The United Nations is urging Uganda to prosecute a captured field commander of the rebel Lord's Resistance Army.

Ugandan forces captured Caesar Acellam, one of the LRA's top military leaders, in the Central African Republic on Saturday. Since then, multiple Ugandan officials have said Acellam could receive a pardon under the country's Amnesty Act.

Radhika Coomaraswamy, the U.N. special envoy for children and armed conflict, said in a statement late Monday that she hopes “Ugandan authorities would not apply amnesty but instead, bring Acellam to justice.”

She said his prosecution would send a message to LRA leaders that they will be held accountable for their actions.

LRA chief Joseph Kony and other leaders of the group are wanted by the International Criminal Court for alleged war crimes and crimes against humanity.

The group has waged a 26-year reign of terror in Central Africa, attacking and looting villages, killing and abducting their inhabitants, and turning kidnap victims into child soldiers and sex slaves.

Uganda's amnesty law has allowed other LRA members to go free, even if they were accused of war crimes or crimes against humanity.

The LRA originated in northern Uganda in the late 1980s. Today, the group has no more than a few hundred fighters roaming around the Central African Republic, South Sudan, and the Democratic Republic of Congo.

About 100 U.S. military advisers are helping regional forces search for the LRA and Kony.

Recruited in 1988, just one year after Kony launched his armed insurgency to overthrow the Ugandan government and impose the biblical 10 Commandments, Acellam rose to become the LRA's intelligence chief and one of Kony's key deputies.

An erudite man – he referenced “The Art of War” in response to one journalist's question – Acellam claimed he had left his group of 30, including 14 fighters, in Congo several days earlier and was, anyway, on his way to hand himself into the Ugandan Army.

As the Ugandan commanders sitting around him talked up his significance, he tried to play down his importance. He'd ceased being a key figure after being shot in 2002, he said. He was only a sector commander, he claimed.

But even if his influence has waned, he had to admit that his capture would send shock waves through the LRA.

“My coming out will have a big impact for the people in the bush to come out and end the war soon,” Acellam said.

Acellam's capture could see the LRA suffer more than just a hit to its morale, analysts say, and could help the Ugandan Army locate Kony.

“I think his capture will help the anti-LRA operations because he'll have the most up to date analysis of where specific LRA groups and commanders are, what their future plans and strategies are, and exactly how the LRA command structure has evolved in the past year,” Paul Ronan, co-founder of US-based advocacy group Resolve says.

Acellam is also an Arabic speaker and has acted as a key liaison between the LRA and its former backer – the Sudanese government, Ronan says.

Now he could also help answer the thorny question of whether Khartoum has restarted its support for Kony.

Will he talk?

And the Ugandan Army might be hopeful of getting their wily former adversary to talk.

Acellam reportedly fell out with Kony during a bout of infighting around 2007 that saw Kony execute his then deputy Vincent Otti, and it was rumored repeatedly that Acellam was ready to defect.

But he did not. The Ugandan government will have to offer something – most likely guaranteeing Acellam amnesty under a blanket law covering former-rebels, says Angelo Izama, an independent Ugandan analyst.

“They'll have to give him some kind of deal in return for cooperation,” Izama says.

Unlike Kony, and his two most influential commanders Okot Odhiambo and Dominic Ongwen, Acellam is not wanted by the International Criminal Court for war crimes or crimes against humanity.

Remaining questions

In the confusion and contradictions of the immediate aftermath of Acellam's capture, however, questions remain.

Did Acellam defect or was he captured? Where are his fighters? How much does he know?

But top of the list for those in the US is: What role did US special forces play in Acellam's capture?

Late last year US President Obama deployed around 100 US special forces to the area to bolster the regional efforts to capture the LRA.

Now they're flying hi-tech surveillance planes over the vast jungles and trying to improve the Ugandans' intelligence coordination and logistics.

Both US officials and Ugandan commanders refuse to talk about whether the US forces had a part in Acellam's capture.

But the fact that Acellam and his group had been monitored for weeks prior in the Democratic Republic of Congo – where Ugandan forces do not have access – suggests some sort of outside help.

Now with the combination of US help, Ugandan footwork and Acellam's intelligence, observers agree that there have been few better opportunities to end the LRA threat. But after 25 years in the bush, in the vast jungles of central Africa, Kony remains a master of evasion.

The gangly man standing with his hands in the air next to a woman clutching a baby and a teenage girl was Maj. Gen. Ceasar Acellam, and for the Ugandan Army this was a major coup.

Up until that point on Saturday morning, Mr. Acellam was the third-highest ranking commander in vicious warlord Joseph Kony's rebel outfit.

Now he had become the highest-ranking officer in the LRA's 25-year insurgency ever to be captured alive.

“Yesterday I did meet a group that was there on a mission,” a laconic Acellam told a small group of journalists who had been flown by the Ugandan Army to its forward base at Djema on Sunday. “I knew I was in the hands of the [Ugandan Army].”

s the Ugandan Army told it, the end of the hunt for at least one senior Lord's Resistance Army commander was as it often is: ignominious and unexpected.

