On Saturday, May 12th, Ugandan military forces captured Caesar Achellam, one of the top four commanders in the Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA). Achellam was captured in southeastern Central African Republic (CAR) after being in the LRA for over two decades. He was captured with a wife, a child, and a 12-year-old female from CAR.
Achellam holds one of the highest ranks within the LRA and is a leading influence in the group’s operations. Maj. General Achellam is an arabic speaker who managed the highly strategic relationship between the LRA and the Sudanese government in Khartoum. He also was one of two LRA commanders who had formal military training, and at one point he was the lead instructor for LRA troops.
Prior to Achellam’s capture, his relationship to Kony was uncertain. For years, Achellam’s group operated always in close proximity to Kony’s group, but in 2007 Kony disciplined Achellam for indicating a desire to negotiate a settlement during the Juba Peace Talks. His personal security escort was removed and younger, more violent LRA officers were promoted. In 2010, LRA expert Ledio Cakaj reported that while Okot Odhiambo (an ICC indictee) was technically second in command, Achellam was growing more influential with Kony because of his established links with Sudan–a government known to provide the LRA with food, ammunition, and safe haven.
As Ledio Cakaj notes, “Given that his knowledge of the LRA is on par with that of Kony, the apprehension or defection of Achellam could significantly destabilize the LRA.” Not only is Achellam, as some have noted, an “intelligence gold mine,” he is highly respected by Ugandan LRA because of his deep ties to the LRA movement and his formal military training. Because of the respect he garners, some speculate that he is one of the few officers who could have assumed control of the LRA if Kony were to be apprehended. For the same reasons, his capture could trigger a new wave of LRA surrenders. Since his capture, Achellam has said that he finally feels free now that he is out of the LRA. “My coming out will have a big impact for the people still in the bush to come out and end this war soon.”
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