The trial of Thomas Kwoyelo, a former commander of the rebel Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA), has kicked off at the International Crimes Division (ICD) of the High Court in Gulu.

The defense has lined up fifteen witnesses to defend Thomas Kwoyelo, led by Evans Ochieng. The witnesses will defend him against 78 counts of war crimes and crimes against humanity.

Submissions by the witnesses are expected to be completed within three days, before the three-judge bench delivers their judgment within three weeks.

Kwoyelo’s trial resumed on April 17, 2023, at the International Crimes Division of the High Court (ICD) sitting at Gulu High Court in Gulu City, Northern Uganda; however, it stalled due to a lack of funds.

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 78 of the 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 alleged 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 the LRA on his way to school in 1987, remained in captivity, and later became a 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 people 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 the 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, the Supreme Court decided that Kwoyelo’s trial should resume.

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Parliament has approved an additional Shs157 billion to Kampala Capital City Authority (KCCA) for reconstruction and maintenance of city roads in the 2024/2025 financial.

The report by the Committee on Presidential Affairs on the Ministerial Policy Statement and Budget Estimates of the entities under Presidential Affairs was adopted during plenary sitting chaired by Speaker Anita Among.

Presenting the report, committee chairperson, Jesca Ababiku, said that the committee established that KCCA requires Shs200 billion to undertake road infrastructure development and maintenance but only Shs43 billion is provided in the Medium-Term Expenditure Fund ceiling.

“The committee observes that the poor state of roads characterised by potholes and clogged drains results in discomfort for motorists, increased travel time, breakdown of vehicles and motorcycles and accidents,” the report read in part.

The committee observed that whilst KCCA is projected to receive external financing of Shs549 billion, this intervention is projected to reconstruct and upgrade only 116 kilometres of the road network in Kampala while over 1,500 kilometres remain in a poor state.

“The committee recommends that additional annual provision of Shs157 billion be availed to enable KCCA cope with the current roads maintenance demands and deal with the problem of rampant pot holes on the city roads,” the report stated.

Muhammad Nsereko, Kampala Central Division Member of Parliament, said that Kampala is the face of the nation and yet the road infrastructure is dilapidated while the streets are littered with garbage.

“I request colleagues that since we are anticipating an increase in fuel levy and 50 percent comes from Kampala Metropolitan, let us make the City look good, we will attract more tourists and tax payers will be able to see tangible results and be motivated to pay taxes,” said Nsereko.

Furthermore, Kiira Motors Corporation (KMC) is expected to transition into commercialisation after the legislators approved a recommendation for an additional Shs134 billion for operationalisation of the Jinja- based vehicle plant.

According to the committee’s report, it was established that KMC requires Shs166.64 billion to operationalise the plant but only Shs32.5 billion is provided for.

“Kiira Motors Corporation is one of our best projects, they have assembled and facilitated production of 21 buses and to facilitate them to transit to commercialisation, we are requesting for Shs134 billion,” said Ababiku.

The funding gap, Ababiku said, will cater for support for construction, tooling and furnishing of the Kiira 4S master store, parts and materials for plant commissioning, human capital development and operating expenditure.

KMC is a government enterprise established to champion the development of the domestic automotive value chain for job and wealth creation.

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Speaker of Parliament Anita Among has led a Parliament team, including Commissioner Mathias Mpuuga, to inspect works at Mandela National Stadium.

Speaker Among was taken on a guided tour by army officials supervised by Sports State Minister Peter Ogwang and was satisfied with the work done by the Uganda People’s Defence Forces (UPDF) Engineering Brigade.

“I did not expect to see what I have found here; I want to tell the UPDF Engineering Brigade that I am extremely impressed with what they have done,” she said.

To ascertain the exact amount of money needed to get the work done to completion, Parliament will conduct a forensic audit. She also asked Mpuuga to take time to properly tour the facility and report to Parliament on areas that need improvement.

“We shall do a forensic audit to see how much money we have spent on the project and how much more needs to be done due to the proposed variations,” she said.

Minister Ogwang directed contractors to complete all pending works and hand over the facility in two weeks, in readiness for the African Nations Championships (CHAN) competitions in June. The stadium is also part of Uganda’s plans for the Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) competition in 2027.

With Shs80 billion so far released for the project, final works required a full pay-up of the Shs97 billion appropriated.

Parliament last week pressed Finance State Minister Amos Lugoloobi to release the remaining Shs17.7 billion to have work completed.

Speaker Among, upon Ogwang’s request, ordered Pioneer Bus Limited vehicles parking in the stadium’s spaces to be removed forthwith ahead of inspections.

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The United States, through USAID and the Department of State, has provided $25 million (Shs95 billion) in additional humanitarian funding to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) and the World Food Program (WFP) to assist refugees in Uganda facing ongoing food insecurity and the compounding impacts of conflict in the region.

Jessica Jennings, the Spokesperson of USAID they are providing $11 million (Shs41.8 billion) to WFP, while the Department of State is contributing more than $14 million (Shs53.2 billion) to UNHCR.

These additional contributions to WFP and UNHCR will support the provision of life-saving monthly food assistance, health care, education, and other emergency relief to the more than 1.6 million refugees that Uganda hosts.

Uganda hosts the highest number of refugees of any African country and received more than 130,000 new refugees last year alone, primarily fleeing conflicts in South Sudan, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Somalia, and Sudan. This additional funding will be vital to meeting urgent needs in the country.

“We urge other donors to join us in stepping up to support WFP and UNHCR to assist the most vulnerable people affected by conflict and other crises throughout the region,” she said.

She said the United States is committed to ensuring our assistance is provided without discrimination, including in Uganda, where we have significant concerns about the impact of the Uganda Constitutional Court’s recent decision to uphold most aspects of the Anti-Homosexuality Act.

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