Bodies pressed together in the hot court room, as a crowd gathered to watch the trial of Thomas Kwoyelo. Kwoyelo is a former LRA commander, primarily active in the Amuru District. He has been charged with 93 counts of murder, rape, kidnap and torture. He is also the first LRA official to be tried in a domestic court.
The trial did not proceed as planned. It was set to start on Monday, September 24 at the High Court in Gulu, but lagged a day, beginning again on Tuesday. Following an impassioned argument from the defense, judges choose to adjourn the trial until November 5, claiming the accused had not received a proper translation of his indictment. This decision drew strong and mixed responses from the spectators. “We have wasted a week,” said Victim’s Council, Komaketch Kilima.
The current delay is short, however, compared with the time Kwoyelo has spent awaiting trial. First captured in the Democratic Republic of the Congo nearly a decade ago, he has languished in Luzira Prison in Kampala since 2009. According to Defense Council, Charles Dalton Opwonya, the accused was mistreated there. “He has never been treated humanely at all. Not at all. Even though he has not been tortured as I see in the case of Bobi Wine, [there has been] very rude treatment,” he said.
Furthermore, the defense asserts that Kwoyelo should not be on trial at all, claiming that the man is a victim of the LRA’s abuses. Kwoyelo was captured as a young boy, and forced to become a soldier. “It will never be a fair trial, because the victim is the accused,” said Opwonya.
He has even gone as far as to paint Kwoyelo as a scape goat; and the trial a ploy for government influence. Opwonya said, “I think it is a political gimmick, one, to protect those who would go to The Hague, and two, to show the public that something is being done.”
The continued delays are immediately harmful to victims who have agreed to act as witnesses, and potentially to Kwoyelo himself. “I think it’s painful, because it has been a long time. As I have said in court, victims have suffered and waited a long time for this day. The accused person himself has waited for long,” said Kilama. He added that people are becoming frustrated and impatient, “Whether or not [Kwoyelo] is acquitted [victims] should be given the chance to tell their story, to present their case.” Kilama continued, “People get discouraged about these proceedings each time they have been adjourned.”
Kwoyelo watched the trial carefully and quietly, his eyes alert. He took time to consult with both his lawyer and his sister, but was otherwise silent. The court has ordered that he return to prison until the trial resumes in November.