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GULU - Former Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA) commander Thomas Kwoyelo has downplayed rape allegations against him during his unsworn testimony before the International Crimes Division of the High Court sitting at Gulu High Court Circuit.

Kwoyelo has been accused of many counts of rape as a crime against humanity and rape contrary to sections 123 and 124 of the Penal Code Act that he allegedly committed between 1993 and 2005 in areas of Pabbo and Lamogi sub-counties in Amuru district.

Other offences he allegedly committed include murder, attempted murder, aggravated robbery, enslavement, inhumane acts, cruel treatment, outrage upon personal dignity and pillaging.

Rape was not allowed in the bush

However, while appearing before court presided over by Justices Michael Elubu, Duncan Gaswaga, Andrew Bashsija, and Stephen Mubiru, Kwoyelo said the rebels had a stringent rule against rape and other sexual offenses such as adultery.

According to him, any LRA rebel reported to have raped a woman would be shot dead by firing squad. The same would happen to any couple caught committing adultery.

“I remember a wife of one of the rebel commanders was caught having sexual intercourse with a sergeant and both were shot dead to deter others from doing the same,” he said adding: “The wife of Ocan Bunia was caught with another man and both, too, were shot dead.”

“So, the rule was very stringent that even when a soldier goes to the battlefield and leaves his wife at the base, no other man would attempt to have sexual intercourse with her for fear of being killed,” Kwoyelo added. 

If any of the rebels is in love with a woman, according to Kwoyelo, he would inform his immediate commander about his feelings and the commander would also pass the same information in the chain of command until the issue reaches Joseph Kony himself, who would then give them (the couple) a green light to get married.

Widows were not forcibly married off

Kwoyelo also told court that no widow of any of the rebels would be married off forcibly to another man in the bush saying, widows would have their hair clean-shaven, and prayed for by Joseph Kony and that they would only be free to choose another man of their choice after growing 'full' hair.

He added that in every unit, there was a woman selected to lead the women in it and that those women leaders helped in resolving gender-based violence among couples.

“If these women failed to resolve the issues, they would refer them to Kony’s wife including Mama Fatuma who was next to Kony and if she felt she could not resolve the matter, she would refer it to Kony,” Kwoyelo said, adding that if Kony failed to resolve the matter, he would then divorce the couple.

Kwoyelo as a medical personnel and not a fighter

Kwoyelo’s case locations are some few villages in Pabbo and Lamogi but his unsworn testimony has so far not yet placed him there.

According to his testimony, Kwoyelo spent a good portion of his life in the bush as a medical personnel manning sick bays, and not as a commander who goes to the battlefield.

“In the LRA protocol, where a recruit had deployed would be his/ her area of speciality like in sick bays where I was under the command of Lapwony (teacher) Ocii, as well as technical and control departments, among others,” he told court.

He said while under the watchful eyes of Ocii, he learnt a lot about herbal medicines, fixing broken bones, and carrying out surgeries and that, 'God blessed me with the knowledge of identifying herbs for treating ailments. They would come to me in dreams'.

Kwoyelo boasted before court that he could treat ailments like elephantiasis, epilepsy, hunchback, body aches, snake bites and cough among others.

In 1999, when Joseph Kony sent the late Vincent Otti to fetch him from a sick bay in Uganda to their newly established base in Jebelen in Sudan when he was given his first rank of Major, Kwoyelo explained that he was sent for training in Juba Hospital where he learnt how to test samples from patients to know what they are suffering from, the use of laboratory equipment, administering modern drugs to patient, doing surgery and the use of some drugs for sedating patients before operating them, among others.

“Thereafter, I worked in a sick bay in Sudan for a while before being deployed to supervise our sick bays in Uganda during the peak of Operation Iron Fist,” he said.

Kwoyelo will resume his testimony on Wednesday, 18, 2024 in the morning.