[1] In January 1986, the government of Ugandan President Tito Okello was overthrown by the rebel National Resistance Army (NRA) under the command of Yoweri Museveni, which took the capital city of Kampala.
By March 1986, NRA forces had occupied the traditional land of the Acholi people in northern Uganda, from which President Okello came.
Many ethnic Acholis refused to accept the logical conclusion that resistance was futile and began to support the Holy Spirit Movement of Alice Auma, which promised a millenarian vision of earthly paradise or similar chiliastic groups that had sprung up, including the Uganda People's Democratic Christian Army led by Joseph Kony that would later become the Lord's Resistance Army (LRA).
[5] By 1987, the group claimed to have 15,000 members, including 1,000 Karamojong and Former Uganda National Army militants.
[4] Though the group included many ex-UNLA veterans who had considerable combat experience, the UPDA units were usually much weaker than their respective names suggested.