Former LRA rebel commander convicted of crimes against humanity in rare trial

A memorial marks the location of a mass burial site of those massacred in 2004 by the Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA), at the Barlonyo displaced persons camp in northern Uganda (Rebecca Vassie/AP)

A former commander of the Lord’s Resistance Army rebel group has been convicted of dozens of crimes against humanity in a key moment of justice for many in Uganda who suffered decades of its brutal insurgency.

The long-awaited verdict in the trial of Thomas Kwoyelo was delivered on Tuesday by a panel of the High Court that sat in Gulu, the northern city where the LRA was once active.