Thomas Kwoyelo | |
|---|---|
| Born | 1974 |
| Allegiance |
 Lord's Resistance Army |
| Years of service | 1987 – 2009 |
| Rank | Commander and Colonel |
| Known for | Allegations of war crimes, rape and murder |
| Battles/wars | Lord's Resistance Army insurgency |
Thomas Kwoyelo is a former Commander and Colonel of the Lord's Resistance Army from Uganda. [1] Kwoyelo was a child soldier in the LRA and was kidnapped at the age of 13. [2] Kwoyelo suffered torture and was convinced in his time of captivity to serve as a child soldier for the LRA. Starting from 1996, there were 12 counts and 52 criminal charges laid on Kwoyelo. He was accused of rape and murder. [2]
In 2009 Kwoyelo was captured while in a shootout against the Ugandan Armed Forces, he was shot twice and injured. After recovering he was held in captivity for three months before being charged with war crimes, [3] at which point he was transferred to a standard security prison in Uganda. In 2011 he appeared in court and pleaded not guilty to more than 90 charges of war crimes, including murder and hostage-taking. [3] Due to the scale of the case against him, [4] Kwoyelo's trial did not begin for over a decade, and he spent fourteen years in pre-trial detention. On 19 January 2024, Kwoyelo's trial finally began. He was the first LRA commander to be put on trial by Uganda ( Dominic Ongwen had previously been tried by the International Criminal Court). [4] His case was in the past put on hold or postponed. His case is currently ongoing. [5] [6]
See also
References
- ^ "Thomas Kwoyelo: Ugandan Lord's Resistance Army rebel commander on trial". BBC News. 2024-01-19. Retrieved 2024-01-19.
- ^ a b Kersten, Mark (2011-07-12). "Uganda's Controversial First War Crimes Trial: Thomas Kwoyelo". Justice in Conflict. Retrieved 2024-01-19.
- ^ a b "Uganda: Q&A on the trial of Thomas Kwoyelo". Human Rights Watch. 7 July 2011.
- ^ a b "Ugandan Lord's Resistance Army rebel commander on trial". The Star. 19 January 2024.
- ^ "Kwoyelo to line up 50 witnesses for his defence". New Vision. Retrieved 2024-01-19.
- ^ "Court to rule on whether Kwoyelo has case to answer". Monitor. 2023-12-11. Retrieved 2024-01-19.