Ex-LRA commander Kwoyelo to know fate today after decade-long trial

Gulu, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | Former Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA) rebel commander Thomas Kwoyelo alias Latoni will know his fate today as the International Crimes Division (ICD) of the High Court delivers its verdict on the case in which he is accused of committing war crimes and crimes against humanity.

The verdict will be delivered at the Gulu High Court circuit in the Northern Uganda City of Gulu by a trial panel of judges consisting of Justices Michael Elubu, Duncan Gaswaga, Stephen Mubiru, and Andrew Bashaija. It comes more than a decade after Kwoyelo was captured on March 3, 2009, by the Uganda People’s Defence Forces (UPDF) soldiers in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).

Juliet Harty Hatanga, the Deputy Registrar of the ICD told Uganda Radio Network in an interview the judgment in the case will be a landmark for the court which has been handling the trial for over a decade. Hatanga however says while the victims have been waiting for justice for more than a decade since the case began, it’s premature for her to anticipate the outcome of the verdict but called on them to have hope.

“The hope for them is to wait patiently for the final verdict because no one knows what it is. You can’t make promises because it could turn out like football or any other way, what if it turns out that he is not guilty?

Adding “So we can’t make promises, it’s just for them to wait and believe that the prosecution and the defense counsels have done their best,” says Hatanga. She says the case presented numerous financial challenges for the court which for the first time took on the trial of a high-profile suspect domestically.

Hatanga however is hopeful that the conclusion of Kwoyelo’s trial will set a new Jurisprudence for Africa in the domestic trial of war crimes and crimes against humanity. “For the first time in Africa, this is the first case in its nature, and we are set to bring new Jurisprudence to the country and Africa. There has been this talk that everyone has to go to the International Criminal Court (ICC) but Uganda has the competence, the judges are there, and we can try cases of this nature,” she said.

Kwoyelo’s trial commenced in the High Court of Uganda sitting at Gulu on November 12, 2018. The 49-year-old is battling 78 counts of war crimes and crimes against humanity he allegedly committed between 1993 and 2005 in Kilak County, Present day Amuru district.

The charges relate to murder, kidnapping with intent to murder, pillaging, aggravated robbery, cruel treatment, enslavement, torture, rape, and outrages upon personal dignity.

We Will Welcome the Court’s Ruling

The family of Kwoyelo has however expressed mixed feelings ahead of the Tuesday verdict. His eldest son, Moses Rackara, a resident of Amuru District says they are pleased with the stage the court has reached in the trial of their father albeit with challenges it encountered over the years.

Rackara says as a family, they await the final judgment and will welcome whatever decision the judges will come up with on the allegations against Kwoyelo.

Roselina Oyella, Kwoyelo’s mother however maintains her son was forcibly abducted at a young age and recruited into the LRA ranks without his will. Oyella says Kwoyelo is innocent and prayed that the court should find him innocent and set him free so that he can reunite with his family members in Amuru District.

“Does it mean Kwoyelo is the only one who has killed everyone in Uganda, what about other people who were in the LRA but got released back home? My son is innocent” said Oyella.

Victim speaks out

Richard Kirom is one of the victims of the infamous May 16, 2004, Pagak Internally Displaced People’s Camp in Amuru District where Kwoyelo is alleged to have masterminded an attack that left 46 people dead.

Kirom says his grass-thatched huts were set ablaze leaving several household properties destroyed adding that the LRA rebels also beat him up resulting in back and chest injuries which he still suffers from to date.

He suggested that in any case Kwoyelo is found guilty, the government should compensate the victims of the attacks and construct a school for learners and a health facility to rehabilitate those suffering from physical and mental injuries.

The victim’s lawyer Henry Komakech Kilama estimates there approximately approximately 300 victims linked to the case of Kwoyelo adding that 132 of them applied to voluntarily participate as witnesses from the two case locations of Pagak and Paboo.

Since 2018 when Kwoyelo’s trial commenced, the prosecution presented a total of 53 witnesses to pin Kwoyelo against the charges. Equally, Kwoyelo presented four witnesses in defense in May this year and denied any wrongdoing.

Kwoyelo is the first high-ranking LRA commander to face trial in the domestic court relating to the bloody LRA campaigns in Northern Uganda and has been behind bars at Luzira Maximum Prison in Kampala since 2009.

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