Caesar Achellam (claims to be born in 1963) is a former major general in the

Lord's Resistance Army The Lord's Resistance Army (LRA) is a Christian extremist organization operating in Central Africa and East Africa. Its origins were in the War in Uganda (1986–1994), Ugandan insurgency (1986–1994) against Yoweri Museveni, during which Jo ...

until his capture in 2012.

Affiliation with the LRA

Achellam joined the LRA voluntarily in the late 1980s after fighting for the Uganda People's Democratic Army (UPDA), a rebel group in northern Uganda that preceded the LRA. He had formal

military A military, also known collectively as armed forces, is a heavily armed, highly organized force primarily intended for warfare. Militaries are typically authorized and maintained by a sovereign state, with their members identifiable by a d ...

training and periodically served as an instructor in military training drills for LRA combatants. Achellam spoke

Arabic Arabic (, , or , ) is a Central Semitic languages, Central Semitic language of the Afroasiatic languages, Afroasiatic language family spoken primarily in the Arab world. The International Organization for Standardization (ISO) assigns lang ...

, a skill he used to help manage the LRA’s strategic relationship with the Sudanese

government A government is the system or group of people governing an organized community, generally a State (polity), state. In the case of its broad associative definition, government normally consists of legislature, executive (government), execu ...

in Khartoum. Before Achellam's capture, his relationship to

Joseph Kony Joseph Rao Kony (born September 1961) is a Ugandan militant and warlord who founded the Lord's Resistance Army (LRA), designated as a terrorist group by the MONUSCO, United Nations Peacekeepers, the European Union, and various other governments ...

was uncertain. For years, Achellam's group operated in close proximity to Kony's group, but Kony placed Achellam under

house arrest House arrest (also called home confinement, or nowadays electronic monitoring) is a legal measure where a person is required to remain at their residence under supervision, typically as an alternative to imprisonment. The person is confined b ...

in mid-2007 because of his opposition to seriously engaging the Juba peace negotiations. Achellam had instead urged Kony to reconnect with the Sudanese military officers in South Darfur.

Vincent Otti Vincent Otti (2 October 2007) was a Ugandan militant who served as deputy-leader of the Lord's Resistance Army (LRA), a rebel guerrilla army operating mainly in northern Uganda and southern Sudan. He was one of the five persons for whom the Inte ...

, then Kony's ranking deputy, convinced Kony to pursue the peace talks and openly accused Achellam of having received money from the Sudanese without disclosing it to Kony. However, following Otti's execution in late 2007, Kony exonerated Achellam and reinstated his status as a senior

commander Commander (commonly abbreviated as Cmdr.) is a common naval officer rank as well as a job title in many army, armies. Commander is also used as a rank or title in other formal organizations, including several police forces. In several countri ...

. Achellam was taken into custody by Ugandan military forces near the CAR/Congo border in May 2012. According to Howard Buffett in his 40 Chances book, he met Achellam. Achellam according to him, has hunted children to convert them into child soldiers and sex slaves under Joseph Kony.

References

Lord's Resistance Army rebels People indicted for crimes against humanity Living people 1963 births {{Uganda-bio-stub