The trial of Thomas Kwoyelo, a former commander of the rebel Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA) has stalled because of lack of money.
The revelation was made by Flavian Zeija, the Principal Judge. According to Zeija, the Permanent Secretary Pius Bigirimana claims there is money.
“Permanent Secretary has always said that there is no money to facilitate the trial of Thomas Kwoyelo and suspects. I told him that at least some money should be availed every quarter for such cases, ” he said.
He said the Kwoyelo’ has stayed so long in court because he first contested his trial in the international Crimes Divisions of the High Court till the matter came back for pre-hearing and trial.
Kwoyelo’s trial resumed on April 17, 2023 at the International Crimes Division of the High Court (ICD) sitting at Gulu High Court.
Having commenced the trial on September 24, 2018, the court had its first prosecution witnesses testify in March 2019 and since then trial sessions have been held periodically between Kampala and Gulu.
Kwoyelo is grappling with 93 counts of murder, aggravated robbery, extensive destruction of property, causing serious injury to body or health, and inhumane treatment, rape and torture among others that he is averred to have committed against the civilian population of northern Uganda, southern Sudan and the northeastern regions of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC).
Kwoyelo was abducted by LRA on his way to school in 1987 and remained in captivity and later became Colonel.
The worst attack of the paramilitary group that was under the leadership of Joseph Kony occurred in Haute-Hele Province (DRC) in December 2008, the so-called Christmas massacre where over 200 were killed and over 800 houses razed down.
The rebels split up into groups to attack the villages of Faradje, Batande, Duru, Bangadi, and Burgi. They waited until people had gathered for Christmas festivities, then surrounded and killed them with axes, machetes, and clubs.
In March 2009, Kwoyelo was injured during hostilities between the Ugandan army and the LRA in DRC and brought into Uganda for medical treatment and subsequently into custody.
His trial however commenced in July 2011 before ICD, a division of Uganda’s High Court Constitutional Court resolved that the suspect’s trial should stop as it found grounds for the failure by the DPP and the Amnesty Commission to act on Kwoyelo’s application.
In 2015, Supreme Court decided that Kwoyelo trial should resume.