Former Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA) commander Thomas Kwoyelo, also known as Latoni, will have to wait until July 12th to hear the verdict of his trial. The International Crimes Division (ICD) of the High Court has set this date for delivering the verdict, following the closure of the defense hearing last Wednesday.
Kwoyelo, facing 78 counts of war crimes and crimes against humanity charges, saw his defense lawyers, led by Caleb Alaka, present four witnesses during the defense trial that started on April 15th. This trial commenced four months after the court ruled that Kwoyelo had a case to answer.
The charges against Kwoyelo, allegedly committed between 1993 and 2005 in Kilak county, now Amuru district, include murder, kidnapping with intent to murder, pillaging, aggravated robbery, cruel treatment, enslavement, torture, rape, and outrages upon personal dignity.
The defense team presented four witnesses, including the former Acholi cultural institution premier Ambrose Olaa, who testified on traditional justice aspects, an expert witness who testified on the aspect of post-traumatic stress disorder, and a protected witness.
During the defense closure, Alaka requested a month from the court to prepare written submissions for both the prosecution and the court. These submissions will include the arguments put forward by the defense witnesses during the trial proceeding, aiming to counter those of the prosecution witnesses.
“It’s been a long journey, and we would like to thank all of you for the efforts you have put in,” said Justice Michael Elubu, reading out the court’s order.
The defense has until May 24th to file and serve their submission, while the prosecution will serve their reply by June 7th. The defense lawyers are expected to file a rejoinder by June 14th.
On June 28th, the parties involved in the case will highlight their submissions in Gulu, while the assessors will render their opinion on July 5th. The judgment is set to be delivered on July 12th.
Juliet Harty Hatanga, the ICD deputy registrar, expressed that the closure of the defense hearing is a significant milestone in Kwoyelo's trial, which has been ongoing since 2019. She asked for patience from the community and victims, promising that the court would deliver a judgment in early July, as promised.
Kwoyelo has been in custody since 2009 at Luzira Maximum Prison in Kampala and is the first LRA commander facing trial in a domestic court for crimes related to the LRA's campaign in Northern Uganda. A total of 54 prosecution witnesses testified against Kwoyelo during the trial, which began in March 2019, pinning him on war crimes and crimes against humanity.