For three weeks Ugandan troops had been camped out – waiting in ambush for a suspected group of fighters from the brutal Lord's Resistance Army that had been monitored somewhere on the other side of the river that marks the border between Central African Republic and Democratic Republic of Congo.

“Our boys were just advancing a bit, searching the area, when they came across a small path in the forest,” Jackson Kayanja, one of the commanders in charge of the operation, said. “They followed it and then suddenly, surprisingly, they found him right in front of them.”

One group of soldiers was circling in from the side and fired, Kayanja said. No one was hit.

“Then he just did this,” Kayanja said, throwing his hands up in the sign of surrender.

Uganda’s Foreign Minister has dismissed as uninformed growing criticism that President Yoweri Museveni’s government is becoming increasingly repressive.

Henry Oryem Okello said that comments about Uganda’s human rights record are not based on the situation in the country.

“In Uganda there is no group or individual who is stopped from demonstrating or exercising their rights. What we are asking is simply [this], when you want to exercise those rights, exercise them in conjunction with the police.”

Okello, who was speaking from Arusha in Tanzania, said there was need to inform the police of any demonstrations so that the rights of others are not interfered with.

The United States State department has expressed concern about Uganda’s deteriorating human rights record.

The British House of Commons on Tuesday also said that respect for fundamental freedoms and civil liberties were rapidly declining amidst the most appalling abuses of human rights in Uganda.

The international outcry is a result of rising cases of police brutality against opponents of President Museveni’s regime and journalists.

The American Embassy in Kampala has condemned the alleged sexual assault on the leader of the opposition Forum for Democratic Change (FDC) women’s league, Ms. Ingrid Turinawe, during her arrest last week.

Local media quoted a US embassy official Dan Travis as saying, “We condemn any excessive use of force by police or protestors. We urge the Uganda government to respect citizen rights to assemble freely and encourage Uganda to investigate allegations of excessive use of force by security services.”

But Okello blamed the demonstrators for the violence that has characterized activities of opposition politicians and other civil rights groups. “The intention of these demonstrators is the removal or change of government,” he said.

Whenever they hold these demonstrations, he continued, “They hire thugs and goons who provoke the police and put the police in an untenable position of having to react in self-defense.”

The minister admitted that the police have made mistakes that the government has acknowledged even in parliament. “Whatever the police have done, the government of Uganda doesn’t condone the use of brutal force against peaceful demonstrators.”

He promised the government “will do everything possible to investigate those mistakes to the very end.”

Since President Yoweri Museveni's controversial 2011 re-election, there has been a wave of opposition demonstrations - many of which have ended in violence and arrests.

Ugandan security forces have used force in arresting opposition politicians and their supporters who take part in protests against government corruption, spiraling food and fuel prices by walking to work.

The walk-to-work protest, as it is called, began in April 2011. A group calling itself Activists for Change (A4C) organized the demonstrations and opposition politicians - keen to show they are concerned about people's discontent over rising prices - heeded the call to take part.

At least nine people were killed and hundreds have been arrested during these protests.

A group of women have stripped to their bras in protest at the alleged sexual assault by Ugandan police of a high-profile female opposition politician.

Footage shows an officer squeezing the breast of Ingrid Turinawe of the Forum for Democratic Change (FDC) during her arrest ahead of a rally last week.

Deputy police chief Andrew Kaweesa has apologised, saying the incident will be investigated.

Uganda's opposition says police regularly harass them during protests.

Since President Yoweri Museveni's controversial 2011 re-election, there has been a wave of opposition demonstrations - many of which have ended in violence and arrests.

But correspondents say Ugandans are outraged by the arrest on Friday of Ms Turinawe, who is the head of the Women's League of the FDC led by Kizza Besigye.

Ugandan television footage clearly shows that, as several officers tried to pull her out of her vehicle, another grabbed and squeezed her breast - and she is heard shouting out in pain.

The BBC's Siraj Kalyango in the capital, Kampala, says a group of about 15 women marched through the town to the main police station waving placards, including one that read "How would you feel if we squeezed your balls?"

Six protesters were arrested after they refused to put their tops back on - but they were released two hours later without charge.

"We wanted to ask the police if they are there to do their jobs or there to pinch breasts," event organiser Barbara Allimadi told the AFP news agency.

An outspoken figure on issues such as poverty big business and gay marriage, he is popular with evangelicals and has the backing of several senior figures as well as other leaders within the worldwide Anglican Communion.

But his critics, including many liberals, privately suggest he is a maverick.

As Archbishop of York, Dr Sentamu would have had an automatic seat on the Commission alongside one other bishop to be nominated by the others.

But last night it emerged that bishops have been sent nomination papers to chose two from their number to serve on the Commission rather than one.

The Church of England confirmed that Dr Sentamu had chosen to “exercise his right not to be a member of the commission for this vacancy”.

