Thomas Kwoyelo, the only commander of the Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA) to be tried in Uganda, has been found guilty of multiple crimes against humanity committed between 1992 and 2005. The International Crimes Division of the High Court in Gulu convicted Kwoyelo of 44 offences, including murder, rape, torture, pillaging, abduction, and destruction of settlements. He was found not guilty of three counts of murder, and 31 alternate offences were dismissed.
Kwoyelo, who was abducted by the LRA at the age of 12, had denied all charges against him. He was arrested in the Democratic Republic of Congo in 2009 and put on trial in 2011, but was later released on amnesty grounds. However, he was retried after the prosecution appealed the decision. The delayed trial raised concerns about Kwoyelo’s right to justice in a society still healing from the consequences of war.
The LRA, founded by Joseph Kony, aimed to establish a regime based on the Ten Commandments and carried out a reign of terror that resulted in more than 100,000 deaths and 60,000 abductions. Kony is wanted by the International Criminal Court, and the US has offered a reward for his capture.
While thousands of rebel combatants have received amnesty, Kwoyelo was denied this reprieve. The trial highlights the challenges of delivering justice in post-conflict societies. Kwoyelo maintained that he was forced into the LRA and should not be held responsible for its crimes, arguing that only Kony could answer for the atrocities. His conviction marks a step towards accountability for the crimes committed by the LRA.
Source
Photo credit www.aljazeera.com
