Thomas Kwoyelo`s Family Loses Only Transport Means to Court in Fraudulent Sale

The family of former Lord`s Resistance Army-LRA war lord, Thomas Kwoyelo has fraudulently lost their only transport means to Gulu town to follow his court proceedings.

On November 10th, 2016, Kwoyelo`s sister, Margaret Auma bought a Bajaj Motorcycle registration number UEN 785F at Shillings 3.5 million to facilitate the family members to travel to Gulu High court to following his trial.  

Gulu High Court is about 80 kilometers from Kwoyelo`s ancestral home in Olam Nyuru Village in Pogo Parish Pabbo Sub County in Amuru district. Transport to and from Amuru to Gulu by public means costs Shillings 80,000. 

But Auma tearfully told URN on Tuesday that the family motorcycle has vanished since April this year when the Gulu District Boda Boda Motorcycle chairperson, Thomas Oboma Okot and Nicholas Otim connived and sold it to unidentified buyer.   

Otim was in charge of transport Kwoyelo`s mother, his four children and other family members to the court sessions. Besides he would operate Boda boda services to raise tuition for Auma`s four children and her other needs to supplement income from her fish business in Gulu Town.     

She explained that the two only told her that the motorcycle had been sold at Shillings 2.210,000 and the money deposited on the accounts of Gulu District Boda Boda Motorcycle Association bank account for the purchase of a new one.   She wonders how she will retrieve the money or recover her motorcycle now that there is controversy at the Boda Boda office and the chairperson is on the loose.  

Nicholas Otim has equally become untraceable. Auma says she reported the matter to Awere police post but it hasn’t yielded results. On Tuesday, she trekked to the office of the Gulu Resident District Commissioner, Major Santos Okot Lapolo to help address her plight but she didn’t find him.      

When contacted, Simon Wokorach, the head of enforcement Gulu District Boda boda Association, says Auma is the 22nd person to file a case of fraudulent motorcycle sale against their chairperson, Oboma. He noted that the case will be included among those being handled by the office of Gulu RDC.

In July this year, the disciplinary committee of Gulu Boda boda Association indefinitely suspended Thomas Oboma Okot from office on allegations of embezzling Shillings 33.6million and failure to account for 33 motorcycles donated to the association by Maj. Gen. Otema Awany, Catherine Lamwaka and Alfred Okwonga.   

Kwoyelo has since 2011 been on trial at the International Crimes Division of High court on 93 counts including murder, rape, defilement, destruction of crops and property, recruitment of child soldiers and other crimes against humanity committed by the LRA in Northern Uganda.