Gulu City; (UG): The International Crime Division (ICD) of the High Court of Uganda has set Monday, December 16, 2024, to rule on the reparations for the victims of crimes committed by former Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA) commander, Thomas Kwoyelo.
Last week, Jane Magdalene Amooti, the counsel representing the victims, along with 103 victims, filed an application urging the court to order the government to take full responsibility for compensating those affected by Kwoyelo’s actions.
The victims’ counsel also requested that the Attorney General establish a Trust Fund for Victims, a dedicated pool of funds to support reparations for victims in the affected areas. According to Amooti, 3,150 victims have been documented in Amuru District, with 1,500 identified in Pabbo Subcounty and the remainder of other regions, including Lamogi Subcounty and Pagak.
However, Senior State Attorney Johnson Natuhwera, representing the Attorney General, objected to the application. He argued that the government should not be held primarily responsible for compensating the victims, as Kwoyelo, the perpetrator of the crimes, is still alive and incarcerated.
On the other hand, defence counsel Caleb Alaka called on the court to hold the government accountable for the reparations, citing the state’s failure to protect the victims during the LRA insurgency.
Alaka pointed to specific locations, such as the Pagak Internally Displaced Persons (IDP) camp in Amuru District, where Kwoyelo committed war crimes and crimes against humanity. He argued that the government’s failure to protect Kwoyelo, particularly when he was abducted at the age of 12, and its inability to rescue him from captivity had a lifelong impact on his client. “He is poor as a church mouse,” Alaka said.
Kwoyelo was sentenced to 40 years in prison on October 25, 2024, after being convicted on 44 charges of war crimes and crimes against humanity. The court found that the crimes occurred between 1993 and 2005 during Kwoyelo’s tenure as a senior commander in the LRA.
In a recent development, Justice Michael Elubu, who led the panel of judges that sentenced Kwoyelo, criticized the victims’ counsel for failing to provide sufficient evidence and expert testimony to support their claims for reparations. This has left the court without enough materials to make an informed ruling.
As the public eagerly awaits the court’s decision, residents like Stephen Lakony from Bungatira in Gulu District are calling for greater community sensitization. “Regardless of the court’s ruling, the government needs to educate the communities of the victims about how justice is being served,” Lakony stated.
“Even though Kwoyelo has been sentenced, his family and children may still face stigma and insecurity from the communities of the victims, who have yet to heal. There needs to be space for traditional reconciliation between Kwoyelo’s family and the victims’ communities.”
With the fate of reparations hanging in the balance, the public awaits a landmark decision that will not only address the crimes of the past but also determine the path toward healing and justice for the victims of the LRA insurgency.
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