Remembering Uganda’s Kanungu Cult Massacre Where 700 People Were Killed

• 21 year’s ago, 700 people were killed in a church massacre known as the Kanungu cult massacre

• The casualties were locked inside the church building as it was set on fire

• The Uganda cult believed that the world supposed to come to an end at the end of the millennium

21 years ago, tragedy struck the south-western Ugandan district when 700 people were locked and burnt in a church in the Kanungu cult massacre.

How it Started

The deceased were part of the Movement for the Restoration of the Ten Commandments of God.

This cult believed that the world wasn’t supposed to go past the millennium.

In one of their books, the end of the present time was to be 17 March 2000.

The cult was led by charismatic leaders Credonia Mwerinde and Joseph Kibwetere.

The cult was registered as a group whose aim was to obey God’s ten commandments.

The cult was not closed away from society and government officials were aware of their activities but they believed that there was no need to interfere.

The Cult’s beliefs

The cult had links to Roman Catholicism and many Catholic icons were found on its premises.

The members wore uniforms and rarely spoke due to fears of breaking the 10 commandments.

The 700 Massacre

On the 17th of March 2000, about 530 members of the church were killed in what was termedthe Kanungu Cult Massacre.

Mass graves of dead bodies were also found in the area, bringing deaths to about 700.

Many were either strangled, hacked to death, or poisoned. It is however unclear which of the church leaders committed the crime.

Days before the fire, one of the group leaders, Dominic Kataribabo purchased large amounts of sulphuric acid which was used to ignite the fire.

Read also: FG Re-introduces Curfew and Ban on Mass Gatherings

It was initially classified as a mass suicide but it is believed that there were sightings of Joseph Kibweteere after the event.