Eight witnesses to testify against Kwoyelo as trial resumes in Gulu

A total of eight prosecution witnesses have been lined up by the State to testify against former Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA) rebel commander Thomas Kwoyelo following a resumption of the trial by the International Crimes Division (ICD) of the High Court in Gulu.

The trial resumed on Monday and is set to run for two weeks.

The hearing is being presided over by justices Andrew Bashaija, Duncan Gaswaga and Stephen Mubiru. On Monday, the prosecution team led by Mr George William Byansi, the deputy Director of Public Prosecution, presented the 25th state witness in the trial coded as TRD3, who testified that Kwoyelo abducted her in 1996 with 20 other underage girls.

During cross-examination, she told the court that on the fateful day, Kwoyelo, who was dressed in combat fatigues, together with other rebels, surrounded and abducted them from Pabbo Sub-county in Amuru District and later forced her to be a sex slave of his subordinate called Loum.

She also accused Kwoyelo of ordering the killing of her mother and she also said while in captivity, Kwoyelo made them kill other abductees who become too tired to walk after being forced marched by the rebels.

The prosecution lawyers are Mr Charles Kamuri, Ms Lillian Komara, and Ms Florence Akello Owinyi, while the defence team includes Mr Dalton Opwonya, Mr Caleb Alaka, and Mr Evans Oceng.

Mr Byansi said during the hearing, they expect to produce all the eight prosecution witnesses lined up for the hearing.

He added that the hearing that started in 2018 was interrupted by the outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic. Kwoyelo has been in detention for almost 13 years. In March 2022, his trial resumed before the ICD of the High Court in Kampala. 

Kwoyelo also told the presiding judges that he prefers being tried in Gulu District.

The trial that commenced with the 20th prosecution witness was streamed live in Gulu, Kwoyelo’s birthplace, and also the place where he allegedly committed atrocities.