KAMPALA — In a significant moment for justice in Uganda, a former commander of the
Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA) rebel group was convicted on Tuesday of dozens of crimes
against humanity, marking a key victory for victims of the group’s decades-long insurgency.
The verdict, delivered by a panel of the High Court in Gulu, a northern city once terrorized
by the LRA, comes after years of delays and represents the first atrocity case tried under
Uganda’s special division focused on international crimes.
Thomas Kwoyelo, who held the rank of colonel within the LRA, was convicted on 44 out of
78 counts, including charges of murder, pillaging, enslavement, imprisonment, rape, and
cruelty, for crimes committed between 1992 and 2005.
The court did not immediately announce when sentencing would occur.
Kwoyelo’s trial, which began in 2019, has been closely watched by human rights
organizations and victims of the LRA’s brutal campaign.
Human Rights Watch described the trial as “a rare opportunity for justice for victims of the
two-decade war between Ugandan troops and the LRA.”
Prosecutors detailed how Kwoyelo orchestrated violent attacks on civilians, many of whom
were already displaced by the conflict.
His conviction is a reminder of the terror wrought bythe LRA, a group notorious for its abduction of children, who were forced to serve assoldiers or sex slaves.
Joseph Kony, the elusive leader of the LRA, remains at large and is believed to be hiding in
central Africa’s ungoverned territories.
The United States has offered a $5 million reward for information leading to his capture.
Kony, like Kwoyelo, is wanted by the International Criminal Court (ICC) for war crimes and
crimes against humanity.
Another high-profile LRA figure, Dominic Ongwen, was sentenced by the ICC to 25 years in
prison in 2021. Unlike Ongwen, who was abducted as a child by the LRA, Kwoyelo’s plea for
amnesty was denied, despite the Ugandan government granting it to thousands of other
rebel combatants.
The reasons behind the denial were never fully explained, raising concerns among rights
activists about potential violations of his right to justice due to the prolonged delay in his
trial.
Kwoyelo maintained his innocence throughout the trial, arguing that he was forcibly
conscripted into the LRA as a child and that only Kony could be held accountable for the
group’s atrocities.
He testified that disobeying Kony’s orders meant certain death, a defense similar to that
used by Ongwen at the ICC.
The LRA’s origins lie in northern Uganda, where it launched an anti-government rebellion
that escalated into one of Africa’s most brutal insurgencies.
The group, claiming to fight for the establishment of a government based on the Ten
Commandments, committed widespread atrocities, particularly against the Acholi people,
Kony’s own ethnic group.
The LRA was driven out of Uganda in 2005 under intense military pressure, scattering its
fighters across central Africa.
Today, the group’s influence has waned significantly, and reports of LRA attacks are
increasingly rare. However, the legacy of its violence continues to haunt northern Uganda,
where the scars of war are still deeply felt.
Some observers have noted that while Kwoyelo’s conviction is a step toward justice,
Ugandan military officials implicated in abuses during the LRA insurgency have largely
escaped accountability.
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