Former LRA commander Kwoyelo jailed for 40 years

Thomas Kwoyelo was found guilty in August of multiple counts of crimes against humanity in the first such trial in the east African country.

A Ugandan court on Friday (October 26, 2024) sentenced a former Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA) commander to 40 years in prison after a landmark war crimes trial over his role in the group’s two-decade reign of terror.

Thomas Kwoyelo was found guilty in August of multiple counts of crimes against humanity in the first such trial in the east African country.

“This court has determined the 40 years sentence on the offence of murder properly reflects on the criminality of Thomas Kwoyelo,” lead judge Michael Elubu said.

The LRA was founded by former altar boy and self-styled prophet Joseph Kony in Uganda in the 1980s to establish a regime based on the 10 Commandments.

Its rebellion against President Yoweri Museveni saw more than 1,00,000 people killed and 60,000 children abducted in a reign of terror that spread from Uganda to Sudan, the Democratic Republic of Congo, and the Central African Republic.

Kwoyelo, who was abducted by the LRA at the age of 12 and became a low-level commander, had denied all the charges against him. But he was found guilty of a litany of charges including murder, rape, torture, pillaging, abduction, and destruction of settlements for internally displaced people. Most of Kwoyelo’s offences occurred between 1996 and 2005 in his home area of Amuru in northern Uganda, and parts of South Sudan.

Immediately following the sentence, Kwoyelo’s lawyer told the court they intended to appeal.

Published - October 26, 2024 10:59 am IST