A Ugandan court has mandated the government to compensate each victim of Thomas Kwoyelo, a commander of the Lord’s Resistance Army, with $2,740.
In October, Kwoyelo received a 40-year prison sentence for war crimes, marking him as the first high-ranking member of the notorious rebel group to be convicted. He was found guilty on 44 counts, which included murder, rape, enslavement, pillaging, torture, and kidnapping.
On Monday, the court determined that Kwoyelo could not afford to pay the compensation due to his “indigent” status. Consequently, it ruled that the government should cover the costs, citing the extensive nature of the atrocities he committed as indicative of a failure on the government’s part.
Additionally, the court awarded varying amounts of financial compensation to victims who suffered other harms due to Kwoyelo’s actions, such as property damage and theft.
The Lord’s Resistance Army was established in the late 1980s with the goal of overthrowing the Ugandan government and establishing a state based on Joseph Kony’s interpretation of the Ten Commandments. The group engaged in conflict with the government for nearly two decades from its northern bases.
After military pressure led to the LRA’s expulsion from Uganda in 2005, the rebels dispersed throughout central Africa. In recent years, the group’s activities have diminished, and reports of LRA attacks have become infrequent. Joseph Kony remains at large and was indicted by the International Criminal Court in 2005.
