Former LRA commander Thomas Kwoyelo (centre) in the courtroom
By Chris Ocowun
FORMER LRA commander Thomas Kwoyelo was charged at Gulu magistrate’s court with 12 counts of kidnap with intent to murder.
Kwoyelo, 37, who was driven from Kampala to Gulu under tight UPDF security, appeared before Gulu chief magistrate Joseph Omodo Onyanga at about 4:00pm.
A fully-packed court room was waiting for him.
The state attorney, Sam Oola, told the court that on March 4, 1996, Kwoyelo, together with other rebels still at large, kidnapped with intent to murder Rodento Ochola, Marcimo Oboma and Maurensio Okoya in Obia-ngic in Pabbo sub-county.
The other people Kwoyelo is accused of having kidnapped are Anthony Okot, Doctor Ocii, Sabino Oola, Samuel Oyet, Quilino Oryem and Johnson Ocheng, all from Pabbo and Atiak sub-counties in Amuru district.
In addition, on July 21, 1994, Kwoyelo is alleged to have kidnapped two people, Simon Ogena and one Odong, in the areas of Abera village in Pabbo sub-county.
“Inquiries are still going on and I ask for adjournment,” Oola said.
The chief magistrate said his court had no jurisdiction to take Kwoyelo’s plea, noting that the charges involved capital offences that are heard by the High Court.
He also noted that the court had not jurisdiction to grant him bail.
Kwoyelo was remanded to Gulu Central Prison until June 18, when he will again appear for mention of his case in the magistrate’s court.
‘Colonel’ Thomas Kwoyelo, the former commander of the LRA’s Sinia Brigade, was injured and captured on February 3 by the joint forces of Uganda, the DR Congo and Southern Sudan during Operation Lightning Thunder.
Born in Acut-Omer village in Amuru district, Kwoyelo was abducted in 1987, at the age of 15, and spent over half of his life in the LRA, the last one and a half years under detention by LRA leader Joseph Kony.
Asked about the atrocities committed by the LRA, Kwoyelo in an exclusive interview with Sunday Vision recently said: “My situation in the bush was like that of a dog and his master. When you tell a dog to do something, it will act as instructed. All orders came from Kony.”
Kwoyelo is the first LRA commander to be charged before a Ugandan court.
Other commanders who came out earlier were given amnesty under the 1999 Amnesty Act.
The International Criminal Court in 2005 indicted five LRA commanders, two of whom have since died. Kwoyelo is not one of them.
