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Court has denied the application by Thomas Kwoyelo’s lawyers seeking to offer limited assistance to the accused as he makes his unsworn testimony.

The former commander of the Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA) who has 78 cases of war crimes, crimes against humanity, and sexual crimes, among others to answer, is appearing before the International Crimes Division of the High Court sitting at the Gulu High Court Circuit on Monday, April 15, 2024.

Kwoyelo’s lawyers had asked the court to permit them to guide the accused through his unsworn defence testimony.

During the morning court session presided over by justices Michael Elubu, Duncan Gaswaga, Andrew Bashaija and Stephen Mubiru, Kwoyelo’s lawyer Caleb Alaka said whereas his client is ready to open his defence under the unsworn testimony arrangement, the court should allow his lawyers to look through the court records and guide him by reminding him about a specific incident or allegation on record.

The International Crimes Division of the High Court in session. (Photo by Jesse Johnson James)

“This is in accordance with the principle of equality of arms which provides for a fair trial requirement that is intended to uphold the adversarial nature of criminal proceedings, right to counsel, right against self-incrimination, and the interest of justice,” he said.

Alaka added that the accused did not take any notes during the previous court sessions and that the typed court records of the proceedings have been bound in three volumes where each volume has over 1900 pages, hence, a justification for allowing them to guide him through his testimony.

Making a rejoinder to Alaka’s submission, another defence lawyer Evans Ochieng said their reason for requesting to guide the accused as he makes the unsworn testimony comes from the fact that he could have forgotten a number of things during the plea taking the cross examinations of the prosecution witnesses period that happened between 2018 and 2023.

Other lawyers representing Kwoyelo in court on Monday were Charles Dalton Opwonya and Borris Anyuru, while the victims’ lawyers include Robert Mackey, Jane Magdalen Amooti and Henry Komakech Kilama.

The prosecution led by George William Byanci opposed the defence’s application saying it was not justified for the court to bend the rules.

Byanci argued that the accused has been accorded all the facilitations to prepare his defence right from when the trial began and that he has been in court while all proceedings were interpreted for him to understand.

“He also enjoyed the services of the best criminal lawyers in the country,” he added.

He said the defence lawyers are applying to lead the accused through his unsworn testimony but are using different words.

Others in the prosecution team include Charles Richard Kamuli, Florence Akello and Lillian Kamara Alum.

Justice Duncan Gaswaga in the court’s ruling delivered during the afternoon session, quashed the application saying the grounds for its justification lack merit.

According to Gaswaga, the accused chose the option of unsworn testimony, meaning he is legally barred from seeking to be guided by his counsels or be cross-examined by the prosecution.

The court was adjourned until Tuesday, April 16, 2024, for the resumption of the case.