The International Crime Division of the High Court (ICD) has urged victims of Thomas Kwoyelo to task their members of parliament to fast-track the enactment of the Transitional Justice Act.
In her address to the victims during the ICD outreach in Pabbo Sub County in Amuru district, Justice Susan Okalany of the ICD Court revealed that the court has done its part in ensuring that justice prevails and convicted Kwoyelo.
During his submission on Monday, Kwoyelo highlighted that whereas he is seeking pardon from the victims, religious leaders and President Yoweri Museveni, he too is a victim of the LRA war. He noted that he was abducted at the tender age of 12 by LRA rebels and trained through the years to commit the crimes he had been convicted of.
During the meeting, victims of the May 16, 1996, Pagak Massacre orchestrated by Kwoyelo, listed a long list of demands to the court, which they say will help in total healing. Denis Lemoyi, the former Commandant of Pagak Internally Displaced People’s Camp noted that 31 people were killed and 544 huts razed down during the attack. He notes that some 20 others died later as a result of the raid led by Kwoyelo.
Kwoyelo was found guilty by the court of committing 44 out of the 78 counts he was indicted in a long-awaited verdict delivered on Tuesday at ICD sitting at the Gulu High Court in Northern Uganda.
The judgement in Kwoyelo's case is set to be delivered by a Trial panel of four judges consisting of Justices Michael Elubu, Duncan Gaswaga, Stephen Mubiru, and Andrew Bashaija.
Juliet Harty Hatanga, the Deputy Registrar of the ICD told Uganda Radio Network in an interview the judgment in the case will be a landmark for the court which has been handling the trial for over a decade.
They told the court to disregard Kwoyelo’s defence alibi, find him guilty as charged and convict him accordingly on the 69 counts that relate to murder, kidnapping with intent to murder, pillaging, aggravated robbery, cruel treatment, enslavement, torture, rape, and outrages upon personal dignity.
Juliet Harty Hatanga, the ICD Deputy Registrar told Uganda Radio Network Monday that despite Justice Gaswaga's new role at the African Court, he will continue sitting on the panel in the trial of Kwoyelo until the case is concluded.
Juliet Harty Hatanga, the ICD Deputy Registrar told Uganda Radio Network in an interview on Wednesday that the closure of the defence hearing is a significant milestone in the trial of Kwoyelo which had dragged on since 2019.
While presenting an unsworn statement before a four-member panel of justices of the ICD sitting at Gulu High Court Tuesday, Kwoyelo said he has heard the court referring to him as Latoni yet it’s not his name.
In a ruling, Justice Duncan Gaswaga noted that since the accused has asserted the rights against self-incrimination by opting to give an unsworn statement, he loses the right to the assistance of the counsel although he gains the advantage of not being cross-examined.
Over the weekend, relatives of the victims of the alleged attack complained that the delayed trials had affected the relocation of the remains of their relatives for decent reburials in their ancestral homes.
Kwoyelo’s lead defence lawyer Charles Dalton Opwonya, told Uganda Radio Network in an interview over the weekend that the ruling will determine whether their client should offer defence evidence in the trial or be set free.
Florence Akello Owinji, the Assistant Director of Public Prosecutions told the court Wednesday that 53 state witnesses have so far been presented in the trial and noted they were closing witness submissions.
Alaka says whereas there are categories of victims and witnesses who deserve protection while testifying in court, witness PW50 didn’t fall among them arguing he served as a former intelligence officer in the national army.