Dr Sentamu declined to comment publicly. Asked last month whether he wished to be considered he said only that the choice of the next Archbishop of Canterbury was a “matter for the commission”.

In 2002, David Hope, the then Archbishop of York, stayed as a member of the group, which meant he could not be considered for the post that was filled by Dr Williams.

Sources close to Dr Sentamu though say he would have strong reservations about moving from York to Canterbury.

They add he has only stepped down as he did not want to be seen to be influencing the appointment.

There had been growing rumours in Church circles that he would rule himself out from contention following health concerns and a series of critical comments made by unnamed clergy.

At the weekend, an earlier blog posting written by his former press secretary the Revd Arun Arora, was circulated arguing that “naked racism” could have been behind attempts to undermine Dr Sentamu.

Yesterday the Archbishop insisted he had not encountered racism within the Church.

In 2008 he suffered a bout of salmonella and last year he spent 12 days in St Thomas hospital in London after an emergency operation to remove his appendix.

Uganda President Yoweri Museveni on Wednesday April 18th featured on CNN's Amanpour hinting on the hunt to bring outlaw Joseph Kony to justice, what resources President Museveni feels are necessary to capture Kony, his government's anti-homosexual policies, and his political future.

Pressure is mounting on Uganda’s President Yoweri Musevi to retire after his current term ends in 2016.

A screening of the non-profit film KONY 2012 was open to UNO students on Monday, April 2, in the Milo Bail Student Center to raise awareness of the upcoming “Cover the Campus” campaign.

KONY 2012 was the most-viral video of all time. Its sequel? Not so much.

More than a week after KONY 2012: Part II – Beyond Famous hit YouTube, the video, which was also created by Invisible Children, has racked up about 1.7 million views. That’s less than 2% of the traffic that KONY 2012 got in its first five days. Part II’s performance shows that the success of the initial video will be hard, if not impossible, to repeat.

On April 20 Invisible Children will hold a worldwide rally to draw attention to murderous Ugandan Lord's Resistance Army (LRA) founder Joseph Kony. The event is called "Cover the Night," but when one looks a bit closer at the shady right-wing extremists this group cavorts with, a more appropriate name might be "Invisible Agenda: Covering Up the Theocratic Nightmare."

Rachel Namulondo, the 17-year-old girl who has been trekking for 12 kilometers for five months to pick her ARV's from Kamuli Main Hospital in Kamuli district, has died.

Namulondo, whose plight ran in New Vision, died in her 85-year-old grandfather’s hut in Gwozira zone in Nabwigulu sub-countyTuesday night.

Ultimate Media

Alcon International has asked the Supreme Court to dismiss the case in which the National Social Security Fund is fighting a 22 billion shillings claim by Alcon.

Alcon is seeking compensation for cancellation of its contract for construction of Workers House.

Uganda’s Information minister says George William Kakoma, the composer of the country’s national anthem, will be buried Saturday following a state funeral.

Bukonzo East Member of Parliament, Yokasi Bihande Bwambale has admitted stealing sh20m meant for his constituency.

Bwambale on Tuesday pleaded guilty to the charges of embezzlement and uttering false accountability to the chief accountant of Parliament.

Archbishop Henry Luke Orombi has called for the election of the next Archbishop of the Church of Uganda.  The announcement came during a regularly scheduled meeting of the House of Bishops on Saturday, 7th January, in Mbarara.

The CNN Hero of the Year was chosen by the public after an 11-week vote on CNN.com. For being named Hero of the Year, Lim will receive $250,000 for her cause. That's in addition to the $50,000 that she and the rest of the top 10 Heroes each received for making the top 10.

The CNN Hero of the Year was chosen by the public after an 11-week vote on CNN.com. For being named Hero of the Year, Lim will receive $250,000 for her cause. That's in addition to the $50,000 that she and the rest of the top 10 Heroes each received for making the top 10.

Makerere University has embarked on a three-year project that will see soil scientists trained to build capacity among tertiary institutions so as to increase food production in the long-run.

The Police have arrested five of their own members following a shooting in which a 17-year-old boy was killed at Mabanda village in Matugga, Wakiso District, on Saturday night.

Issa Ssemugwe, 17, died on the way to Mulago Hospital after he was allegedly shot by a police officer who was trying to quell a crowd that was allegedly blocking the arrest of their colleagues on robbery charges.

Police say they are holding a constable on charges related to the murder of Ssemugwe, while other four officers are in custody over disobeying lawful orders. Kampala Metropolitan Police spokesman Ibin Ssenkumbi yesterday confirmed both the shooting of Ssemugwe and the arrest of the police officers.

“The officers are in our custody as investigations continue. If we find that there was deliberate shooting of the boy, we will prefer charges of murder against our officer,” Mr Ssenkumbi said.

A preliminary police investigation report into the Shs142.6 billion in controversial payments to businessman Hassan Basajjabalaba reveals that two senior ministers and the Governor of Bank of Uganda were largely responsible for the inflated and scandalous payment.