In the 1960s, the Rwenzururu Freedom movement began to shift its objective from creating a separate district to creating a fully independent kingdom, and on 30 June 1962, the movement declared an independent Kingdom of Rwenzururu with Isaya Mukirania as the Omusinga of Rwenzururu, three months before the independence of Uganda. The violence reached its height in 1963 and 1964, when Tooro soldiers massacred Bakonjo and Baamba as they sought control over the lower valleys. The Uganda Army intervened against the Rwenzururu, doing such significant damage that the movement was suppressed for some time. One of the units that took part in the suppression of the Rwenzururu movement was the Ugandan 1st Battalion.
