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"WITNESS TO THE TRIAL"; Monitoring the Kwoyelo Trial

Quick Facts:

The Constitutional Court in Uganda on 22nd September 2011 halted the trial of former LRA commander Col. Thomas Kwoyelo.
Kwoyelo was charged with 12 counts and 53 alternative charges amounting to crimes against humanity under the Geneva Convention Act and other Penal legislations in Uganda.

Summary of the ruling

The Court ruling

During the Juba Peace Talks in 2007, the Lord's Resistance Army (LRA) and the Government of Uganda entered into an agreement on accountability and reconciliation with regards to the over two decade northern Uganda conflict and signed Agenda Item No 3. This Agenda Item came to be implemented in part in 2008 with the establishment of the War Crimes Division, a Special Division of the High Court of Uganda. The division was later redesignated to "International Crimes Division".

Thomas Kwoyelo, former middle-ranking Lord's Resistance Army commander and allegedly captured in March 2009, was charged with war crimes and became the first person to be committed to the International Crimes Division. Kwoyelo's trial subsequently started on July 11, 2011 in the High Court in Gulu, northern Uganda, in the region where most of Kwoyelo's alleged atrocities took place. As part of our International Crimes Division monitoring initiative, Refugee Law Project will update you with detailed newsletters and video documentaries based on the proceedings related to Kwoyelo's trial.

Uganda's war crimes trial series

Uganda's war crime Trials - Video Series