A court in Uganda has found Thomas Kwoyelo, a former commander of the rebel group Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA), guilty of multiple counts of war crimes and crimes against humanity after more than 15 years of delay. The trial took place in the international crimes division of the high court in Gulu, a region at the centre of a decades-long rebellion. Kwoyelo was convicted of 44 offenses, including murder and rape, and not guilty of three counts of murder. The case was significant as it was the first time Uganda had tried an LRA member, marking a historic moment for the country.
Thomas Kwoyelo, believed to be in his fifties, was a low-level commander of the LRA, responsible for caring for injured members of the militia. He was abducted by the group at the age of 12 while on his way to school in 1987 and eventually rose to the rank of senior commander. Kwoyelo was captured in the Democratic Republic of the Congo in 2009 during a raid by regional forces as the LRA rebels were forced out of northern Uganda. He spent the next 14 years in prison while the prosecution built its case against him, facing accusations of murder, rape, kidnapping, pillaging, and other war crimes.
Joseph Kony founded the LRA in 1987 with the aim of overthrowing Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni. The group terrorized northern Uganda, abducting children to be soldiers or sex slaves, displacing and mutilating thousands of civilians. Kony, who claimed to be a spiritual medium, sought to create a Christian state based on the Ten Commandments. The ICC issued an arrest warrant for Kony in 2005 for alleged war crimes and crimes against humanity. While some LRA commanders have passed away, others, like Dominic Ongwen, have been sentenced by the ICC for their role in the atrocities committed by the group.
In 2000, the Ugandan government offered amnesty to LRA members who wished to surrender, leading to the return of many former child soldiers. Despite this, the group’s rebellion remained active until Ugandan forces pushed them into neighbouring countries. Ceasefire talks mediated by southern Sudanese leaders in Juba in 2008 collapsed after Kony refused an amnesty offer. The LRA has been designated as a terror group by various entities, and Kony remains in hiding with the group’s army shrinking significantly. The ICC plans to try Kony in absentia starting in October 2024.
In northern Uganda, where the LRA operated, former group members who surrendered now live freely in the community, but some believe amnesty stands in the way of prosecuting war crimes. There are mixed opinions on whether Kwoyelo, who was abducted as a child and forced to become a commander, should be granted amnesty or face justice for his alleged actions. Victims of LRA atrocities are seeking justice for their loved ones who were killed or harmed by the group. Rights groups have called for a speedy trial to ensure justice for Kwoyelo’s victims and to untangle the complexity of holding him in detention for over a decade.
