Lenah
Follow us
Justice Hub
  • My Justice
  • News
  • Insights
  • Justice Explained
  • About Us
No Result
View All Result
Justice Hub
  • My Justice
  • News
  • Insights
  • Justice Explained
  • About Us
No Result
View All Result
Justice Hub
No Result
View All Result

Confirmation of Charges Hearing against Thomas Kwoyelo in Ugandan Court Postponed Indefinitely; Judiciary Cites Lack of Funds

July 25, 2018
in Justice Explained
0
0
Home Justice Explained
FacebookTwitterLinkedInWhatsappEmail

The confirmation of charges hearing against Thomas Kwoyelo, which was scheduled to start on Monday, July 23, has been postponed again, indefinitely this time. The reason for the postponement is purportedly due to lack of funds. This makes it the third postponement in a row and leaves uncertainty on whether the charges against Kwoyelo will be confirmed.

Kwoyelo, a former commander in the Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA), is facing charges of war crimes and crimes against humanity before the International Criminal Division (ICD) of Uganda’s High Court. Kwoyelo has been in detention since the Ugandan army captured him in 2008. To date, the charges against him remain unconfirmed despite the holding of several pre-trial hearings. In 2016, three pre-trial hearings were held in April, August, and September, while in 2017, three pre-trial hearingswere held in January, February, and March. This year, one pre-trial hearing was held in June. At all these hearings, postponements were made due to various reasons.

This latest postponement will come as a blow to Kwoyelo, who has been in pre-trial detention for nearly a decade. At the last hearing in June 2018, the hearing had to be postponed due to lack of quorum by the defense lawyers. This time, money seems to be the problem.

Speaking on the National Television (NTV), a local television station in Uganda, Solomon Muyita, the Communications Officer of the Judiciary, said:

People have to be brought in from different parts of the country. The judge is based in Mbale [district]… At the moment the issue we have is that we are waiting for the budget for this quarter for the case to proceed. Our finance committee is only sitting tomorrow, on Tuesday, and the relevant facilitation for this case has to go through the formalities to get the funding for the case to proceed. So as soon as the relevant funding for the case is available the parties will be notified and the pre-trial will continue.

Also during the last hearing, Justice Okalany, the presiding judge, notified the parties that it would be the last adjournment and promised that at the next hearing the charges would be read and confirmed in the same week. It is now apparent that she will not be able to carry out her promise.

In the meantime, it is apparent that the numerous postponements are having a negative psychological and physical impact on Kwoyelo. Following postponement of the last hearing in June, Kwoyelo’s lawyer, Charles Dalton Opwonya, expressed fears that his client could commit suicide as a result of the delays.

Justice Okalany blamed Kwoyelo’s defense lawyers for the delay in June and advised Kwoyelo to consider changing his lawyers. It remains unclear whether Kwoyelo will change his lawyers, but Kwoyelo did ask the presiding judge to allow him to change his lawyers.

At this juncture, it is imperative that the judiciary do what it takes to expedite Kwoyelo’s trial. The ICD has already announced that justices Moses Mukiibi, Duncan Gaswaga, and Micheal Elubu will hear Kwoyelo’s case. For the case to proceed, however, the charges against Kwoyelo must first be confirmed.

This piece was originally published by the International Justice Monitor and is republished here with permission. 

Photo: Screengrabs/NTV Uganda-YouTube

Tags: crimes against humanityLord's Resistance Army (LRA)Uganda
ShareTweetShareSendSend

Lino Owor Ogora

Lino Owor Ogora is a peace-building practitioner who has worked with victims of conflict in northern Uganda and South Sudan since 2006.

Related Posts

A legal path to justice emerges for Myanmar
Featured

A legal path to justice emerges for Myanmar

by Sean Bain
October 7, 2018
0
56

On September 27 a partial but significant foundation was laid to provide accountability for gross human rights violations in Myanmar,...

Read more
Lawfare: Iran-US nuclear deal row to play out in Hague Courtroom (Part I)

Lawfare: Iran-US nuclear deal row to play out in Hague Courtroom (Part I)

September 26, 2018
56
A trial for history: Thomas Kwoyelo in Uganda

A trial for history: Thomas Kwoyelo in Uganda

September 25, 2018
67
Celebrating women in peacekeeping

Celebrating women in peacekeeping

September 24, 2018
56
Hague court could give Iran a moral victory over the US (Part 3)

Hague court could give Iran a moral victory over the US (Part 3)

September 22, 2018
75

Lino Owor Ogora

Lino Owor Ogora is a peace-building practitioner who has worked with victims of conflict in northern Uganda and South Sudan since 2006.

Justice Hub

Justice Hub is an online platform aimed at a worldwide audience of 18-35 year olds, especially in countries where people are looking for sustainable and innovative solutions to problems of justice, peace and security. Justice can feel too abstract, too often owned by experts. We make the conversations lively and accessible.

Follow Us

Quick Links

  • Featured
  • My Justice
  • News
  • Insights
  • Justice Explained
  • About Us
  • Contact Us
  • Privacy Policy

 

  HPPJ Forum Login
Creative Commons Licence
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.
No Result
View All Result
  • My Justice
  • News
  • Insights
  • Justice Explained
  • About Us

© 2018 Justice Hub

Login to your account below

Forgotten Password?

Fill the forms bellow to register

*By registering into our website, you agree to the Terms & Conditions and Privacy Policy.
All fields are required. Log In

Retrieve your password

Please enter your username or email address to reset your password.

Log In

Login

Lost password?
This website uses cookies. By continuing to use this website you are giving consent to cookies being used. Visit our Privacy and Cookie Policy.

REPUBLISHING TERMS

You may republish this article online or in print under our Creative Commons license. You may not edit or shorten the text, you must attribute the article to Aeon and you must include the author’s name in your republication.

If you have any questions, please email nsharafa@gmail.com

License

Creative Commons License AttributionCreative Commons Attribution
Confirmation of Charges Hearing against Thomas Kwoyelo in Ugandan Court Postponed Indefinitely; Judiciary Cites Lack of Funds