On a sunny morning of February 28, 2002, UPDF’s 23rd Infantry Battalion had the first battle of what was known as ‘Operation Iron Fist 1’ at a place called Kisenga valley on the slopes of Imatong mountains in southern Sudan.
On February 25, 2002, the UPDF’s 4th Division was assembled at Aswa Ranch in Gulu, Northern Uganda.
Under the direct supervision of the late General James Kazini, the soldiers were conducting operational rehearsals as part of ‘Operation Iron Fist 1’ which aimed at routing the Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA). The rebels were using Southern Sudan as their base to launch attacks in Uganda.
The 4th Division commander that time was Col Geofrey Muheesi (now a Major General).
The LRA group had a few days earlier raided Agoro trading centre at the tip of the Uganda-Sudan border in Kitgum district, killing scores of internally Displaced Persons and looting animals, food and whatever else they had managed to come across.
During the military rehearsals in Gulu, UPDF received critical human intelligence from then Captain (now Brigadier), Richard Otto and Lt Patrick Opira (now Col) about the movement of the rebels.
The 23rd Infantry Battalion, which comprised Platoon commander, Second Lieutenant Chris Magezi, was quickly dispatched to intercept the LRA group along their usual routes to some of their bases in Southern Sudan such as Lubangatek, Jabuleni, Palutaka and others.
The 23rd Infantry Battalion formed up an ambush in Kisenga valley, and lay there in wait under maximum concealment for three days and nights surviving on dry ration and water.
On the third day of waiting (February 28, 2002), about 40-60 LRA rebels bumped into the UPDF ambush in the Kisenga valley, sparking an intense battle that lasted for the greater part of the day.
The battle hardened 23 infantry battalion under the command of the late Lt Col Willy Musisi delivered the first blow as the UPDF unit moved fast to take out Joseph Kony’s insurgents.
The rebels were killed in a hail of bullets. But the battle had just started.
Soldiers of the 23rd Infantry Battalion didn’t imagine the scale of the fighting that awaited them as the 40-60 rebels were the advance guard.
The main LRA body of an estimated 1500 fighters was following closely behind.
“The enemy counter attacked repeatedly, trying to dislodge us from our position, but we held firm,” recalled Magezi (now Major).
The fighting, which started at 6:00am, lasted about 10 hours.
Kony himself, and other senior LRA commanders like Vincent Otti, Charles Tabulay and Odhiambo were all suspected to be present and in direct command of their rag-tag but resilient fighters.
The LRA which UPDF ambushed was estimated to be over 1,500 fighters strong.
Some of the soldiers who fought in that battle, said Lt Col Willy Musisi’s brilliance and experience saved the day.
Otherwise, LRA would have wiped out the UPDF force.
During the fighting, another battalion was sent to reinforce 23 infantry battalion, but it was itself quickly pinned down by the enemy.
Magezi’s unit, the 23rd infantry battalion remained on its own, repulsing wave after wave of rebel counter attacks.
Due to the intensity of the fighting, by around 4:00pm, the soldiers who fought with such valor had run out of ammunition. Musisi initiated a tactical but very organized withdrawal, making sure UPDF soldiers carried all its casualties from the battlefield – the dead and wounded.
And that’s how the first battle of Iron Fist 1 panned out: a baptism of fire for Magezi and other officers who had only a few months earlier in August 2001 graduated as 2nd Lieutenants after a one year cadet course at the school of infantry in Jinja, as it was then known.
That school has since relocated to Karama, now called Uganda Military Academy Kabamba.
Because 23rd battalion was a fighting unit, Magezi participated in numerous battles there after, until he was trialed out as the first Public Relations Officer of the newly formed 5th Infantry Division based in Pader under the command of Col John Mugume (now Lieutenant General) in 2004.
Magezi, who was born in 1978, would later hone his public relations skills in the army where he has served in several capacities.
Graduation
Major Magezi, who now serves as the Director Information and Communication Office of the Senior Presidential Advisor in charge of Special Operations, recently completed an advanced military course in United Kingdom.
“The period since 2020 has been exceedingly difficult for global citizens on account of an ongoing pandemic,” said Magezi this past Wednesday.
“I am therefore profoundly grateful to God upon the successful conclusion of the Advanced Command and Staff Course, and MA Defence Studies program at the UK’s marvel, JSCSC,” he added.
Magezi last year traveled to UK for a one-year Advanced Command and Staff Course at the Joint Services Command and Staff College, Defence Academy of the United Kingdom.
The prestigious military college is located in Shrivenham, Swindon.
He traveled at a time COVID-19 was wreaking havoc in Britain.
He also scooped a Master of Arts (MA) Defence Studies from King’s College London this year.
He returns to Uganda in August, 2021.
Courses
Magezi attended his Basic Military Course at Singo in 1999.
He later went to Kenya for a brief course in Peace and Support Operations.
He attended the Officer Cadet Course (School of Infantry, Jinja between 2000 – 2001 before going for Company Commanders Course at Junior Command and Staff College, Jinja in 2009.
He also attended the Junior Command and Staff Course in Jinja in 2018 before traveling to UK for his specialised course.
Magezi, who attended primary and secondary school in Masindi, graduated with a Bachelor of Journalism and Communication from Makerere University in 2015.
He previously served as SFC Public Relations Officer, Deputy UPDF/MOD Spokesman – deputising then Brig Felix Kulayigye.
Magezi also served as Public Information Officer/Spokesman UPDF Contingent, AMISOM, Somalia between July 2009 – July 2011 and also UPDF Spokesman, Operation Lightening Thunder, DRC.
Magezi was also the spokesperson of Government of Uganda Delegation during the Juba Peace Talks (LRA) and also UPDF Spokesman, Northern Uganda, Gulu during the Lord’s Resistance Army conflict.
Between 2003 – 2007, Magezi served as UPDF Spokesman for 2 Infantry Division, Mbarara and 5 Infantry Division, Pader.
During the Operation Iron Fist (2001-2003), Magezi was a Platoon and later a company Commander of the 23rd Infantry Battalion with its headquarters in Gang-Dyang, Kitgum under the 503 infantry brigade that was at that time commanded by Maj Gen Sam Kiwanuka.
The unit conducted mobile infantry operations in Kitgum, Pader, and Southern Sudan, pursuing LRA remnants wherever they went.
The post Meet Maj Chris Magezi: From the Battlefield in Northern Uganda to the Halls of UK Defence Academy first appeared on ChimpReports.