Court Sentences Thomas Kwoyelo To 40 years In Prison

The International Crimes Division of the High Court of Uganda has sentenced former rebel group Lord's Resistance Army commander Thomas Kwoyelo to 40 years in prison after being convicted of 44 counts of war crimes and crimes against humanity.

Kwoyelo, who has already served 15 years in custody, now has 25 years left on his sentence.

The court sitting in Gulu found Kwoyelo guilty of 44 charges, including murder, rape, kidnapping and pillaging. 

On October 14, 2024, during sentencing submissions, the prosecution requested a life sentence for murder and kidnapping with intent to murder, noting the gravity of these offenses.

They further called for a 30-50 year jail term for crimes of rape, torture, and cruel treatment, and a 15-year sentence for pillaging, proposing all terms to be served consecutively.

 Justice Michael Elubu stated, “the sentence of 40 years meted out to him on charges of murder properly reflects the overall penalty for Thomas Kwoyelo".

 Kowelo, a former child soldier, denied all charges that were brought against him.

 He is the first commander from the notorious rebel group to be convicted by a Ugandan court.

The LRA led by Joseph Kony carried out wantom killings and maiming of civilians in northern and parts of north-eastern Uganda between the 90s and early 2000s.

 One notorious incident was an attack on a camp for displaced civilians at Pagak in northern Uganda in 2004. Dozens of women and children were beaten to death with wooden clubs.

The group was known to abduct children and turn them into child soldiers or sex slaves.

Kwoyelo says he was 12 years old when he was abducted.

The court also said Kwoyelo had expressed remorse and was deemed to no longer pose a threat to society.