The Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) is today afternoon set to disclose his evidence against the ex-commander of the Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA) Thomas Kwoyelo in a pre-trial hearing session at the International Crimes Division Court in Kampala.
Kwoyelo is battling 53 charges of murder, willful killing, and kidnap with intent to kill, aggravated robbery, and destruction of property.
Presiding judge Susan Okalany will formally read the charges to Kwoyelo and listen to prosecution’s intended evidence before she makes a ruling whether it’s sufficient to sustain the above charges. Justice Okalany will then confirm the charges basing on the disclosed evidence and there after forward Kwoyelo’s case file to a panel of 3 International Crimes Division justices for a full hearing.
Kwoyelo had applied for amnesty in 2010 but was instead dragged to court and charged with 53 counts of murder, willful killing, kidnap with intent to kill, aggravated robbery and destruction of property in Pabbo sub county Amuru district.
Kwoyelo later challenged the continued delay of his release as ordered by court after the Directorate of Public Prosecution led by Patricia Mutesi asked court not to release him on claims that the Attorney General was to appeal the Constitutional Court ruling that order for Kwoyelo’s release.
Mutesi argued that the state had received credible information that Kwoyelo had remained in contact with foreign financiers of the LRA and there was a risk that upon his release, Kwoyelo would resume rebel activities outside Uganda.
She cited that the appeal is of great public importance to the victims of the LRA war in Northern and Eastern Uganda.
Kwoyelo has been imprisoned since March 2009. His trial was recently postponed, first to hear challenges to the constitutionality of his prosecution, and then due to delays in operationalizing ICD regulations, problems in disclosure to the defense, lack of funding, and a backlog of electoral petitions.
The trial was scheduled to begin by the end of 2016 but it did not until today.
Kwoyelo says he renounced and abandoned rebellion in whatever form against government and emphasized that he would not leave the jurisdiction of court.
