A former commander of the Lord’s Resistance Army rebels has been sentenced to 40 years in prison by a court in Uganda for the brutal crimes committed by the group during its insurgency that began in the 1980s.
The ex-rebel commander, a former child soldier turned leader, will serve 25 years in jail as he has already spent 15 years in government custody. The court ruling applies to the most serious crimes he faced, including multiple counts of murder, rape, pillaging, and enslavement.
The sentence was handed down by a panel of the High Court in Gulu, the northern city where the LRA once operated. The convicted individual has the option to appeal the decision.
One victim of the LRA insurgency expressed disappointment at the perceived leniency of the sentence, stating that it may send the wrong message to potential perpetrators of violence.
The former rebel leader was found guilty in August on 44 of the 78 charges he faced for crimes committed between 1992 and 2005. His trial, which commenced in 2019, marked a rare opportunity for justice for victims of the two-decade conflict between Ugandan forces and the LRA.
Prosecutors revealed that the convicted individual held the military rank of colonel within the LRA and was responsible for ordering violent attacks on civilians, particularly those displaced by the rebellion.
The notorious leader of the LRA, Joseph Kony, remains at large, with reports suggesting he is hiding in a remote area of central Africa. The U.S. has offered a substantial reward for information leading to his capture, as he is also wanted by the International Criminal Court.
Another high-ranking LRA member, Dominic Ongwen, was sentenced by the ICC in 2021 to 25 years in prison for war crimes and crimes against humanity.
While thousands of rebel combatants have received amnesty from the Ugandan government over the years, the convicted former commander was denied such reprieve. The reasons for this decision have not been disclosed by Ugandan officials.
Throughout the trial, the defendant maintained his innocence, attributing ultimate responsibility for LRA crimes to Kony and highlighting the severe consequences faced by those who defied the warlord's orders.
The LRA, initially an anti-government rebellion in Uganda that later expanded its operations to neighboring countries, was notorious for recruiting child soldiers and subjecting girls to sexual slavery. Following military pressure, the group dispersed across central Africa, and its activities have significantly diminished in recent years.
Reports of LRA attacks are now rare, marking a significant shift from the group's brutal reign in northern Uganda.
