A court in Uganda on Friday sentenced a former commander in the Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA) rebel group to 40 years in prison.
Thomas Kwoyelo was found guilty on 44 counts of war crimes and crimes against humanity including murder, rape, enslavement, torture and kidnapping in August.
The sentence against Kwoyelo, was announced by Michael Elubu, the presiding judge in the case at the International Crimes Division (ICD) of the high court in the northern city of Gulu.
“The convict played a prominent role in the planning, strategy and actual execution of the offenses of extreme gravity,” Justice Duncan Gasagwa, one of the four judges, said. “The victims have been left with lasting physical and mental pain and suffering.”
Insurgents in the rebel group were known for carrying out horrific acts of cruelty, including rapes, abductions and hacking off victims’ limbs and lips.
Gasagwa said that Kwoyelo avoided the death penalty because he was recruited by the LRA at a young age and was not one of the top-ranking commanders. He has expressed remorse and a willingness to reconcile with the victims.
Kwoyelo has the right to appeal the sentence and conviction within a 14-day period.
Kwoyelo, who is 49 years old, is the first senior member of the Lord’s Resistance Army to be tried, convicted and sentenced. The group’s founder, Joseph Kony, remains at large.