20120523
AFP
Uganda's top prosecutor said Tuesday that any case against a captured Lord's Resistance Army commander would proceed on merit, amid concern he could be offered amnesty for information on LRA leader Joseph Kony.

In a rare statement sent to journalists, Chief of Public Prosecutions Richard Buteera said that Ceasar Acellam "will be investigated and the prosecution of the case will be taken on its merit and on the basis of evidence available."

Acellam became the most senior LRA leader ever captured when he surrendered earlier in May in the Central African Republic.

The capture of LRA's onetime intelligence chief fuelled speculation that authorities could provide him with reassurances over his future and a possible amnesty deal in return for valuable information that could lead to the capture of Kony.

Kony, wanted by the International Criminal Court for crimes against humanity, started his rebellion in northern Uganda more than two decades ago, but has since been chased to the jungles of neighbouring central African states.

Kony's global notoriety soared over the past year through the Internet video campaign "Kony 2012", which has been watched tens of millions of times since it was posted online by the US advocacy group Invisible Children.

The video was criticised by some who said it oversimplified the root causes of the LRA's devastating insurgency.