Uganda, Feb. 18 -- Time check: 7.30am on November 28,2023. We set off from Fort Portal City aboard a UPDF van packed with soldiers destined for Ituri Province in eastern DR Congo. This marked the commencement of our activities on Operation Shujaa, which had so far spent two years dedicated to tracking down Allied Defence Force (ADF) rebels in the jungles of eastern DRC since November 30, 2021.

Meanwhile Lt Col Edison Kwesiga had recommended that everyone carries extra clothing, precisely a pair of gumboots, emphasizing the challenging terrain and impassable roads in the jungle we were headed for.

Our initial stopover was Rugedabara, just a few kilometres beyond the border of the Bunyangabu District into Kasese District, where we bought ...