Ex-rebel leader convicted of atrocities in special trial in Uganda

Trial marks 1st time Uganda has tried Lord’s Resistance Army member under special division of High Court that focuses on international crimes

By Hamza Kyeyune

KAMPALA, Uganda (AA) - Uganda’s high court International Crimes Division on Tuesday convicted a former commander of the Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA) rebel group.

The Gulu high court circuit convicted Thomas Kwoyelo of 78 out of 93 charges including murder, crimes against humanity including torture, rape, and enslavement, and kidnapping with intent to murder among others committed during the rebellion against Uganda of 1992-2005, but did not immediately sentence him.

Kwoyelo’s trial began in September 2018, and he has been in custody at Luzira Maximum Prison since 2009 after being captured by the Ugandan Army in the Democratic Republic of Congo that March.

He is the first top-level LRA commander to face a domestic court on crimes committed in northern Uganda.

It is also the first time Uganda tried an LRA member under a special division of the High Court that focuses on international crimes.

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