[5] She thus began commanding her own troops, which she called the Holy Spirit Battalion, one of four rebel groups seeking to gain control over the Gulu and Kitgum districts of Uganda.
[8] The Holy Spirit Battalion and the UPDA held a steady alliance until the Battle of Corner Kilak yielded a more contentious relationship.
[5] Independently in April 1987, another 'spiritual medium', Joseph Kony, held a Holy Spirit Army of his own, consisting of over 5,000 men, including defectors from the UPDA's Black Battalion.
[5] Lakwena was known to recruit disillusioned professional soldiers from the UDPA, and coerce young men from local villages to join her by killing their family members.
[5] After fighting a fairly successful campaign in Uganda, Lakwena and 118 followers crossed the Kenyan border, and were arrested as illegal immigrants, on 26 December 1987.
[5][11] The 'chief spirit' was an Italian man who had died by drowning in the Nile at the age of 95; he was called 'Lakwena' which means 'the messenger' in the Acholi language.
[12] Lakwena was repeatedly cited as telling Alice to cleanse tribes of their sins, and to eradicate "bad people", both within her ranks and outside of them.
[5] As such, she convinced her followers to take up arms against the National Resistance Army (NRA) under Yoweri Museveni and restore Acholi purity and supremacy.
[5] Alice also created charms and potions with snake-bone and beeswax that followers were told would turn into swarms of animals and insects when thrown at enemy troops.