Kwoyelo Trial Continues as prosecution calls 7th and 8th witness

Kwoyelo in the dock as his trial goes on in Gulu

By Nobert Dacan

Kwoyelo has been in detention since the Ugandan army captured him in 2008. He is facing 93 charges of war crimes and crimes against humanity before the International Crimes Division (ICD) of the High Court of Uganda as a result of his role as a LRA commander during the war in northern Uganda. His trial has however progressed at a slow pace.

The trial resumed on Monday, the 30^th of September 2019, after a break of more than two months with the testimony of the 7^th prosecution witness, referred to as C4.

C4 testified about his experiences and interactions with the accused, including details on how the witness was abducted by Kwoyelo’s men during an attack on Abera village in Pabbo subcounty. During examination C4 explained that he knew Kwoyelo very well since their childhood, but that C4 had not seen him since C4 was abducted from Abera in 1994. 

The witness explained how the village was attacked by armed men led by Kwoyelo, whom he later learnt were LRA rebels, and was abducted along with approximately 50 others. The abductees were forced to carry the goats that were looted as they moved throughout the night across a stream called Aceri. At least 4 people unable to carry the goats were punished and left to die on the road, though C4 later found out that these people were found and rescued by the community who tracked their path the following morning. Only one later died from the hospital.

The witness recounted that after crossing the stream, Kwoyelo addressed the abductees and told them that they would be divided into two groups; one that would be released and another that would remain. C4 was in the group that was released and was directed by Kwoyelo to follow a different path back as the LRA soldiers had planted landmines on the one they came from. C4 also explained that most of the remaining abductees never returned home since, and that he is convinced that they have passed away by now. After returning and recovering from his injuries, C4 moved to Gulu town where he has lived since.The defense counsel was critical of the witness’ account, stating that C4 had gone beyond the scope of his testimony.

Proceedings were adjourned to the following day, Tuesday the 1^st of October 2019 where C4 completed his testimony with a cross-examination by the defense team. In the afternoon, the prosecution called another witness – PW8, referred to as C7. C7 entered the courtroom in camouflage wearing loose, black clothing and headscarf, and dark sunglasses. Prosecution attorney, William Byansi commenced by applying for protective measures for the witness and requested that the session should exclude the public and be held in camera due to sensitivity of the witness’ testimony. Byansi went on to assert that the prosecution team had done a risk assessment and that the findings indicated danger to the life of the witness if his identity is not sufficiently protected. He further stated that the witness was a direct victim of the accused person and lives in the same community as sympathizers of the accused. The prosecution finally requested that if a fully closed session was impossible, at least the particularly sensitive parts of C7’s testimony should be held in-camera.

Defense counsel Alaka did not object to the use of camouflage and pseudonym but opposed closing the session for the public. He claimed that closing the session would go against Kwoyelo’s rights as an accused, and that the prosecutions referral to a risk assessment unknown to the court, and to the witness as “a direct victim” was prejudicial. Furthermore, he argued, closing the session would decrease the publics’ trust in the trial and the ICD.

The trial panel based their ruling on Art. 28 (2) and ICD rule 36, and stated that the court had to balance between the safety of the witness and a public trial: “for that reason, the use of pseudonym, camouflage, exclusion of the public from certain parts of his testimony is granted.”

Shortly after the prosecution had started leading C7 through his testimony about his abduction from Abera village in Pabbo, they requested the public to be excluded due to a sensitive part in the testimony. The remainder of the session until 5pm was held in-camera, and the session on the following morning of the 2^nd of October continued as a closed session

Foundation for Justice and Development (FJDI) works with children, youth, women and communities to promote justice, development and economic recovery in northern Uganda. FJDI has been working on providing redress for conflict affected persons and communities and promoting transitional justice measures since 2015