michael Elubu confirmed that Kwoyelo was found guilty of 44 offenses.
Judge Elubu further revealed that Kwoyelo was cleared of three murder charges, and 31 additional charges were dismissed. The convicted crimes included murder, rape, torture, pillaging, abduction, and the destruction of internally displaced persons’ settlements. The date for Kwoyelo’s sentencing has not yet been set.
This trial was the first to be conducted by the High Court’s dedicated division for international crimes. Kwoyelo, who was abducted by the LRA at age 12, has maintained his innocence throughout. As a lower-ranking commander, he was captured in March 2009 in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) during a regional operation targeting LRA insurgents who had fled Uganda two years earlier.
Kwoyelo’s trial commenced in July 2011 before the ICD but was halted two months later when the Supreme Court ordered his release, citing the same amnesty provisions granted to other fighters who had surrendered. The prosecution contested this ruling, resulting in a retrial that faced numerous delays.
The LRA, established by Joseph Kony in the 1980s, aimed to create a government based on the Ten Commandments. The insurgency led to over 100,000 deaths and the abduction of 60,000 children, spreading its violence across Uganda, Sudan, the DRC, and the Central African Republic. Kony is sought by the International Criminal Court for crimes including rape, slavery, mutilation, murder, and the forced recruitment of child soldiers, with the U.S. offering a $5 million reward for information leading to his capture.
Over the years, many rebel fighters have been granted amnesty by the Ugandan government, but Kwoyelo did not receive such a reprieve. Ugandan officials have not provided an explanation for this decision. There were also concerns from human rights groups that the extended delay in his trial might have compromised his right to a fair process.
The trial has been controversial, reflecting the complex issues involved in administering justice in a post-conflict society. Kwoyelo maintained that he was coerced into joining the LRA as a child and should not be held accountable for the group’s actions. He denied the charges and claimed that only Kony was responsible for the LRA’s crimes, noting that disobedience within the group often led to death.
