Uganda Court Orders Reparations for LRA Victims

A Ugandan court has ordered the government to compensate victims of Lord's Resistance Army commander Thomas Kwoyelo. The court ruled the state responsible for reparations due to Kwoyelo's indigence and the government's failure to protect citizens. Kwoyelo is sentenced to 40 years for war crimes.

In a landmark decision, a Ugandan court has mandated government compensation for victims of Lord's Resistance Army (LRA) commander Thomas Kwoyelo. The order requires the state to pay each victim up to 10 million Ugandan shillings, approximately $2,740.

Kwoyelo, the first high-ranking LRA member to be convicted by Uganda's judiciary, was sentenced to 40 years for heinous crimes including murder, rape, and enslavement. However, declared indigent, Kwoyelo cannot compensate victims, prompting the court to hold the government accountable for reparations.

The ruling criticized the government's failure to protect its citizens from the LRA's brutal tactics over two decades. In addition to the payments to individual victims, the court also awarded compensation for property destruction and theft attributed to Kwoyelo's forces. The judgment serves as a reminder of the LRA's devastating impact on northern Uganda.

(With inputs from agencies.)