Former Lord Resistance Army (LRA) commander Thomas Kwoyelo is expected to start his defence on war crimes on Monday, April 15, 2024, at the International Crimes Division of the High Court, sitting in Gulu city.

He will be giving his testimony under the guidance of his lawyers, Dalton Opwonya, Caleb Alaska, Evans Ochieng and Borris Anyuru.

The victim's counsels, Henry Komakech and Jane Magdalane, will also be present in court.

The prosecution is represented by William Byansi, Florence Akello, Charles Kaamuli and Lillian Omara.

In the last court session, defence lawyers disclosed that Kwoyelo has lined up former rebels as witnesses to defend him over war crime accusations.

The lawyers, therefore, asked the International Crimes Division of the High Court, presided over by Justice Michael Elubu, to facilitate a convenient platform of witness protection.

Lawyer Evans Ochieng informed the court that they intend to file an application for safety of witnesses. He filed the application and it was granted.

“We want the court to issue measures to ensure that the witnesses are safe in terms of redacting their identities and once they testify, they are also not implicated of any offence,” he earlier stated.

Elubu is hearing the case together with Justices Duncan Gaswaga and Andrew Bashaija.

Offences

Kwoyelo was indicted with 93 charges relating to war crimes in Northern Uganda allegedly committed between January 1995 and December 2005.

However, on December 13, 2023, the International Crimes Division court justices ruled that Kwoyelo has a case to answer in 78 cases against him.

Kwoyelo is facing trial on several offences including violations against the Geneva Convention under the Geneva Convention Act, Charges against humanity, and Charges under the Penal Code Act, among others.

Kwoyelo was captured by Uganda Peoples’ Defence Forces in the Garamba forest in the Democratic Republic of Congo in 2005.